Ever since Matt Smith said he was stepping down as the current Doctor in the upcoming Christmas special this year, everyone has their own theory as to who will be his successor, whether from Eddie Izzard, Tom Hiddleston or Rupert Grint (finally a ginger!) to Aneurin Barnard or the possibility that the Doctor might regenerate as a woman this time. While it would have been awesome to have seen an Izzard or Hiddleston take on the titular character, it was pretty much obvious that actors who have so much on their plates already wouldn’t have the time to take on this role as well, and almost everyone I’ve talked to has agreed that it would go to either an unknown or someone who hadn’t been up to much lately.
Well, we finally have our answer. In a live worldwide telecast, the BBC just announced that the Twelfth Doctor will be played by Peter Capaldi who had been a heavy favorite leading up to today.
Peter Capaldi is a Scottish actor who has been a fan of the Doctor ever since he was a kid, has starred in over 40 films and TV shows, and won an Academy Award for his short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life.
Of course, fans of Doctor Who will also be quick to point out that Peter Capaldi has already spent some time in this universe, both as Caecilius in the 2008 episode The Fires of Pompeii and John Frobisher in Torchwood: Children of Earth.
Considering his love for the series, I’m sure that Capaldi will more than do the character justice. Now it’s just the long wait until Matt Smith passes his bow tie and sonic screwdriver to his new incarnation.