Who is the best Doctor Who? Why?

A myriad of actors have played the role of the famous Doctor Who, in the longest running Sci-Fi TV show. But who should be considered the best? Vote!

Who is the best Doctor Who actor?

In August 1963, President John F. Kennedy delivered his now immortal speech, declaring that “we choose to go to the moon.” Overnight the imaginations and ambitions of people on both sides of the Atlantic lurched up towards the stars and beyond. But only a few months later, in November, Dr. Who first stepped onto television screens across Britain and catapulted these dreams beyond the stars, to the edges of the universe and time itself. For over 60 years The Doctor has fought with galactic creatures, shifted alien empires and rubbed shoulders with gods, saving this world and many others in between. The series is now one of the most loved programmes the world over, haven given people a glimpse of the places beyond the moon that before we could only imagine.

In a strange twist in the tale, however, throughout these years the hero has worn many different faces. From the eccentric and fatherly Doctors only seen in black and white to the leather jacket-wearing action stars of the new millennium, each actor has portrayed the Doctor in strikingly different ways, maintaining his selfless heroism but spotlighting other facets of his character: his intelligence, his humour, or sometimes his darkness and fear of being alone. Consequently, the actor behind each Doctor has gathered their own deserved fan following.

The actor who interpreted Dr. Who since 2012, Peter Capaldi, announced in January 2017 that he is leaving the series. All Doctor Who fans have started to discuss who should be BBC's next pick for the role of Doctor Who. Should the next Doctor be a woman? What about a non-white actor? Would it be better to give a bit of continuity to the character or choose a Doctor with a completely different personality and style? 

Top Doctor Who actors list

So far, 12 British actors have played Doctor Who in this iconic British Sci-Fi series. This has been possible because in the plot, if the Doctor is critically injured, he can regenerate his body, thereby also gaining a new physical appearance and, with it, a distinct new personality. We made a selection of the actors generally considered as the best doctors:

• William Hartnell was the first to play the role, and surely deserved to be in this short list.
• Jon Pertwee was the Third Doctor, during the first half of the seventies.
• Tom Baker, the Fourth Doctor, has been considered by many the best ever, although many others prefer some of the new generation doctors.
• Christopher Eccleston, the Ninth Doctor, helped the show to come back successfully in 2005
• David Tennant, the Tenth Doctor, who seduced a new generation.
• Matt Smith, the Eleventh Doctor, is the youngest actor to have ever incarnated the Doctor.
• Peter Capaldi is the newest Doctor, acting in the show since 2014.
• Other actors: The Doctor has also been played by Patrick Troughton (Second Doctor Who), Peter Davison (Fifth), Colin Baker (Sixth), Sylvester McCoy (Seventh), and Paul McGann (Eighth). If you want to vote for one of them, you can select the option “Other” and mention his name on the comment section below.

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