Tracey Ullman, Rebel Wilson, Taika Waititi, Jemaine Clement, Billy Connolly, Richard Ayoade, Chris O’Dowd, Katherine Parkinson, Matt Berry, Bill Bailey, Dylan Moran, or Patrick Stewart.
But seriously, you do need somebody who can go from comedy to serious on a dime, and you can believe is really a 900+ year old alien, so until he simply gets too old for the role, I’m going to keep championing for Stephen Mangan. Who ticks absolutely all the boxes, and like Capaldi and Tennant, is a big Doctor Who fan, so he’d absolutely relish the role. He’s also already got Tom Baker’s hair.
In terms of female Doctors, my preferred choice has always been Michelle Dockery.
Again, she’s got that great mix of humor/seriousness/alienness. And basically, if you’re looking for a demo real, you need to look no further than this one extremely Doctor-y scene from Hogfather:
A shame as it can never happen, but I think Meat Loaf in the 1990s- early 2000s would have had the eccentric charm to be one of the few Americans that could have pulled off the character.
Ignoring he’s not British or close to it, you know who I think could be good as either The Doctor OR The Master?
John DeLancie.
Was a thought I had from watching his work in Season 2 of “Star Trek: Picard”. Might have been better when he was younger, but I could still see him pulling it off.
TBH, I really wanted to see how Jo Martin’s doctor played out. She only got a few minutes of screen time in the Timeless Child, but I loved her Doctor look and I think it would’ve been fantastic to have a Black lady doctor. <3
I have always thought that Tom Ellis has the acting range and charisma to be a quality Doctor. I think he could bring something fresh to the role as well.
Since Jo Martin was mentioned prior to the thread bump, I’ll note that she is being given a chance to do some Big Finish audio dramas as The Fugitive Doctor. That will give her a chance to to expand that version of the character a bit more. I sadly have to say that the Titan Comics of the Fugitive Doctor have not engaged me much so far.
Which is exactly why I don’t want him in the role. All people see is Richard playing a quirky character, like Moss, and suddenly every character he plays must be quirky. The Doctor has his/her quirks, don’t get me wrong, but that doesn’t define the character in my mind.
S/he is first and foremost a scientist. The quirks come to highlight their alien-ness. But if s/he can’t sell me on their intellect first, then there aren’t enough quirks in the world to make up for it. (and Jody Whitattaker is sadly a fine example of this)