50 Actors Who Could Play the Next Doctor on Doctor Who

Rupert Grint as “Harry Potter’s” Ron Weasley. (Photo: Warner Bros Pictures)

Rupert Grint

Though the Harry Potter movies are long over, the franchise’s main trio remain very involved in the world of film and entertainment. Stars Daniel Radcliffe and Emma Watson have both been in a ton of post-Potter projects. Radcliffe has done his best to play as many roles that different from Harry as possible (Kill Your Darlings, Victor Frankenstein), while Watson starred in the super-successful live action version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. (She’s also become something of a feminist activist.) But Grint’s post-Potter career has been a bit quieter. He starred in the television adaptation of Snatch, and performed in multiple theater productions in London’s West End. But he certainly hasn’t had a role quite as big as Ron Weasley. At least, not yet.

Playing the Thirteenth Doctor would, of course, change all that. And as an actor Grint checks a lot of boxes for production folks worried about the future of the show. He’s young, up and coming actor with a name that’s definitely recognizable, but that doesn’t rise to the level of “stunt casting”. (Certainly not in the way that someone like, say, a Radcliffe would.) He’s incredibly charming, solid performer. And he comes complete with a built-in, vocal and a very demographically desirable (read: young) fanbase thanks to his Harry Potter role. Basically, he’s a marketer’s dream. His face would certainly increase the flagging sales of Who merchandise. (And it’s not like he’s not used to being part of a franchise that slaps a picture of him on everything, either.)

Would Grint take the role, though? Unclear. He’s apparently something of a Whovian and general geek, so it’s likely he’d be stoked at the opportunity. But would he want to take on another part that would upend his life in such a massive way? He’s already done it once, after all.