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

10. Ben Daniels

Kicking off our countdown of actors who came so close but yet so far to taking on the role of TV's most iconic hero is Ben Daniels who was revealed as the bookies' early favourite to step aboard the TARDIS as Matt Smith's successor back in 2013. And with good reason, too. The celebrated stage actor, whose televisual credits include Cutting It (2002-2005) and House of Cards (2013-14), has since revealed that he was actively approached for the role of the Twelfth Doctor but had always been made aware of the fact that "there was another name ahead of my own that they were very interested in". That name was, of course, Peter Capaldi, and it looks like the better man won in the end. It's still interesting to think how differently things would've turned out had Peter not accepted the reputable role for whatever reason, which brings us onto...