The Twelfth Doctor is an incarnation of the Doctor, the protagonist of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. He is portrayed by Scottish actor Peter Capaldi in three series as well as four specials. As with previous incarnations of the Doctor, the character has also appeared in other Doctor Who spin-offs, both during and after the character's televised appearances.
The Doctor is an extraterrestrial being from a humanoid species known as Time Lords from the planet Gallifrey. The Doctor travels through space and time using a time travelling spaceship called the TARDIS and frequently travels with companions. When a Time Lord is fatally injured or weakened by old age, their cells regenerate into a new body, while they retain their memories, their personality changes. The different portrayals of the Doctor function as distinct stages within a single, continuous narrative. Capaldi's portrayal of the Doctor is initially a spiky, brusque, contemplative, and pragmatic character who conceals his emotions in the course of making tough and sometimes ruthless decisions. Very quickly, however, he becomes extremely humanitarian and compassionate, and more openly showcases his selflessness. Preceded in regeneration by the Eleventh Doctor, he is followed by the Thirteenth Doctor.
This incarnation's companions include school teacher Clara Oswald, who also travelled with his previous incarnation, for his first two series; and for his final series, university canteen assistant Bill Potts and humanoid cyborg Nardole. He also made a guest appearance in the Doctor Who spin-off series Class, appearing in the show's first episode.
Development Casting
Matt Smith, who played the Eleventh Doctor, publicly announced his departure from Doctor Who on 1 June 2013, triggering extensive media speculation on the subject of his successor. On 3 August 2013, bookmakers William Hill suspended betting when Capaldi became the five to six favourite to be cast. Capaldi's casting was revealed on 4 August during a live broadcast on BBC One, titled Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor. The live show, hosted by Zoe Ball, was watched by an average of 6.27 million in the UK, and was also simulcast in the United States, Canada and Australia.
While Capaldi was the first choice for the role, other actors were also approached in case Capaldi turned the offer down. Ben Daniels, who was an early favourite following the announcement of Matt Smith's departure, said that he had been approached with a view to assessing whether he would be interested in playing the Doctor, with his name remaining as a potential contender until just before the live BBC broadcast.
Doctor Who head writer and executive producer Steven Moffat said that Capaldi "briefly flicked through [his] mind" while casting the Eleventh Doctor, but that he dismissed the idea, thinking he was not right for the part at the time. Ben Stephenson, the BBC's drama commissioner, said that Capaldi was suggested months before the August revelation and that a secret audition was held at Moffat's home. Capaldi prepared for the audition by downloading old Doctor Who scripts from the Internet and practising in front of a mirror. He discovered he had been given the part during filming for Adrian Hodges' The Musketeers in Prague; after missing a call from his agent, Capaldi rang back to be greeted with "Hello, Doctor!" At 55 years old when originally cast, Capaldi was only a few months younger than William Hartnell (the First Doctor) was when he was cast in the role, making Capaldi the oldest actor since Hartnell to star as the Doctor and the third oldest to portray the character. Moffat felt that an older actor would work best following the youngest actor, as it would both provide a change and lessen comparisons. He commented, "I can absolutely believe that the strange old-young Matt Smith will turn into the strange young-old Peter Capaldi."
Capaldi had previously appeared playing other roles in the Doctor Who franchise. He portrayed Lobus Caecilius in the 2008 episode "The Fires of Pompeii" and John Frobisher in Children of Earth, the 2009 serial of the Doctor Who spin-off Torchwood. Moffat has stated that he plans on explaining over time why there are three characters in the Doctor Who universe with the same appearance; his predecessor Russell T Davies had once explained to him a theory for the first two, and upon Capaldi's casting assured Moffat that the explanation would still work. This situation was alluded to in "Deep Breath", when a confused Doctor is reminded of Caecilius when he examines his face in a mirror. In "The Girl Who Died", it is explained that the Doctor chose Caecilius' face to remind himself that he is the Doctor, and that he can always save people. While not explained in the episode, Moffat later said that he also shares a face with John Frobisher as Frobisher is Caecilius's descendant, and represents the end of Caecilius's bloodline, referencing the Doctor's "eternal battle with doom and destiny." Capaldi's casting marks the second time an actor has previously appeared in the series and then been cast as an incarnation of the Doctor, the first being Colin Baker.
Capaldi briefly appears in the 50th anniversary special. Moffat stated that it was his "plan from the start" that all the Doctors would fly in to save Gallifrey, and he knew there would be a new one at that time. He wrote it before knowing who would be cast. Capaldi filmed his appearance on 3 October 2013, long after principal photography for the special had ended, and the same day he filmed his debut scene for "The Time of the Doctor".
Capaldi kept his native Scottish accent for the role. Speaking on his decision, he said he did it so he could feel closer to the character. A handful of tweets were reported in September 2014 in which it was claimed that some viewers struggled to understand Capaldi. A speech coach and linguistics expert both suggested that any problems with understanding Capaldi had more to do with delivery than accent.
Departure On 30 January 2017, Capaldi confirmed that the tenth series would be his last; Moffat had announced earlier in January 2016 that he was handing over his position as showrunner to Chris Chibnall following the tenth series' broadcast in 2017. Regarding his decision to leave, Capaldi stated that despite his tremendous love for the show, he was unsure if he would be able to deliver at his best performance if he remained in the role for too long.
Character Costume
The Twelfth Doctor's general outfit consists of a navy blue Crombie coat with a crimson lining, dark blue trousers, a long collared white shirt buttoned to the top, a black cardigan or waistcoat, and brogue boots. His shirt varies from episode to episode, with a navy shirt, a dark purple shirt and a black shirt with white polka dots appearing, as well as a black holey jumper, all being worn under his coat in his first series. He also wears a hoodie over his jumper as of series nine, over his T-shirt, all being worn under his coat. In "Time Heist", the Doctor describes his costume as "hoping for minimalism, but I think I came up with magician."
The look was created by Doctor Who costume designer Howard Burden. His design was described as "No frills, no scarfs, no messing, just 100% rebel Time Lord." Capaldi said that the costume took a long time to find. The reason he settled on his final costume was that, "I think it's quite a hard look. I always wanted him to be in black – I always just saw the Doctor in dark colours. Not tweed," in reference to his immediate predecessor's original costume. "Matt's a really young cool guy – he can wear anything, but I wanted to strip it back and be very stark." Moffat described the look as "A stick-insect sort of thing". He also said that Clara calls him "a grey-haired stick-insect at one point". Capaldi also stated that he chose the Twelfth Doctor's costume so fans of the show who enjoy cosplay could easily emulate it without going to great expense. Writing for Radio Times, fashion columnist Anna Fielding described it as "a classic early skinhead look" and linked it to Capaldi's history as a punk musician.
Capaldi's costume has varied in some episodes. In "Mummy on the Orient Express" he dons a period-appropriate tuxedo and a black cravat. In "The Magician's Apprentice", he wears Ray-Ban sunglasses (later revealed in "The Witch's Familiar" to be a wearable version of his sonic screwdriver), a T-shirt and plaid baggy trousers along with the hoodie and Crombie coat. In "Face the Raven", the Twelfth Doctor sports a crimson velvet variant of his Crombie coat. After briefly ditching it in "Hell Bent", Clara comments that it made him look more 'doctory'. At the end of the episode, he dons the crimson coat in honour of her and is given a new Sonic Screwdriver by the TARDIS. In the ending segment of "The Husbands of River Song", the Doctor again dons the same tuxedo and period dress worn in "Mummy on the Orient Express". In Capaldi's final season, the most variations were seen on the Doctor's costume. In the first episode of the season, Capaldi donned a new black velvet frock coat with blue lining and peak lapels. This coat appeared several times throughout the season. The navy crombie coat returned ("Oxygen") as well as the red velvet crombie. Another addition to the Doctor's wardrobe occurs mid-season with the introduction of a grey distressed linen frock coat. The final look that Capaldi had for his tenure as the Doctor was a navy velvet coat with red lining.
Characterisation
The Twelfth Doctor is, according to Capaldi, "more alien than he's been in a while." Whilst still defining himself as someone who "saves people," the Twelfth Doctor cares little about being seen as a hero or even being liked by the people who he is trying to save. Unlike his previous two incarnations who cared about humans and tried to understand them, Capaldi has confirmed that, this incarnation "doesn't quite understand human beings or really care very much about their approval." Clara is put on the back-foot by him post-regeneration initially not seeing through his 'Tough Exterior'. Jenna Coleman says of this Doctor, "He's more removed, you can't quite access him in the same way", in comparison to his more friendly and accessible predecessor.
Initially, it was reported that Capaldi specifically requested that the Doctor would not flirt with his companion the way his previous incarnation did, but the actor stated that he said no such thing and that it was inflated by the media. Steven Moffat has teased that Capaldi's Doctor may perhaps be more in love with Clara than he'd like to believe. He has also been described as a "total adrenaline junkie" and, according to Moffat, "much fiercer, madder [and] less reliable". "He's not as immediately approachable and he's not necessarily looking for your approval, when he says 'Wait here, I'll be back', you're not absolutely convinced... what he's not doing is reassuring you very much." Moffat also described the Twelfth Doctor as having attention deficit disorder; this was also implied by the character himself in the theatrical short "The Doctor's Meditation" in which he states that Clara believes he has the condition.