10 Great Movies Starring Doctor Who Actors You Need To See
6. Peter Capaldi - The Lair Of The White Worm
Long before he was the titular Time Lord, Peter Capaldi starred alongside a young Hugh Grant in Ken Russel’s 1988 b-movie horror comedy The Lair Of The White Worm.
Capaldi plays archaeologist Angus Flint who has recently unearthed the skull of a large, mythological creature known to the locals as the d’Ampton worm, named after the wealthy lord who supposedly slayed the creature many generations ago.
Hugh Grant plays the current Lord d’Ampton who enters into an uneasy partnership with Flint and, along with their two girlfriends, they begin investigating strange events in the town that seem to be connected to the unearthing of the skull.
The movie is a surrealistic miasma of insanity featuring sexy vampire mistresses, some early green screen effects, dry British humour and just enough elements of horror to tie it all together. Whilst certainly not a blockbuster movie by any stretch of the imagination, this is the definition of a cult movie and has attained a loyal following in the decades since its initial release.
Capaldi delivers a great performance in which we see early shades of his future time as The Doctor. He takes the role seriously and, by playing so straight in the face of the absurd, helps to make the situation all the funnier. The movie is not one for subtlety and the scene of Capaldi distracting vampire-snake-demons with bagpipes is the single most Scottish moment ever.