The Daily Express is claiming today that a “mole” in the Doctor Who camp has revealed that we’re getting a female Twelfth Doctor in the form of Sherlock alum Lara Pulver after a Matt Smith regeneration during the show’s 50th anniversary in 2013. (This is just on the heels of an April Fool’s joke by DoctorWhoTV that new companion Jenna-Louis Coleman has been hired to be a surprise Twelfth Doctor.)
The validity of this “mole’s” claim is barely worth considering, but it did make us wonder who we would want as a female Doctor. We pick six actresses below….
6. Lara Pulver
So, Lara Pulver is actually a nice choice, considering how stellar she was with the material she was given in Sherlock‘s “A Scandal in Belgravia.” We haven’t really seen enough of her to know for sure, but we imagine a Lara Pulver Doctor to be cold and calculating. Something of a cross between the Seventh and Ninth Doctor.
5. Michelle Dockery
As Lady Mary in Downton Abbey, Michelle Dockery exudes both impeccable English tact, and also constant puzzlement and frustration. The great thing about Michelle Dockery (besides her killer eyebrows) is her ability to play both confident and confused simultaneously. When she gets her heart broken in Downton, it’s understated. This would be a great trait for the Doctor, as the character’s quiet sadness is essential for the conceit of Doctor Who to work.
4. Kate Winslet
Supposedly, she was Russell T. Davies original choice to play Rose Tyler way back when Doctor Who relaunched in 2005. The performance which tells us Kate Winslet would be a great Doctor can’t be found in films like Titanic or Finding Neverland, but rather Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Quirky, intelligent, selfish, and a little impulsive, a Kate Winslet version of the Doctor would have the energy of the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors with the sass and wit of the Fourth. For some reason though, we imagine a Kate Winslet Doctor going sans sonic screwdriver, much like the Fifth.
3. Emma Watson
Hermione brandishing a sonic screwdriver instead of a wand? Why not? Emma Watson’s familiarity with genre-oriented concepts means she could rattle off the wibbly-wobbly Doctor Who dialogue without any problem. Everyone across the world already adores her and she’s grown into a convincing adult actress. Her Doctor might be a little more serious and bookish than some of the others here, but certainly no less courageous. Not to mention it would be a sure-fire hit with fans.
2. Helen Mirren
She’s already said she wants to play the Doctor, so why don’t we just let her? The gravitas Helen Mirren would bring to the role might be a nice change of pace from the super-young faces we’ve seen in the last two incarnations of the Doctor. Leaping about and being adventurous is certainly something Helen Mirren could do, but wouldn’t it be great if that person were representative of a DIFFERENT age demographic? The Doctor is a hero no matter what, and age certainly wouldn’t make the character less popular.
1. Tilda Swinton
This is the one. Tilda Swinton is not only one of the best working actors in the field now; she also looks like an alien. We’d like to make a comparison to her Doctor being sort of aggressive like the Ninth Doctor, or occasionally condecending like the Tenth Doctor, but there’s no telling what she could do with the role. She might be a total goofball; she might be a total alien. She might be warm, and kid-friendly like the Eleventh Doctor. She’s so talented, and looks so striking, having her at the controls of the TARDIS would be a real treat. Plus, Tilda’s fashion sense is out of control, meaning whatever she brought to the Doctor’s costume would be like nothing we’ve seen before.
Who else, dear readers could travel in time and space as the Doctor?
Stubby the Rocket if the voice and mascot of Tor.com. Stubby couldn’t resist putting two pictures of Tilda Swinton into this post.
