23 Actors You Totally Forgot Were In Doctor Who

From cult icons to Oscar nominees.

After 51 years in operation, Doctor Who has got a lot to boast about. Not only does it continue to break ratings records as the world's longest running sci-fi programme, it also sports an impressive and ever growing list of glittering guest stars who help to continue its presence as one of the most popular and talked about shows on TV. Over the years, the ongoing liaisons of TV's favourite Time Lord have featured the best that British acting talent has to offer and, as the show's success has spread across the globe, so to has the desire for some of the industry's biggest names to share the screen with our iconic hero. Even the likes of Robert Downey Jr. have revealed that they'd love to appear in the show and its 50th anniversary festivities were made even more special when it enlisted the services of screen and stage veteran Sir John Hurt (above) to play a secret incarnation of the Doctor that didn't even exist until the end of the previous episode. While not all of Doctor Who's guest stars have such a preceding sense of prestige, most of them are already established actors whose career is furthered by their guest stint in the BBC's most successful flagship franchise. Here are 23 actors that you had completely forgot were in Doctor Who...

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.