Doctor Who
has a long history of including big celebrities, both before and after their big success. Doctor Who it began airing in the UK on the BBC in 1963. At that time, the show's popularity was steadily growing and it managed to attract the attention of many of the biggest stars of the day to appear on the show. Even the actors who played the titular Doctor often had successful careers by the time they were cast in the show, which helped boost the series' overall prestige.
However, since the revival in 2005, Doctor Who has established itself as a show that attracts some of the biggest actors in the sector. Additionally, the show is notable for having cast a large number of actors years before their careers took off, making it one of his first acting credits. With such a prestigious pedigree, it's no wonder the show remains the longest-running sci-fi show on TV.
10
Carey Mulligan
Starting off strong with the wonderful Carey Mulligan. In recent years, Mulligan has had strong performances in several films, such as Promising Young Womanand Conductorbut her acting career began in 2005. Mulligan has delivered incredible performances in almost every role she has appeared in and continues to rise in terms of opportunities and stardom.
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However, early in his career, Mulligan had the unique opportunity to star in an episode of Doctor Who. While most characters end up taking a backseat to the impressive and boisterous Doctor, Mulligan was cast in the lead role in an episode that saw the Doctor cast in a smaller supporting role. As Sally Sparrow in the iconic episode that introduced the Weeping Angels, Mulligan did a great job starring in “Blink.”
9
Bill Nighy
Another legendary British actor, Bill Nighy, is an institution in British cinema and long ago made the transition to Hollywood, where he played several major roles. Nighy played one of the central figures in the iconic Christmas film, Love in truth. He played the father in It's about timeand he is none other than Davy Jones, under some heavy prosthetics and CGI, in The Pirates of the Caribbean film series.
Despite having been in the industry for many decades, Nighy made his Doctor Who debut in 2010 when he appeared in the episode “Vincent and the Doctor”. This moving episode from Matt Smith saw the Doctor and Amy travel back in time to meet the late, great Vincent van Gogh, who never made it in life but whose work inspired many. In this episode, Nighy plays Dr. Black, the museum curator who deeply admires and appreciates van Gogh's work, and who plays a prominent role in this episode.
8
Daniel Kaluuya
Like Mulligan, Daniel Kaluuya has found great success over the past decade. His leading role in films such as No and To go outboth directed by Jordan Peele, helped establish him as a force in the industry, and he went on to play significant roles in major Hollywood blockbusters such as W'Kabi in Black Panther in the MCU. Kaluuya continues to build his notoriety and undertake several projects that showcase his immense talents.
However, Kaluuya had humble beginnings as an actor in 2006. Many of his first roles were smaller roles, and although he had several lines in the 2009 Doctor Who episode “Planet of the Dead”, his big break was yet to come. . Despite this, his performance as Barclay, a nervous young man in the episode, was indicative of the overflowing talent he hoped would have a chance to shine in the years to come.
7
Maisie Williams
Maisie Williams found success in her acting career at a very young age. In fact, her first acting role in Game of Thrones as Arya Stark ended up taking her from the beginning of her career in 2011 until 2019. During this time, she also branched out and explored several other roles, and today continues to have a healthy acting career as one of the most recognized young actors in the industry .
Unusually, Williams was cast in a recurring role on Doctor Whowhich saw her appear in a total of four episodes throughout 2015. Initially, she played a young Viking named Ashildr who tragically dies. However, the Doctor deems her worthy of saving and uses alien technology to restore her to life, with the side effect of making her immortal. As a result, he encounters her several times in her long life, where she eventually adopts the name Me.
6
Andrew Garfield
Andrew Garfield is a British actor who made a name for himself playing American characters with an incredibly convincing accent. Gafield starred as Spider-Man in The Amazing Spider-Man films, he played Eduardo Saverin in The social networkand Jonathan Larson in tick, tick… BOOM! He continues to land leading roles and star in films and TV.
However, long before his career took off, Garfield featured prominently in a two-part Doctor Who adventure alongside David Tennant. “Daleks in Mahattan” and “Evolution of the Daleks” gave Garfield the opportunity to flex his American accent in 2007, before many of his biggest roles came along. After that, it didn't take long for his career to take off, but it's incredible to see his growth from such a lowly supporting role to a leading man.
5
Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen has had an incredible and extensive screen acting career dating back to 1964. To most modern audiences, he is best known for playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings film series and Magneto in the Fox X-Men films. His body of work is incredibly varied and he continues to deliver entertaining and engaging performances in whatever role he takes on.
The same can be said of his brief role in Doctor Whowhich appeared in 2012 and is one of the most missed celebrity cameos in the show's history. The reason for this is that McKellan's face is never seen as he lends his voice to the Great Intelligence in the 2012 film. Doctor Who Christmas Special, “The Snowmen”. The character has appeared several times in classic episodes, and it's a wonderful, if not minor, role and one that fits McKellen perfectly after years of trying to cast the actor in the classic series.
4
Michael Gambon
Another famous movie wizard, Michael Gambon, was the man who played Dumbledore in most of the films. Harry Potter films after Richard Harris passed away. Gambon also has an impressive list of projects in his long acting career and continued acting and lending his voice to video games until his death in 2023. And his role in Doctor Who, surprisingly, it also appeared in a Christmas special in 2010.
Gambon played the role of the central antagonist, Kazran Sardick in “A Christmas Carol”, in a role that saw him essentially play a character who closely resembles Ebeneezer Scrooge from Charles Dickens' novel. Kazran controls the air on his planet and, like a bitter and greedy old man, chooses to manage it and profit from it, while those less fortunate are left hungry, sick, and cold. However, the Doctor is able to provide him with some new memories as a Ghost of Christmas Past in an effort to change his heart.
3
Alan Cumming
Alan Cumming also has an extensive film acting career that dates back to 1984. The actor excels in comedy roles and found success early in his career and has been able to find steady work ever since. Some of his biggest roles include playing Boris Grishenko in GoldenEyeNight in X-Men 2and Loki in Son of the Mask. Today, most of his roles are supporting roles, but he is a familiar and easily recognizable face whenever he appears.
In 2018, he appeared in Doctor Who for the episode “The Witchfinders”, alongside Jodie Whittaker. He played King James, a zealous ruler who strove to rid the British countryside of any woman he considered to have witchy attributes, one of whom turned out to be the Doctor herself. This was a brilliant role that saw Cumming shine and bring his usual fun to a serious and intense episode.
2
Olivia Colman
Olivia Colman is an Oscar-winning actress who got her break into acting by appearing on small British TV shows in the 2000s. Since then, Colman has slowly risen to become one of Hollywood's most revered actors, with an Oscar for her role in The favoriteand two more nominations since then. Colman's career only seems to be on the rise as she continues to land major roles and deliver excellent performances.
Early in her career, when Colman was still best known for small roles in TV and comedy, she appeared in Matt Smith's debut episode as the Doctor, “The Eleventh Hour”. Colman played a mother who appeared to be possessed by an alien and had her likeness stolen while in a coma in the hospital. Colman does a great job in this small part, but his work since that fateful 2010 episode has certainly done much more to push his career further and further.
1
Timothy Dalton
Finally, we have Timothy Dalton, one of the extremely short list of actors who has played the role of the sexy and smooth agent James Bond. Dalton found great success early in his career and later in life embraced roles that often cast him as the villain. From playing Alexei Volkoff in Chuckto the Chief in Doom PatrolDalton continues to create captivating characters and explore his range as a refined and talented actor with decades of experience.
It's fitting, then, that Dalton was also cast in Doctor Who as one of the greatest rivals the Doctor has ever had the displeasure of fighting, Rassilon. The Lord President of Gallifrey, and the man responsible for sharing the gift of regeneration with his kind, the Time Lords, Rassilon, is one of the most powerful and impressive villains to ever appear in Doctor Who. And he was a perfect fit for Dalton, who played the role in a two-part episode that resulted in David Tennant's regeneration into Matt Smith in Doctor Who.