10 Roles Doctor Who Actors Wish They'd Turned Down

Everybody makes mistakes.

One day you're a household name as the star of one of the world's most formidable franchises and the next you're... well, not. To put it bluntly. Suffice to say, this is usually a fate that beholds the lethora of actors who take their respective turn in the TARDIS and it's hard to predict what the post-Who world will have in store for them when they decide to call it a day on their extra terrestrial escapades. To say it's a risk to leave the security of one of the UK's most high profile dramas would be the understatement of the century but it's better to quit while you're ahead and take the momentous leap rather than becoming a washed out star who just didn't know when to quit. You never know, it might pay off. But usually it doesn't. But what happens before you become a household name? It's an uphill battle for any actor to reach the realms of international stardom but every actor has to pay the bills somehow so they usually end up accepting any job - be it bit part or leading role in some ill-fated indie escapade - that comes their way. With this in mind, here's our countdown of 10 roles that Doctor Who actors wish they'd turned down. Some of them came before Who, some of them came after, and one or two of them were even Doctor Who itself. Fame truly is a fickle friend and these guys know it better than most. You win some, you lose some.

Doctor Who Editor
Doctor Who Editor

Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.