Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Almost Played Different Characters
2. Bernard Cribbins
Who He Almost Played: The Fourth Doctor
Who He Actually Played: Wilfred Mott
Aside from casting Christopher Eccleston and David Tennant as the Ninth and Tenth Doctors, you could argue that former showrunner Russell T Davies' most genius casting choice was getting Bernard Cribbins to play Wilfred Mott.
Cribbins brought such humanity and warmth to the episodes he appeared in that he feels genuinely irreplaceable, particularly in The End Of Time, which contains several moments where his performance just absolutely breaks our hearts.
For such a talented actor then, it's almost not surprising that his name was floated about to play the Doctor at an earlier stage in his career.
In an interview with Den Of Geek, Cribbins states that he "went along for an interview" with the producers when Jon Pertwee was leaving the show, meaning that Cribbins was one of the actors considered to play the Fourth Doctor.
Of course, Tom Baker snagged that role in the end, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Nor would we want Cribbins to have missed out on playing Wilf. This whole thing definitely worked out for the best.