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
--------------------------------------------------
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 gotaDoctor
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 inaSeinfeld, The Big Easy, anda
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.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
Reportedly Christopher Eccleston, Peter Capaldi, and John Hurt were[snip]
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.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
Verily, in article <10vddfu$hlhk$1@dont-email.me>, did
YourName@YourISP.com deliver unto us this message:
[snip]
Reportedly Christopher Eccleston, Peter Capaldi, and John Hurt were
among many actors considered to play Doctor Who in the awful 1996
Americanised TV movie. The role amost went to Harry Van Gorkum, but the
BBC wanted a bigger name so went with Paul McGann.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
I wondered if this interview was being published now as a PR move, >responding to the rumors that the role is now a poisoned chalice by >reminding us that people fight for it. The Doctor Who Companion is
probably not big enough to have those stories planted, though. The BBC
has better places to seed the stories it wants bruited.
----
The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
United States of America - North America - Earth
Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
In article <MPG.448486c3de454ee4989f67@news.eternal-september.org>,
The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:
Verily, in article <10vddfu$hlhk$1@dont-email.me>, did >YourName@YourISP.com deliver unto us this message:
[snip]
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.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
I wondered if this interview was being published now as a PR move, >responding to the rumors that the role is now a poisoned chalice by >reminding us that people fight for it. The Doctor Who Companion is >probably not big enough to have those stories planted, though. The BBC
has better places to seed the stories it wants bruited.
Would be interesting to get it quoted here.
Verily, in article <10vepei$2sue$12@gallifrey.nk.ca>, did >doctor@doctor.nl2k.ab.ca deliver unto us this message:
In article <MPG.448486c3de454ee4989f67@news.eternal-september.org>,
The True Melissa <thetruemelissa@gmail.com> wrote:
Verily, in article <10vddfu$hlhk$1@dont-email.me>, did
YourName@YourISP.com deliver unto us this message:
[snip]
Reportedly Christopher Eccleston, Peter Capaldi, and John Hurt were
among many actors considered to play Doctor Who in the awful 1996
Americanised TV movie. The role amost went to Harry Van Gorkum, but the >> >> BBC wanted a bigger name so went with Paul McGann.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
I wondered if this interview was being published now as a PR move,
responding to the rumors that the role is now a poisoned chalice by
reminding us that people fight for it. The Doctor Who Companion is
probably not big enough to have those stories planted, though. The BBC
has better places to seed the stories it wants bruited.
Would be interesting to get it quoted here.
Just go upthread a bit. It was quoted, with a link to the source.
----
The True Melissa - Canal Winchester - Ohio
United States of America - North America - Earth
Solar System - Milky Way - Local Group
Virgo Cluster - Laniakea Supercluster - Cosmos
Verily, in article <10vddfu$hlhk$1@dont-email.me>, did
YourName@YourISP.com deliver unto us this message:
[snip]
Reportedly Christopher Eccleston, Peter Capaldi, and John Hurt were
among many actors considered to play Doctor Who in the awful 1996
Americanised TV movie. The role amost went to Harry Van Gorkum, but the
BBC wanted a bigger name so went with Paul McGann.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
I wondered if this interview was being published now as a PR move,
responding to the rumors that the role is now a poisoned chalice by
reminding us that people fight for it. The Doctor Who Companion is
probably not big enough to have those stories planted, though. The BBC
has better places to seed the stories it wants bruited.
On 2026-05-30 10:32:27 +0000, The True Melissa said:
Verily, in article <10vddfu$hlhk$1@dont-email.me>, did
YourName@YourISP.com deliver unto us this message:
[snip]
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.
<https://thedoctorwhocompanion.com/2026/05/30/doctor-whos-tv-movie-director-geoffrey-sax-talks-about-another-actor-being-cast-as-the-doctor/>
I wondered if this interview was being published now as a PR move,
responding to the rumors that the role is now a poisoned chalice by
reminding us that people fight for it. The Doctor Who Companion is
probably not big enough to have those stories planted, though. The BBC
has better places to seed the stories it wants bruited.
There have been lots of articles recently about the Doctor Who TV
movie, especially on that and another fan-made website, although I
think they all come from the same interview (each article giving
another bit of information). :-)
There have been lots of articles recently about the Doctor
Who TV movie, especially on that and another fan-made website,
although I think they all come from the same interview (each
article giving another bit of information). :-)
Your Name wrote:
There have been lots of articles recently about the Doctor
Who TV movie, especially on that and another fan-made website,
although I think they all come from the same interview (each
article giving another bit of information). :-)
That might be because the TVM was recently re-released on 4K /
Blu ray with restored picture, Dolby Atmos sound and new
behind-the-scenes features... so the original interview might
have been done as some kind of promotion for that?
https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/doctor-who-the-movie-has-been-newly-restored-for-4k-and-blu-ray
Your Name wrote:
There have been lots of articles recently about the Doctor Who TV
movie, especially on that and another fan-made website, although I
think they all come from the same interview (each article giving
another bit of information). :-)
That might be because the TVM was recently re-released on 4K / Blu ray
with restored picture, Dolby Atmos sound and new behind-the-scenes features... so the original interview might have been done as some kind
of promotion for that?
https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/doctor-who-the-movie-has-been-newly-restored-for-4k-and-blu-ray
On 2026-05-31 10:53:26 +0000, Blueshirt said:
Your Name wrote:
There have been lots of articles recently about the Doctor Who TV
movie, especially on that and another fan-made website, although I
think they all come from the same interview (each article giving
another bit of information). :-)
That might be because the TVM was recently re-released on 4K / Blu ray
with restored picture, Dolby Atmos sound and new behind-the-scenes
features... so the original interview might have been done as some kind
of promotion for that?
https://www.doctorwho.tv/news-and-features/doctor-who-the-movie-has-been-newly-restored-for-4k-and-blu-ray
Yep. The interview(s) might even just be those disc 'bonus features'.
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