Neil Patrick Harris had never even heard of Doctor Who when he got cast
Neil Patrick Harris, who plays The Toymaker in an upcoming Doctor Who special, didn't know the Doctor was an alien
Only a handful of big-name American stars have appeared on Doctor Who (the less said about Chris Noth’s stint, the better). So Neil Patrick Harris being cast as the Toymaker in Who’s special 60th anniversary regeneration episode is kind of a big deal. Except Harris wouldn’t even have been aware what a big deal it was, because when it comes to Doctor Who, “He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him,” showrunner Russell T. Davies reveals in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“I was lucky enough to work with the great man on a show called It’s A Sin, about the AIDS crisis in the 1980s, and working with him was such a joy. The Toymaker, he’s kind of the god of games, so he shuffles cards, he does magic tricks, and all of that fits Neil Patrick Harris,” Davies shares. “If you go through agents, they often tell you to go away. I was able to send just a text saying, ‘Do you fancy reading this?’ He read it and literally phoned me up going, ‘Let me get this right, so the Doctor’s an alien, right?’ I was like, ‘Oh my god, you really have never heard of Doctor Who!’ But he couldn’t resist it, and he came to Cardiff, and we had the most spectacular time.”
Davies had set out to find “the villain who can match David Tennant and Catherine Tate,” the all-star Doctor/companion duo who returned to reprise their roles in three special 60th anniversary episodes. Casting the role of the Toymaker was “absolutely crucial and this becomes a pivotal event in the Doctor’s life,” Davies teases. Tennant agrees that “you need a sort of an all-round entertainer to play that part and a very good actor, so there aren’t a lot of people who could have ticked all the boxes required,” making Harris a perfect choice.
Harris is now up to speed enough to know that Ncuti Gatwa, who will take over the role after Tennant’s Doctor regenerates (again), will “be the first gay Doctor,” as he said last year. Harris’ episode, “The Giggle,” marks Gatwa’s official entrance to the franchise as a “sexier Doctor,” as Harris put it. “I got to meet and interact with him a bit and he’s glorious,” the How I Met Your Mother alum gushed. You’ll get to see for yourself when the episode airs on December 9.