Scottish Actor Peter Capaldi Arrives For The World Premiere Of His Film 'World War Z.'
Scottish actor Peter Capaldi arrives for the world premiere of his film "World War Z" in London June 2, 2013. Reuters

Peter Capaldi would have been a Time Lord a lot earlier if only he had faith in himself. The 56-year-old Scottish actor was asked to audition for the titular character in the “Doctor Who” TV movie in 1996, but he chickened out.

In 1996, the British sci-fi series commissioned a TV film following its suspension in 1989. The film, featuring Paul McGann as the Doctor, was expected to be a back-door pilot for a full new season. However, the film became a one-off, and a season wasn’t picked up. It wasn’t until 2005 when the show was revived by Russell T Davies, with Christopher Eccleston as the new Doctor.

Capaldi, who is the current Doctor, revealed that he had a chance to try out for the iconic role in 1996, but he opted not to even try because he was afraid of disappointment.

“I knew I I wouldn’t get it. I loved the show so much that I didn’t want to have anything to do with it unless it was going to be me,” he said at the DVD launch of the show’s eighth series on Monday. “I just didn’t want to have the disappointment to go through all the palaver and the jumping through hoops for something I would never get because I knew it was an American pilot and they would go for somebody who was well-known and Paul was and he was fantastic so I said, ‘No, I won’t come along.’

“I said to my agent, ‘Tell them thank you very much but I don’t want to go along.’”

All turned out well, though. Eccleston passed the baton to another Scottish actor David Tennant, who then passed it to Matt Smith. When Smith, the youngest actor to take on the role at 27 in 2009, left the show at the end of the 2013 Christmas Day special episode, the producers hired Capaldi, who, at 56, is the oldest actor to become the Time Lord.

If he had auditioned for the TV film role in 1996, he would only be the Doctor for a full episode. As it happened, his stint as the 12th Doctor is still on-going, with his first season just concluded on November 8. He will be back for the Christmas Day special, and is expected to revise the role for another season in 2015.

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