10 Doctor Who Guest Stars Who Got Themselves Noticed
6. Daniel Kaluuya (Planet Of The Dead)
Possibly the worst case of wasting an actor on this list, a pre-fame Daniel Kaluuya had quite a nothing role in the 2009 Easter special, Planet of the Dead.
His character, Barclay, is one of the people trapped on an alien planet after the bus they are travelling on slips through a wormhole. The Doctor must repair the bus and fly it back through the wormhole, before the planet is consumed by giant metal stingrays.
Barclay doesn’t do a whole lot here except sit and chill on the bus for an hour. In fact, he does so little to help, you have to wonder why he was included at all. Then again, most characters in this episode were thoroughly upstaged by Lee Evans’ Malcolm Taylor, who steals every scene he's in.
After an impressive string of TV performances, Kaluuya started to get himself noticed after landing the central role in Black Mirror’s Fifteen Million Merits, where he laid down a performance that elevated his career substantially. A few years later, he starred in Get Out, one of the most notable films in recent years and one that earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Actor.
He then starred alongside Black Mirror alum (and WhoCulture list buddy) Letitia Wright in Black Panther, as the backstabbing W’Kabi. Oh, and he also won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor for Judas and the Black Messiah.
Suffice to say, he’s been a very busy boy, and has gone from strength to strength. The future is bright for this Doctor Who background character!