Emmy and Tony Award-winning actor Neil Patrick Harris is joining Doctor Who, and he doesn’t appear to be one of the good guys.
Russel T Davis shared on Instagram, “Neil Patrick Harris, welcome to Cardiff! Playing the greatest enemy, the Doctor has ever faced. Such a great actor, such a great man, it’s an honour and a hoot. Have fun.”
In turn, Neil Patrick Harris showed off a first look at an ominous figure he will be playing on Doctor Who, which prompted showrunner Russell T Davies to warn, “Doctor beware.”
“My current gig. Never looked more dashing,” Neil Patrick Harris wrote on Instagram, alongside his full character portrait. “Thank you for inviting me into your Whoniverse, Russel T Davies. I’ll try my hardest to do my worst. This Doctor has no idea what’s in store. And even if he does… Who cares? Ha ha ha HA ha-ha-ha!”
The star of How I Met Your Mother is currently filming scenes set to air in 2023 as part of Doctor Who‘s 60th anniversary. He previously worked on It’s a Sin with Russel T Davies.
Russell T Davies said in a typically cryptic statement: “It’s my huge honour to open our studio doors for the mighty Neil Patrick Harris… but who, why, what is he playing? You’ll just have to wait. But I promise you, the stuff we’re shooting now is off the scale. Doctor, beware!”
Davies’ final line, “Doctor, beware!”, could be teasing that Harris will be playing a villain in the new episode(s), but nothing is certain at this point.
Whether Harris will appear opposite the returning David Tennant or the new Doctor, Ncuti Gatwa, both of whose roles were recently announced, remains uncertain. However, given that Tennant is currently filming, he may be the more likely iteration of the Doctor to face off against Harris’ character.
Harris is probably the biggest American actor to ever appear in the iconic British sci-fi series. Previous American TV stars to feature in the series include Stargate SG1 star Ben Browder, who portrayed Issace in the episode A Town Called Mercy. Supernatural‘s Mark Sheppard who played Canton Everett Delaware III in The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon.
And most recently and unfortunately, Sex And The City’s Chris Noth who appeared in Arachnids in the UK.
Leave a Reply