Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Came Very Close To Playing The Doctor

2. Russell Tovey

Allons-y, Alonso! Russell Tovey made the Doctor's dream come true when he was introduced as Midshipman Frame in the 2007 Christmas Special, Voyage of the Damned (and then he subsequently made Captain Jack's dream come true - *ahem* - upon his return in The End of Time), and he came very close to realising a dream of his own when he screen tested to play the Eleventh Doctor. A bright young star of the stage and screen, who is perhaps best known for his portrayal of George Sands, a werewolf, in BBC Three's hit upernatural drama Being Human, was personally recommended to Steven Moffat by outgoing showrunner Russell T Davies but the actor himself has since admitted that he's glad it didn't come to pass because he wouldn't have been able to handle the accompanying attention. "It would have terrified me," he revealed. "I hadn't even got it and everyone was saying, 'His ears are too big for the TARDIS." People can be so cruel.