Anna Daniels
John Hurt was made to play a grizzled veteran of an intergalactic war. He looks like he’s seen bodies floating in a vacuum. His hangdog face and haggard face makes him perfect to play a Gallifreyan Oppenheimer, forever grappling with the fact that he dropped an unspeakable weapon on millions of people to end a great war.
The War Doctor’s incredible backstory, and the time-manipulation plot that allows him to avoid destroying his homeworld, is a wonderful bit of world-building. But as he never actually starred in a single episode as the one, true Doctor (and his memory was blocked by further regenerations of the Doctor as a coping mechanism), it simply doesn’t seem fair to rank him with the folks who have had their name on the marquee.
Consider this blurb a space for Peter Cushing, as well. And just in case we need to tell you, we won’t be including any of the audio Doctors on this list. Our apologies to David Warner fans and anyone who’s done a deep dive on Valeyard lore.
Written by: Looper
