Doctor Who: 10 Actors Who Could Play The Sixteenth Doctor

Robert Sheehan has spent much of his career playing quirky oddballs, and that makes him an ideal candidate for the Doctor.

His breakout role came in Channel 4’s Misfits, where he played Nathan, a mouthy wind-up merchant with severe behaviour issues, a character that’s equally endearing and outrageous. Sheehan is the clear star of the show due to his mastery of comedy, but it was the flashes of loneliness and vulnerability that made Nathan more than just comic relief.

Sheehan later doubled down on a similar character in The Umbrella Academy. Klaus is likely the role he’s best known for nowadays and it’s not difficult to see a Doctorish streak in his performance – flamboyant, witty, and irreverent, but deeply steeped in trauma. There’s also a warmth to Klaus that was less present in Misfits, reassuring us that Sheehan can play a character with heart and compassion.

Having been born in Ireland Sheehan is technically from outside the UK, but somehow this feels like less of a departure than, say, an American Doctor. An Irish Doctor would break the UK tradition, but at least we're keeping it fairly close to home – and it certainly would be worth it to see Sheehan behind the TARDIS controls.

I imagine his Doctor to be a bit of a live wire, who keeps you on your toes with chaos and laughter one moment, and a cold menace the next. He may be slightly out of the show’s league these days, but not impossibly so. Fingers crossed!