OK, so Sir Ian McKellen has also been in Doctor Who, but only his voice was heard so it doesn't really count, OK? Besides, to say that he was wasted as the voice of the Snowmen in the 2012 Christmas Special would be the understatement of the century since he's a bonafide veteran of the stage and screen with a plethora of critically acclaimed roles and pretty much every award under the sun to his household name. He's never won an Oscar, though, which should be treated as a crime against humanity. Needless to say, Ian has received international recognition in recent years for his portrayal of Gandalf the wizard in the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit trilogies and, in 2008, he was invited to cast his spell on another formidable franchise, too. Since this is a list about Doctor Who, you can probably guess which one it was! The actor was offered the part of Doctor Moon in the Series 4 two-parter Silence in the Library/Forest of the Dead (the same role was also propositioned to Sir Michael Gambon who would later guest star in Doctor Who as Kazran Sardick in A Christmas Carol) and, while he has subsequently left his mark on the Whoniverse anyway, this would''ve been a particularly exiting occasion for fans since... you know, they would've actually seen him on screen. There's still time, though. Let's face it, Sir Ian McKellen returning to the realms of Doctor Who as a show-stopping villain is just waiting to happen.
Dan Butler is the Doctor Who Editor at WhatCulture.com. When he isn't writing his own articles or editing other people's, he can be found trawling the internet for gifs of Steven Moffat laughing. Contact him via dan.butler@whatculture.co.uk.
