50 Actors Who Could Play the Next Doctor on Doctor Who

Kris Marshall in “Death and Paradise” (Photo: BBC)

Kris Marshall

You know Kris Marshall. He’s Colin from Love Actually. You know, the sort of goofy Brit who heads to the wilds of Wisconsin to meet American women? Yeah, that guy. Well, what you might not know is that he’s also a successful actor with roles that go well beyond everyone’s favorite holiday rom-com. And he’s a big favorite among the bookies of London to play the Thirteenth Doctor.

At one point, Marshall was so popular with the gambling houses that all bets were suspended on him as a potential Doctor candidate. That’s kind of as close as you can get to people thinking you’re a sure thing. The rumor mill about his potential involvement on Who got a big boost earlier this year. Mostly because the biggest block to Marshall’s participation suddenly got removed. For the past few years, Marshall starred in popular British mystery series Death in Paradise, which chronicled the crime solving adventures of a detective on the fictional island of St. Marie. Well, he just left the show, after four years in the role. And, oddly enough, this happened right around the same time that Peter Capaldi announced his exit from Doctor Who.

Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean anything. The Death in Paradise gig is apparently pretty grueling, and requires a six-month stint in the Carribbean for filming ever year. (The first guy in the role didn’t even make it three full seasons. Paradise is rough, it seems.) It might be a total coincidence. And Marshall might not be interested in taking on such another big role straight away. (After all, he’s got two small kids at home.) But…it’s Doctor Who. And the Doctor is the kind of role that people do crazy things for.