10 Big Stars You Forgot Appeared In The World Of Doctor Who
1. Ian McKellen
Ian McKellen has regularly worked with Seventh Doctor Sylvester McCoy, both in King Lear at the RSC and in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy. It was while they were filming this that McKellen and Jackson submitted a short scene for the celebratory comedy The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot back in 2013. However, McKellen had already appeared in Doctor Who eleven months earlier. As an evil snowglobe.
If anyone can lend the required gravitas to something as ostensibly silly as an evil snowglobe, it's Sir Ian McKellen! McKellen's voice performance as the Great Intelligence is a superb addition to 2012's Christmas special, The Snowmen. He's warm, and paternal as he entrances the lonely, young Simeon then shifts to frosty malevolence as the Doctor discovers the extent of the plot.
It's the sort of star casting that became expected of the Doctor Who Christmas specials since Catherine Tate (who lest we forget, was huge in the UK in 2006) appeared in the TARDIS at the end of Doomsday. Despite him only being a voiceover, McKellen's portrayal of a classic villain like the Great Intelligence is indicative of Doctor Who's increasing popularity in the run-up to the 50th anniversary in 2013.