Whoopi Goldberg wants to be the first American to play the Doctor in Doctor Who. After playing Guinan in Star Trek: The Next Generation, a role that Patrick Stewart personally invited her to reprise in the upcoming second season of Star Trek: Picard, Goldberg has her eyes on another long-running, venerable sci-fi series. Goldberg says she had hoped to become the first woman to play the Doctor, but Jodie Whittaker beat her to it as the Thirteenth Doctor. But, with rumors of Whittaker’s departure swirling, Goldberg is still holding out hope that she could be the Doctor’s next regeneration, even discussing the idea with the Fourth Doctor, Tom Baker.
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“I was lucky enough to speak to Tom Baker about it – he’s the Doctor I know best,” Goldberg told SFX Magazine (via Digital Spy). “For me, Tom Baker was the best Doctor. Of course, the younger Doctors are good, but when it comes to the older Doctors, it was always Tom Baker for me.”
“I wanted to be the first female Doctor, but they have one,” she continued. “I said to him, ‘I love the idea of an American Doctor Who.’ I’m still trying to do it.”
The BBC refused to comment on rumors that Whittaker will leave Doctor Who after the show’s upcoming 13th season. The reports surfaced soon after an interview ran in which Whittaker showed no signs of considering an exit from the series.
“As far as I’m concerned, right now, I’m the Doctor and that’s taking up everything of me, as an actor,” Whittaker said. “And to think something beyond that, I can’t put my head there, and I don’t want to.”
Supposing Whittaker does return for Doctor Who‘s 14th season, she’d become the longest-tenured Doctor since the series relaunched in 2005, putting her at four seasons compared to David Tennant, Matt Smith, and Peter Capaldi. Each of them led the series for three respective seasons (and a handful of specials, in some cases). That’s still well shy of the current record for the longest run as the Doctor, held by Goldberg’s favorite, Tom Baker, at seven seasons as the Fourth Doctor.
While Goldberg awaits her invitation to join Doctor Who, she expects to reunite with Patrick Stewart on the set of Star Trek: Picard later this year, whenever production finally starts. She also appears in the CBS All Access adaptation of Stephen King’s The Stand.
Doctor Who is currently filming its 13th season, with plans to return to television sometime in 2021. In the meantime, the entire reboot series is now streaming on HBO Max. You can up quickly with our Doctor Who streaming binge guide.
