Neil Patrick Harris had never heard of Doctor Who before getting cast

Who is Doctor Who? After 60 years of adventures throughout time and space in his iconic blue police box, you’d think everyone would know about him, not least the stars of the show. But there’s a first time for everything. Enter Neil Patrick Harris, who is probably the only actor to star in Doctor Who and not know anything about it. Yikes.

Over the years, Doctor Who has become something of a British institution. The show is, perhaps, Britain’s most famous and successful sci-fi series. Its six decades on the air speaks for itself. But for American actor Neil Patrick Harris, a role in the Whoniverse was nothing spectacular. “He’d never heard of it in his life, bless him,” Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies revealed to Entertainment Weekly.

Harris’ character, The Toymaker, is the main villain of “The Giggle,” the third and final episode of the show’s 60th anniversary specials. Funnily enough, the villain dates back decades, first appearing in the series in 1966, although his original appearance has largely been forgotten. Davies is bringing the villain back for modern audiences, and Harris was his number one choice from the outset.

“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 said.

The one problem? When Davies gave Harris the call to offer him the role…he had no idea what Doctor Who was:

"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."

While being so ignorant of Doctor Who seems unforgivable at first, we’ll let him off the hook. Clearly, he’s embraced the Whoniverse like a long-time fan. Watch the teaser for The Giggle, which will see David Tennant’s Fourteenth Doctor regenerate into Ncuti Gatwa’s Fifteenth:

“The Giggle” premieres Saturday, December 9 on BBC and Disney+. Doctor Who will return for its new season, featuring Ncuti Gatwa as the Doctor, on Christmas Day!

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