Steven Moffat on casting Peter Capaldi: "The Doctor was in the room"

How did Doctor Who showrunner choose the Twelth Doctor?

When did Peter Capaldi first come on the radar for you?

"Quite a while back. I happened to know that he's a very, very big fan and there's something rather seductive about an utterly brilliant, arresting-looking leading man - one of the most talented actors in Britain - who you happen to know is a big fan of the show. You do start to think, 'Maybe we should do something about that!'"

 Did have a shortlist of actors you were considering for the 12th Doctor?
"Yes, the list went, 'Peter Capaldi' - it was a very short list! Honestly, there was only one audition this time... and it wasn't an audition so much as... he came round my house and we put him on video to see what he looked like as the Doctor and, gosh, he was terribly good!"

  

Were you disappointed that rumours of Peter's casting leaked online?
"Does [the secrecy] matter? No, not very much. It matters that people love the choice, and what we were looking at when we saw that there were some hints out there that it was going to be Peter... everyone was rapturous about the idea.

"I said to Peter before he went on tonight, because he was a little bit nervous obviously, 'Imagine if you weren't Peter Capaldi and you had to walk out tonight - you'd be mown down! It has to be you!'"

Is it true that you considered Peter to play the 11th Doctor?
"He did flick through my mind when we were replacing David [Tennant] and it didn't feel right at all - if you think about that, that wouldn't have been right, not then.

 "But there's something about Matt's Doctor that paves the way for Peter's Doctor somehow. The important thing to remember about the Doctor is that it is one character, going through his life, played by a succession of different actors. and you have to get to that place each time.

"I can somehow absolutely believe that the strange old/young Matt Smith will turn into the strange young/old Peter Capaldi."

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