10. The First Doctor - Cyril Cusack
Given the sheer number of elements involved in getting Doctor Who to air, its impressive that the first ever episode is as good as it is. The casting of William Hartnell as the Doctor was a particular stroke of genius. A consummate TV actor, in those early episodes he conveys a sense of malevolence as gripping and as terrifying as any alien threat or space time catastrophe. The surprise is that he wasnt the production teams first choice. Producer Mervyn Pinfield favoured Leslie French, while script editor David Whitaker recommended Cyril Cusack, an Irish actor who presents the most interesting alternative First Doctor. Cusack is best known for his roles in two sci-fi adaptations - 1966s Fahrenheit 451 and 1984s,... well... Nineteen Eighty-Four. In both films he plays avuncular figures with sinister intentions. Its likely that, if cast here, he wouldve given a similar performance, but one significantly different from Hartnells. While the First Doctor started off unlikeable then had his rough edges smoothed away, Cusack might have been a more charming figure at first glance - but one who would still have no compunction about caving a Neanderthals head in. With the altogether more benign Cusack at the helm, there wouldve been none of the dramatic tension that worked so well in those early episodes and less of the spookiness that became the series' stock in trade. Hartnell was undeniably the right man for those jobs. But its fair to say that Cusack was an astute second choice.