Doctor Who season 11: Who is Kris Marshall, and is he top candidate?
The first thing to know is this: He’s probably the most-rumored serious contender out there. We’ve heard about everyone from Phoebe Waller-Bridge to David Harewood to Tilda Swinton over the past few months, but Marshall is someone who we could easily see in the role. There have also been discussions about it ever since he departed Death in Paradise, a move that the Telegraph claims was for him to be closer to his family. Funny story: He actually doesn’t live all that far from where the show films in Cardiff, and he would easily be able to travel from the set home virtually whenever he needed to.
As for his body of work, you may have seen Marshall in several things before without even knowing it. He’s done American television before such as Traffic Light, a short-lived comedy. Meanwhile, he’s also appeared in classic movies such as Death at a Funeral and Love Actually. He’s similar to Peter Capaldi in a way in that he’s a veteran actor who’s done a ton of work over the years, but never in a position where he would get anywhere near this sort of attention. He’d be able to take on the role right from the get-go, and we envision him doing a very good job with it.
Is Marshall a safe choice? Absolutely. He’s not pushing the role in terms of its demographics, but that’s absolutely not his fault. He’s just a good actor, and the one thing we fear is that in the event he’s cast, he will be criticism for not being something that fans want, even though that’s completely out of his control. We certainly would love a female or minority Doctor, but we’ll have some faith in whoever is chosen. Marshall seems like a solid choice provided that he is the choice.
More on the announcement
This is going to be coming your way on Sunday, and the BBC is choosing to basically do this at one of the most high-profile times imaginable: Following the Wimbledon Men’s final. If only Andy Murray was playing in it, the entire country would probably be watching! Either way, this should be a platform to get the world out. The one unfortunate thing about the timing of the announcement is that it’s coming at a time that is hard to pin down, since so much of it depends on when the matches are over. We’ll be keeping track of that, so rest assured once the news is out there, we’ll have it for you here.
What do you think: Would Kris Marshall be a great Thirteenth Doctor, or are you rooting for someone else for the role? Share below.
Meanwhile, be sure to head over to this link in the event you do want some other news on the upcoming Christmas Special, which is where Thirteen will debut. (Photo: BBC.)