For some reason I do vocal impressions. Kermit the Frog. George Harrison. John Hurt. No, I have no idea why anyone would ever want, or need, a vocal impression of John Hurt, but if you got the skills… 😆
While driving home from work yesterday evening something on NPR had me thinking of, of all things, that famous first Doctor quote from “The Dalek Invasion of Earth”:
One day, I shall come back. Yes, I shall come back. Until then, there must be no regrets, no tears, no anxieties. Just go forward in all your beliefs, and prove to me that I am not mistaken in mine.”
It’s a fantastic quote. Such a perfect good-bye. It’s hopeful, but it also closes the door. I’ve always liked and admired that quote, which is probably why it was used to open “The Five Doctors.”
I digress.
So, there I was, sitting in traffic, and this Doctor Who quote pops fully formed in my head.
And, for no reason that makes sense, I said it. In my John Hurt voice.
It occurred to me then, at that very moment, that John Hurt would have made a fabulous Doctor at some point. Actually, he’d still make a fabulous Doctor. I suppose we think of Hurt as more of a character actor than a leading man, but one could argue that the Doctor doesn’t exactly need leading man qualities.
Well, it’s unlikely he’d be cast as the eleventh Doctor–the current production team doesn’t want to do “older” Doctors, and I can’t really blame them. It doesn’t make sense that a worn-out body would transform into an old form that would wear out more quickly. (Which is why Bill Nighy would have been great for the ninth Doctor but less so for one beyond that; “Rose” gives us no indication of how long the ninth Doctor has existed since his regeneration, so he could have aged reasonably into an older form.)
But perhaps a film for John Hurt? Well, that’s not likely to happen, either, but one can dream…