A while back, Buzzfeed put their list on who they figured would play the Doctors throughout the various years if
Doctor Who was an American production. Myself? I decided I would try my hand at it. Feel free to sling yoru criticisms and my lack of research complaints at my way!
Doctor Who (American Production)- Doctor Who was created in 1965 to capitalize on the Space-Age fever and on the adventuring tropes of yesteryear. Inspired by characters such as Flash Gordon, the approach shfited from that of your usual action hero to a more cerebral based term. In fact, the creation made the term "science hero", to describe the Doctor. A man using intelligence and scientific knowhow to watch and protect the Earth from various alien forces and malevolent evil-doers with his TARDIS, having taken the shape of a newsagent kiosk, which is alot bigger on the inside.The Doctor here is part of an ancient race known as the Timekeepers, who have watched over time and who can reincarnate 12 times in their life. The Doctor travels with various companions and his Atomic Med-Bag.
Here are the list of the various actors who have played the Doctor throughout the years:
The First Doctor- Lionel Strander (1963-1966): Lionel got his blacklisted ended early as part of a favor if he would star in a brand-new show regarding this cosmic hero. Lionel Strander played a gruff and tough yet lovable and compassionate Doctor and the role rocketed him back into Hollywood. He would sneak in much of his pro-labor views in.
The Second Doctor- James Cagney (1966-1970): One of Cagney's last roles, he got invovled into it when he heard from some friends of his about the whole thing. He found the opportunity intriguing enough to go and become the Second Doctor. He was a fair more playful and relaxed yet masked a hidden tough side. He helped propel Doctor Who into popularity and finished the role off with a bang. He considered it one of his better roles and found that television was a surprising amount of fun.
The Third Doctor- Edmond O'Brien (1970-1974): O'Brien's last role before his retirement, he played a more serious Doctor and focused more on the science than his two predecessors. Despite this, he possessed a mild flair for the theatric and O'Brien would even incorporate plenty of his sleight-of-hand experience into the Doctor to make him seem larger than life.
The Fourth Doctor- Gene Hackman (1974-1981): Going for a yougner actor, Hackman brought a strange eccentricity and intensity to the Doctor. His dedication to the role made him be considered
The Doctor for many, prior to the new series. Furthermore, he brought in a greater emphasis of alien lore and a greater coherence during his long tenure in the role.
The Fifth Doctor- Richard Dreyfuss (1981-1984): Continuing the trend for younger actors, Dreyfuss brought in an idealistic if not a bit obsessive and strangeness to the Doctor. He continued the work his predecessor did in regards to the alien folklore of the Doctor.
The Sixth Doctor- Edward James Olmos (1984-1986): Olmos played a darker iteration of the Doctor. A brooding and provactive intellectual, Olmos channeled his experiences from Blade Runner into his role. Despite his performance, production problems and Olmos' own scheduling issues meant he had one of the shortest runs as the Doctor. Despite this, Olmos would later reveal his joy of the role and that his Doctor meant that the Doctor could be of any role in the future.
The Seventh Doctor- Morgan Freeman (1987-1989): Freeman played a cool, cunning and manipulating doctor. A chessmaster who left the violence to his companions, he had a strong form of gravitas. His role to play the Doctor was surrounded by controversy and a black man playing the Doctor got its fairbit of scorn, but Freeman and the writers took that scorn as pride and Freeman's inclusion was absolute importance to many people.
The Eighth Doctor- David Duchovny (1996): Dychovny played the Doctor in the Doctor Who film that was supposed to signal the return of the Doctor, but various problems kept it from being picked up. Nonetheless, Duchovny savored the role of playing such a character and he would happily return to playing the Eighth Doctor in various audio stories.
The Ninth Doctor- Will Smith (2005): Smith was one of the first actors to sign-up for the Doctor Who revival and he used his acting chops to play a fanatic Doctor who used his pain to disguise a broken man who had seen the horrors of war. Smith opted out of continuing in return to his film career, but found the experience to be absolutely remarkable as he put it.
The Tenth Doctor- James Roday (2005-2010): To many Whovians, old and new, Roday's Doctor is the definitive Doctor, often tying if not exceding Hackman's performance. Playing an intelligent, cool and ready Doctor, Roday's performance brought Doctor Who back into the limelight and also brought an endearing humanity to the Doctor with Roday's various popculture references and his Doctor's companion becoming one of the most well-known, played by
Dulé Hill.
The Eleventh Doctor- Jay Baruchel (2010-2013): Baruchel's Doctor was an unbelievably charming and comical eccentric. Possessing a strong and powerful youth, Baruchel surprised many with his ability to play a surpirisngly old character. Baruchel would say his experience in playing younger characters actually helped, since he would describe his Doctor as an old man tyring to be young.
The Twelveth Doctor- Samuel L Jackson (2013-2017): Jackson's Doctor was the first Doctor of his second regeneration cycle and Jackson played him as a modernized uptake to Strander's Doctor. Being a vicious and older Doctor, he was still a caring man, who could switch from righteous fury to cold temper.
The Thirteen Doctor-Sarah Michelle Gellar (2017-????): Many were surprised by Gellar's appearance as a Doctor. However, ever since the incident with the War Doctor, it became easier to accept on Gellar becoming the new Doctor. However, many are unsure if she would be able to escape her predecesor's shadow and differentiate her Doctor while others wonder if this meant they would not see a female Doctor again. Though the showrunners have remained quiet.
*The War Doctor- Carrie Fisher* (2013): Carrie Fisher being revealed to be the War Doctor was a bombshell. While the justifications were done in order to differentiate this reincarnation from the others for plot reasons, it was still an issue. Nonetheless, Fisher's gravitas was so strong that it blew away the naysayers and brought hopes of a potential female Doctor in the future.
(Think of this as a failure on the level of After-M*A*S*H*.)