Doctor Who: 20 Things You Didn't Know About The Day Of The Doctor

19. John Hurt Didn't Audition For His Role

Doctor Who The Name Of The Doctor John Hurt the War Doctor
BBC Studios

Any actor's dream is to become so well-established that they are offered roles on the spot, without the need to audition.

Of course, this is not usually the case, and those audition processes are key to discovering breakout talent - Matt Smith and Karen Gillan, for example.

But when showrunner Steven Moffat planned to introduce a brand-new incarnation of the Doctor for the 50th anniversary, he knew that he needed someone remarkable to embody the role.

In fact, the script for The Name of the Doctor simply ended with the words:

"...and the most famous actor in the world turns round."

John Hurt was always on Moffat's mind for the role, and so it was offered to him outright.

Thankfully, with very little time to decide, the legendary actor accepted the part, and within days of finishing a play, he was in Wales ready to get started.

 
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Ellie has been part of the WhatCulture team since 2021 where she began as a freelance presenter for the WhoCulture channel. As a diehard Whovian with a BA (hons) degree in Drama and Acting, this role was the perfect opportunity for her to combine her screen presence training with her extensive Doctor Who knowledge. From there, she branched out to various other WhatCulture channels, including TrekCulture, and became a full time Content Producer/Video Presenter in 2023. Ellie is now a regular fixture on both WhoCulture and TrekCulture and has become a well respected public figure within both fandoms, building up a substantial following across her social media platforms and being given the opportunity to represent the channels and the wider communities at several industry events. Her favourite Doctor Who character is River Song and her favourite Star Trek character is Captain Janeway - which tells you everything you need to know about how she approaches her role within a generally male dominated field.

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Danny has been with WhatCulture for over ten years, and is currently Doctor Who Editor and WhoCulture Channel Manager, overseeing all of WhatCulture's Whoniverse coverage. In 2022, he took charge of WhoCulture and has grown it into the biggest Doctor Who channel on YouTube, and one of the biggest Doctor Who communities on the web full-stop. He has been writing and video editing since his early teens, and first got a taste for content creation after making his own Doctor Who trailers, off the back of a burning obsession with the Matt Smith era of the show. Like many his age, he first got into Doctor Who with the 2005 revival, but has since gone back and fallen in love with the classic years too. If you need someone to recite every Doctor Who episode in order, or to give you a random factoid about the making of Gridlock, Danny is the person to ask!