Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Almost Played Different Characters
9. Anthony Head
Who He Almost Played: The Eighth Doctor
Who He Actually Played: Mr Finch
Another actor who came close to playing the title character, Anthony Head has quite a long and intimate history with Doctor Who.
His only onscreen appearance in the show was as the scene-dominating Mr Finch in 2006's School Reunion, but elsewhere, he narrated the second series of Doctor Who Confidential, voiced Baltazar in the animated serial The Infinite Quest, and played Grayvorn in several Big Finish audio dramas.
It's an impressive resumé, and in the mid-1990s, he came close to adding another, much more important credit to his Whoniverse filmography. Before Paul McGann was cast, Head auditioned for the role of the Eighth Doctor in the 1996 TV movie, a project that was intended to kick-start a series, but ultimately went nowhere.
Head has a more sinister air about him when compared to McGann's enormous charm, so it's honestly quite hard to picture him in the role. But considering how brilliant he was in the sci-fi/fantasy realm of Buffy The Vampire Slayer, he'd no doubt have done a fantastic job as the Eighth Doctor.