Former Xena: Warrior Princess star Lucy Lawless wants to appear in Doctor Who.
While speaking to Newsweek, Lawless was asked if there were any characters in the fantasy genre she'd like to play, to which she immediately responded, "Doctor Who." She continued, "You name it, I'd want to do it. You want ones [roles] with a bit of humor. It just helps get through the day. Comedy is always a lovely way of working."
In the same interview, Lawless discussed her current role as the voice of Tzod in the ultraviolent animated film The Spine of Night, describing it as "unlike any job I've ever done." She said, "It was like my earliest remembrances of cartoons as a child -- very sort of primitive two-dimensional cartooning. I was just kind of in love with it. And some of my reps were really horrified or like, 'do you really want to be seen like this?' and I was like, 'yeah I kind of do!'" she laughed.
Lawless stars alongside Richard E. Grant, Patton Oswalt, Betty Gabriel and Joe Manganiello in The Spine of Night, which premiered earlier in 2021 at the SXSW film festival. The film is presented in a rotoscoped style, a form of animation where cartoonists trace cels over live-action footage frame by frame, and follows a group of heroes from different eras and cultures as dark, ancient magic falls into the wrong hands.
Lawless' dream to be the next Doctor could be a reality, as it was recently announced that the long-running BBC sci-fi series will be looking for a new Doctor following Jodie Whittaker's exit after Season 13, which is currently airing. Whittaker, who premiered as the 13th Doctor in 2018, announced that she would be handing over the keys to the TARDIS in 2022 alongside current showrunner Chris Chibnall. After three seasons, Whittaker and Chibnall will exit the series with a trio of specials that will air in fall 2022, which the BBC described as an "epic blockbuster event."
Following the departure of Chibnall and Whittaker, Russel T. Davies will return to the series in 2023. Davies, who is credited with reviving BBC's cult, sci-fi series in 2005, served as the showrunner for Doctor Who for four years before handing the reins over to Steven Moffat in 2009. It was recently announced that Davies will finally return to the TARDIS as showrunner in 2023 to celebrate Doctor Who's 60th anniversary and will take over from Chibnall.
Source: Newsweek