‘Doctor Who’ season 8 debate: Does Rupert Grint really have a shot at 12th Doctor role?

The power of the internet can be harnessed for some pretty crazy things at times, whether it be starting rumors, perpetuating rumors, or creating campaigns that are hard to ignore. One of the campaigns that we are sure that the BBC is now aware of is the push by Rupert Grint fans to have him become the next lead on “Doctor Who.” As you likely know already, Matt Smith announced that he will be leaving the famous bow-tie behind following the Christmas special, paving the way for a new actor to take the role beginning with season 8.

So does the “Harry Potter” actor have a real shot? One thing that we will start things off with is dismissing the notion that he is extremely young to play the 12th Doctor. When Matt Smith first played the role, he was 27 and the youngest Doctor to date; Grint would be 25 before starting work on the show, and when you consider how long he has been in the business, his experience and internal age may be much older than that.

We ultimately don’t believe this will happen, mostly because Rupert may potentially be viewed as too iconic with “Harry Potter” to take on a role like this, and “Doctor Who” showed with Smith that there is a certain fondness for casting actors who can find themselves as a celebrity thanks to the part. However, we do know that TV is a medium that Grint is interested in working in; “Super Clyde” was a pilot he filmed for CBS earlier this year, but was deemed to be a tad off-brand and was not picked up for series. (Has this younger-skewing show been made for Fox or NBC, it’s possible that it would be on the air this fall.)

We should hear an announcement on the next Doctor by September, and regardless of who it is, we only hope that they capture some of the energy that Smith brought to the part. We hope that Grint (if he’s even interested) gets a chance to audition; it’s somewhat ironic that his name has even come up, given that another member of the Weasley family, in Domhnall Gleeson, was rumored to be a candidate at some point. (Gleeson denied having interest.)

Do you think that Grint should actually be given a shot? If you want to see Kevin Bacon have fun with the idea of playing the part, all you have to do is click here.

Photo: BBC One