Easy
In 2011, after the cancellation of SG:U, actor
Robert Carlyle goes to Liverpool for a brief charity gig before visiting his family in Glasgow. Bored and alone in a hotel room, he goes to see the well-reviewed "Macbeth" at the
Everyman Theatre. He's impressed by the main actor,
David Morrissey, and visits him backstage afterwards. The two converse and drink, steadily but not excessively, through the night. Conversation turns to their respective careers, and working in the States...
Morrissey is still hopeful of a US career, even after the failure of his lead role in "
Basic Instinct 2". Carlyle is more jaded after his experience on the
"Stargate" franchise, and thinks the bigger salaries are outweighed by the long hours and separation from his family in Scotland. In a drunken moment, he confesses he was offered the role of
The Doctor after
David Tennant resigned,[9] and wishes he'd accepted it.
Morrissey is struck by this: he'd been offered a role in
a Christmas "Doctor Who" episode and had turned it down[1], the role instead being taken by the actor
Peter Capaldi. Morrissey's younger children had teased him over this rejection, and he begins to see the advantage of the role.
Flashforward two years...
In 2013, Doctor Who showrunner
Steven Moffat is tearing his hair out. Actor
Matt Smith has resigned his tenure as The Doctor and Moffat cannot find a replacement. The role is famous but is now seen as off its post-reboot peak and the frequent production problems (budget cuts, high staff turnover, scheduling problems) is putting actors and writers off. Moffat has offered the role to
Ben Daniels,[2]
Peter Capaldi[3] and
Adrian Lester[4] and have been rejected thru reluctance to relocate to Cardiff and fears of being too old[8]. Tentative queries to
Richard Armitage[5] and
Stephen Mangan[6] are not even returned...
Morrissey is also frustrated. He'd gotten to the last two for the role of
the Governor in AMC's "
The Walking Dead" but the producers balked at having such a Brit-heavy cast and he failed[7] to get it...
The synergy is obvious. Moffat needs an actor with heft and Morrissey fits the bill. Morrissey needs a way to reignite his US ambitions, and "Doctor Who"s popularity in the US would help. A brief meeting is arranged via David Tennant[10] and Morrissey is offered the part.
He accepts.
Notes
* [1]: The POD. IOTL, Morrissey accepted another role in the Xmas 2008 episode
* [2]:
An early, strongly-rumoured candidate
* [3]: IOTL, Capaldi (a fan since childhood) accepted. ITTL Capaldi accepted another role in the Xmas 2008 episode and was poorly reviewed
* [4]:
Neil Gaiman said a black actor had been offered the role and rejected it. It's often thought to be Paterson Joseph (who wanted the role when Tennant resigned) but I think it was Lester: he'd been in
"Merlin" and "Being Human" and so would have been known to the Cardiff crew.
* [5]: Teased in May 2013 that he was
up for a "dream role" but couldn't talk about it. I think it was Batman, but for the purpose of TTL let's pretend it's The Doctor.
* [6]:
Teased that he wanted the role. Is godfather to Tennant's child
* [7]: IOTL, he got the role in "The Walking Dead"
* [8]: ITTL, Capaldi's daughter has teased him for being too old after his ITTL role in the Xmas 2008 episode
* [9]:
Wanted the role. Not known whether it was offered to him IOTL, but he did accept the SG:U role thus disqualifying him
* [10]:
Tennant co-starred with Morrissey in "
Blackpool"
