Brian Blessed Would Love To Be ‘Doctor Who’ 50 Years After Turning Down The Role
With Peter Capaldi’s future on Doctor Who up in the air, actors are expressing interest in taking on the epic role of the Time Lord. Brian Blessed, an actor who’s well known for his “booming voice” and theater work, would love to take on the iconic role after Capaldi leaves. The interesting thing is that 50 years ago, Blessed was offered the role but turned down playing the Time Lord due to other commitments.
Once Blessed turned down the role, Patrick Troughton ended up winning the part of the Second Doctor. Blessed did appear on Doctor Who later on, playing King Yrcanos in the 1986 episode “Mindwarp.” He also was to play Odin in the Season 9 episode, “The Girl Who Died,” but ended up having to pull out due to illness.
Blessed said that back in 1966, when he was asked to play the Second Doctor, producers told him, “‘We’re very keen for you to be the Doctor, to follow William Hartnell, and we’d like you to play him very young. You’ve got a very vivid imagination, Brian. You can be quite normal and then also very, very eccentric.'”
Fast forward to 2016, and Brian Blessed has expressed he would love to be in Doctor Who again, either as the Doctor himself or another part. In an interview with Calibre, Blessed told the publication, “Oh yes, I would love to play the Doctor, absolutely! I would love to be in Doctor Who [as the Doctor or as] another part, at least so Peter and I could fight again!”
Brian Blessed: I would love to play the Doctorhttps://t.co/KxsmcpxNYf pic.twitter.com/vyHASBCaaH
— Radio Times (@RadioTimes) March 12, 2016
A few years ago in 1997, Blessed and Capaldi acted together in the BBC miniseries, The History of Tom Jones, and while filming a scene, Blessed famously and accidentally socked Capaldi in the face.
If Blessed took on the role of the Doctor, he’d be the oldest actor to ever play the part at 79-years-old, about two decades older than the current Time Lord, Peter Capaldi. According to Doctor Who Watch, Blessed would be an interesting choice for the Doctor, considering the uproar among fans who thought Capaldi was too old to be the Doctor. Blessed also has a thick beard–would he be forced to shave it off?
Brian Blessed fancies playing #DoctorWho, or at least punching him againhttps://t.co/KxsmcpgczF pic.twitter.com/sWl4xeJPk7
— Radio Times (@RadioTimes) March 12, 2016
When asked what kind of Doctor he would be, Blessed said he would give it “an intensity and humour…”
Recently, however, current Time Lord Peter Capaldi believes Doctor Who should “reflect the times.” He thinks his successor should be a person of color or a woman.
“I think it’s important the show reflects the times. The world’s in a tough place at the moment and the Doctor is a hero for all times. So I think he, or she, or it—because he’s not a human being—should reflect the times. But it also has to be somebody who works within the creative hub of the show.”
There’s been a lot of debate over the years as to whether the Time Lord should ever be a woman, with fans split down the middle. Some say it could work on Doctor Who, while others believe the Doctor should always be male. Once showrunner Steven Moffat announced he’s stepping down, rumors began running rampant about whether Peter Capaldi will stay on or leave as well. When those rumors started to fly, the question became who will replace Capaldi?
What do you think the chances are of Brian Blessed gaining the role? Who would you like to see as the next Time Lord on Doctor Who?
[Photo by Joel Ryan/Invision/AP]
