12 Least Successful Recastings Of Iconic Film Characters

6. Eric Roberts - The Master

Film: Doctor Who (1996) Replacing: Anthony Ainley The new series of Doctor Who lands on our screens later this month, with Peter Capaldi taking over the reins from Matt Smith (as if you didn't already know). But while it's a commonly held belief that no-one has ever played the Doctor badly, other recurring characters have not been quite so fortunate. If you're a Nu-Who fan and found John Sims' version of the Master off-puttingly over-the-top, then you'll want to steer clear of the 1996 TV movie and the awfulness that is Eric Roberts. The Doctor Who TV movie was intended as a back-door pilot for a relaunched version of the show, following its move onto indefinite hiatus in 1989. The project was an elaborate co-production between the BBC, Fox and Canadian television, which producer Philip Segal had been developing long before the British series had ever finished. In order to cast his chosen actor of Paul McGann to play the Eighth Doctor, Segal had to cast a well-known American actor to play his arch-enemy The Master. In a bizarre loss of judgement, he went with Eric Roberts, whose only well-known role was his Oscar-nominated performance in Runaway Train back in 1985. Roberts' is by no means the only version of the Master that has come in for criticism - Anthony Ainley's version is incredibly pantomime, and as I say Sims' rendition has its detractors. But while other actors were at least bad enough to be memorable, Roberts' performance is completely inept. He captures none of the key aspects of the character (originally written as Doctor Who's Professor Moriarty), preferring instead to play him as a standard, dull Hollywood bad guy. The TV movie does have its defenders, particularly surrounding McGann's performance, but Roberts' portrayal is not going to challenge Roger Delgado's mantle any time soon.