The race to sign on a brand new doctor for BBC’s series Doctor Who is well underway. Matt Smith, who is the eleventh doctor and who has portrayed the character since 2010, is bowing out after this November’s 50th Anniversary episode. Now, it seems frequent theater actor (and bit player in the James Bond franchise) Rory Kinnear might replace Smith.
News came down the grapevine on Monday that the BBC had reached out to Kinnear about portraying the 12th Time Lord in the long-running series. Apparently, the rumors that Kinnear might be asked to take on the role have been going on for months. However, while Kinnear stayed mum about the rumors before Smith announced his exit, according to The Telegraph, he’s the go-to guy for the role. All that stands in the way of officially announcing the man as the new doctor are pesky things like contract negotiations. Well, those, and Kinnear actually saying, “Yes.”
Matt Smith has often talked about leaving Doctor Who but stuck around regardless, which meant I was modestly confident in noting Smith “should be” returning when BBC announced Season 8 in May. Just a few weeks later, Smith officially bowed out and the race to find a new doctor was officially on. Even if Kinnear does say no, we should be hearing about the 12th Time Lord sooner rather than later. The new actor will appear in the show’s Christmas special, which will air in December of next year and will also feature Clara, the show’s newest companion.
Doctor Who airs as part of BBC America's Supernatural Saturdays in the U.S.
