8. Phillip Glenister
Master-Making Role: Gene Hunt in Life on Mars Yes, I am aware of the irony of Sam Tyler regenerating into Gene Hunt but Glenister would bring a gritty brutality to The Master. No-nonsense, easily annoyed, not likely to cackle and reveal his masterplan to Smiths Doctor giving him enough time to figure out how to stop him. No, hed beat down The Doctor and get on with the job without fuss- kind of like Bane. But I wouldnt want or expect him to just play it as Gene Hunt, and neither should you. With a clear-cut accent and a rugged charm, hed be as endearing as Smiths Doctor, but in a very different way.
7. Rafe Spall
Master-Making Role: Jay Wratten in The Shadow Line Soon to be seen as author Yann Martel in Ang Lees Life of Pi, many of you will know him from Peter Versus Life or Prometheus, but it is his performance in The Shadow Line that makes Timothys son such a compelling choice for the Seventh Master. Hes bloody terrifying in it! He brings a youth and vitality combined with a severity and intensity we havent seen in The Master without camp or exaggeration. He doesnt even have to raise his voice. He would be rather similar to Scott, but he nails The Masters murderous glee and cockiness more effectively. He makes it clear he enjoys the evil he does, and mirroring Smiths Doctor so closely may make it difficult for The Doctor to establish a difference between himself and his archnemesis. If The Master is what The Doctor would become if pushed too far, and weve seen him being pushed to the very edge of his limits, how would he tell the difference between himself and Spalls Master?