Subject: [NEWS] Others actors considered before Paul McGann as Doctor Who in 1996 TV movie
Reportedly Christopher Eccleston, Peter Capaldi, and John Hurt were
among many actors considered to play Doctor Who in the awful 1996
Americanised TV movie. The role amost went to Harry Van Gorkum, but the
BBC wanted a bigger name so went with Paul McGann.
Doctor Who's TV Movie Director, Geoffrey Sax,
Talks About Another Actor Being Cast As The Doctor
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Doctor Who director, Geoffrey Sax, has recalled how Harry Van Gorkum
was close to becoming the Eighth Doctor in The TV Movie.
Before Paul McGann was cast in the iconic role (and did a superb job
of it, it has to be said), practically every actor you could name was
up for the part - including future Doctors, Christopher Eccleston,
Peter Capaldi, and John Hurt - but Sax has revealed that on in
particular was a hair's breadth away from being the Doctor. He said:
"There was a guy called Harry Van Gorkum, and he came extremely close,
and he had a huge amount of charisma. I think what happened was we
were pushing for him, and I think the BBC said at the time, 'Well, we
would like somebody with a bit more of a name, because obviously,
although Doctor Who's got the brand, we just want to make it really
special. So, if you can find a name, somebody who's already more
established in the UK, let's go with that.' And that's how Paul
became involved."
It was apparently Alan Yentob, then-Controller of BBC1, who pushed for
someone else to take the part.
It's certainly a shame for Harry Van Gorkum, who, five years ago,
remembered how close he came:
"My agent says, 'Harry, I've got some news for you. You've got?Doctor
Who. Everyone loved you. Everyone said, 'This is fantastic - we've
found him'.' And I couldn't believe it. I remember I fell to my knees
in my trailer and kind of collapsed. I had a bit of an emotional
moment. It was the turning point in my career. I thought, 'My God,
I'm going to play Doctor Who in America'..."
Around the time, Gorkum was starring in?Seinfeld, The Big Easy, and?
The World of Lee Evans, and has subsequently appeared in Gone in
60 Seconds, Charmed, 24, Friends, and Batman & Robin.
Previously, we thought Gorkum was the second choice for the role,
should McGann fall through; instead, he was actually cast, seemingly
by Fox/Universal, acting through producer Philip Segal, so it was the
British side of things that resulted in McGann being the Doctor intead.
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