David Harewood would love to be cast as the titular character in ‘Doctor Who’.
The 51-year-old actor is pleased that he’s in the "running" to take over from Peter Capaldi – who has played the time-travelling scientist since 2013 – as the iconic Time Lord when he leaves the sci-fi series later this year as he thinks the show needs to have a "black person or woman" playing the lead role this time.
Speaking to ‘BBC News’, he said: "It’s nice to be in the running. It needs to do something different, so I think it’s either going to be a black person or a woman. It would just bring a different flavour to it. I’m already playing an alien [in ‘Supergirl’ so maybe I could switch and play a Time Lord – who knows what’s going to happen. It’s nice to be in the running. It’s an iconic role."
Although he’s thrown his hat into the ring, the person who gets the job will be chosen by the new boss Chris Chibnall – who will take over from Steven Moffat next year – and he wants the script written before he works on castings.
Chibnall said recently: "We’ll cast the role in the traditional way: write the script, then go and find the best person for that part in that script. You couldn’t go out and cast an abstract idea."
Some viewers have called for a woman to be cast as the titular character and, although he’s not giving it much thought at the moment, Chibnall – the creator of the crime drama ‘Broadchurch’ – has "a very clear sense" of what he wants.
He said: "The creative possibilities are endless, but I have a very clear sense of what we’re going to do, without even knowing who’s going to play the part."
The 46-year-old television writer will take over from current show runner Moffatt at the beginning of 2018 once Capaldi makes his final appearance as the time-travelling scientist in the Christmas special later this year.
David Harewood wants to play Doctor Who
