This Game Of Thrones Actor Almost Played The Doctor On Doctor Who
There's a reason why the Time Lord from "Doctor Who" has been championing time travel for over 50 years on the silver screen. The BBC series is teeming with well-developed characters, the plot is clever, and the monsters are not too monstrous but monstrous enough to keep the story going. And most of all, the show is limitless in creativity. There's no line you can't cross (as long as you're following the rules of time travel), no storyline you can't develop, and no period you can't travel to!
"Doctor Who" began airing in the early 60s, but the series has always believed in the idea of change — that the Doctor can reinvent itself. The sci-fi show is driven by its characters, and the recasting of its protagonist ensures that change remains constant in the show's 50-year legacy, allowing it to evolve as times change and pop culture shifts.
The Doctor has had over a dozen different faces over the years. From the First Doctor, William Hartnell, to David Tennant and recently, Jodie Whittaker, who made history as the first female actress to have taken control of the Tardis, some incredible actors brought the Time Lord to life. But there have been plenty other actors in consideration for the role before, one of them was a "Game of Thrones" co-star who came very close to bagging the part.
Liam Cunningham almost starred in the "Doctor Who" movie
Irish actor Liam Cunningham, who played Davos Seaworth in HBO's "Game of Thrones," nearly portrayed the beloved time lord in a "Doctor Who" movie (via Looper). Remember the 1996 film starring Paul McGann as the eighth incarnation of the Doctor? Here's the synopsis to jog your memory:
"A time-machine malfunction strands the Doctor (Paul McGann) in 1999 San Francisco and enables archcriminal the Master (Eric Roberts) to escape."
Though the film was a continuation of the original show, it was initially imagined as a reboot. The film would have followed the Doctor on the lookout for his missing father, Ulysses, while battling his sinister half-brother, The Master.
During the film's early stages, multiple actors from across the globe were considered for the leading role. One of the actors in contention to portray the Doctor was "Game of Thrones" star Liam Cunningham. For his role as the Eighth Doctor, Cunningham auditioned in an American accent and his own Dublin accent. Unfortunately, the part was instead given to Paul McGann instead. Still, the Irish actor ended up in Time Lord history by making an appearance in "Doctor Who" season 7 in the eighth episode titled "Cold War," where he plays Soviet submarine Captain Zhukov (seen above)
No one knows what it would've been like for Liam Cunningham to have starred in the "Doctor Who" film — maybe it would've been a success, maybe it would've still tanked. We're just glad he was able to be a part of "Doctor Who" in some capacity! Any self-respecting Whovian would agree that Captain Zhukov was pretty badass — and Cunningham had the potential to be a great Doctor.