10 Ways Doctor Who Was Almost Completely Different
6. Hugh Grant Almost Played The Doctor
The list of actors who almost played the Doctor is quite long, and features thespians such as Bill Nighy, Peter Cushing, and Boris Karloff. But one of the biggest and most curious names to have ever been up for the role came at the most pivotal point in the show's history, right before the 2005 revival.
Before Christopher Eccleston was cast, the search for the right actor was obviously rather extensive. Doctor Who had already been cancelled once, and if the reboot didn't get things right, it could easily be cancelled again. So who could be relied upon to be the new face of the show?
Well, once upon a time, Russell T Davies - the revival's spearhead - thought that Bridget Jones star Hugh Grant was the perfect man for the job. Back in 2004, Davies actually offered Grant the part, which means that we were one email away from living in a world where the bad guy from Paddington 2 used to play a Time Lord.
Grant's bumbling, awkward charm would probably have made for a Doctor similar to Matt Smith's, so Eccleston's grungier Time Lord (and Series 1 as a whole) would've needed to be reworked to accommodate this. But more importantly, what Grant's casting would also have done differently is set a precedent for big movie stars being cast as the Doctor, and who knows where that could have led.
Daniel Radcliffe, fresh off Harry Potter? Colin Firth? Would Tom Hiddleston have been up for the role at some point? Think of the possibilities!