10 Actors Who Should Play Doctor Who (But Won't)
4. Ben Whishaw
Though he's usually viewed as quirky and little else, Ben Whishaw is certainly an accomplished enough theatrical actor to take on the role of the Doctor, but that quirkiness would also come in handy too. You only need to see his past performances in films such as Skyfall and television shows like The Hour, to know that he'd bring a certain intelligence to the wild-eyed alien.
But while he's qualified for the role, is it a character he'd want to play? He has gone on record saying, "It's not going to be me. But I don't mind - I don't think you can be Q and Doctor Who. It would be a bit wrong."
There's a lot of different ways you can read that, though. He may indeed be uninterested in the role, in which case it's unlikely he'll ever be the Doctor. He might also be playing coy. In any event, that comment was ten years ago, and things can change.
That said, it feels like the time for Whishaw to have played the Doctor has been and gone. Plus, selfishly, we want him to keep churning out those Paddington movies, because oh boy, those things are gold.