All 5 Doctor Who Actors Who Also Won An Oscar

For many British actors, Doctor Who is a show they aspire to be in, but only a few who have achieved that goal have also gone on to win an Oscar. Since the show’s beginning in 1963, many talented performers have joined the Time Lord on an adventure, whether that be for a singular episode, a whole season, or playing the Doctor themselves. Doctor Who is a staple in British culture, and appearing in the show often leads actors to become household names in the UK.

However, for these actors to then win an Academy Award, they need to be well-known worldwide. With Doctor Who available in more countries than ever before, especially with the show making a move to Disney+ internationally, the stars of the show are becoming more recognizable. While there have been plenty of brilliant and talented actors in Doctor Who, a handful managed to bag themselves an Oscar after their appearance on the show.

6 Olivia Colman

Best Actress, 2019

British icon Olivia Colman starred in the Eleventh Doctor’s (Matt Smith) premiere episode, “The Eleventh Hour,” in 2010. Colman was already a well-known actress in the UK at this point, having starred in shows like Peep Show and That Mitchell and Webb Look. In this episode, Colman portrays the alien Prisoner Zero, taking the form of an average mother with her two children in disguise, and starred opposite Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, who she’d go on to work with on the drama Broadchurch.

It took Colman close to a decade to win an Oscar, but in 2019, she was awarded Best Actress for her role as Queen Anne in The Favourite. Colman was praised for her dedication to the role, gaining over two stone for it, and her on-screen chemistry with co-star Emma Stone, who played Abigail. Since winning, Colman has seen a huge, yet well-deserved, boost in her career. She has since portrayed Queen Elizabeth II in The Crown and Anne in The Father opposite Anthony Hopkins.

5 Peter Capaldi

Best Live Action Short Film, 1995

The only Doctor to win an Oscar, Peter Capaldi is known for portraying the Twelfth incarnation of the Time Lord, as well as tyrant Malcolm Tucker in political comedy The Thick of It. Since the early days of his career, it was common knowledge that Capaldi was a huge fan of Doctor Who, and it was announced in 2013 that he’d finally landed his dream role. While Capaldi’s fame came later in his career, he did win an Oscar, but not for acting.

Capaldi wrote and directed the 1993 short film Franz Kafka’s It’s a Wonderful Life, which starred Richard E. Grant and Ken Stott. However, it didn’t win the award for the Oscars’ Best Live-Action Short Film until 1995. Despite the incredible characters he’s brought to life since then, such as The Thinker in Suicide Squad, Capaldi has yet to receive another Academy Award nomination, although there’s always hope for the future.

4 Jim Broadbent

Best Supporting Actor, 2002

Audiences may recognize Jim Broadbent for his role as Horace Slughorn in the Harry Potter films or as Colin Jones in the Bridget Jones franchise, but Broadbent originally portrayed the Eleventh Doctor years before Matt Smith did. In 1999, the BBC’s Comic Relief aired a Doctor Who skit, which future showrunner Steven Moffatt wrote. At this point, the 1998 movie was released, but the show wouldn’t be rebooted for another six years. “The Curse of Fatal Death” saw several Doctors cross paths, including Rowan Atkinson as the Ninth, Hugh Grant as the Twelfth, and Joanna Lumley as the Thirteenth.

His Oscar came only two years after “The Curse of Fatal Death,” however. Portraying John Bayley in the 2001 movie Iris, Broadbent’s emotional and heartwrenching performance clinched audiences as the doting husband to Judy Dench’s Iris, who develops Alzheimer’s throughout the piece. Iris had multiple Oscar nominations in 2002, with Dench and Kate Winslet, who played a young Iris, both receiving nominations as well, but Broadbent was the only actor to win, being awarded Best Supporting Actor for his work.

3 Chris Overton

Best Live Action Short Film, 2018

While Doctor Who audiences may not recognize Chris Overton’s face, they may know his voice. Overton starred in the Doctor Who Big Finish audio drama “The Brood of Erys” as two characters, Drachee member Terrill and Levek, alongside Colin Baker as the Sixth Doctor. While Overton starred in several British soap operas and TV shows, his biggest success came with the short film The Silent Child.

The beautiful story follows a young deaf child whose family struggles to adapt to sign language. Overton directed and produced it, and his wife Rachel Shenton, who also starred in it, wrote the script. The Silent Child won the Best Live Action Short Film Academy Award in 2018, sharing the accreditation with Shenton.

2 Daniel Kaluuya

Best Supporting Actor, 2020

Daniel Kaluuya started in the teen drama Skins, but one of his notable breakthrough roles in TV was as Barclay in the Doctor Who episode “Planet of the Dead.” Kaluuya’s career continued to blossom over the years, starring in an episode of Black Mirror, which caught the attention of Jordan Peele (via The Guardian). This then led to him being cast in Get Out, widely considered to be the role that launched him into stardom worldwide, which earned him an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor in 2017.

Despite Kaluuya’s stellar performance as Chris Washington, he lost out to Gary Oldman’s interpretation of Winston Churchill in Darkest Hour. However, Kaluuya finally got his Oscar win in 2020, being awarded Best Supporting Actor for his portrayal of Fred Hampton in Judas and the Black Messiah. Most recently, Kaluuya is due to reprise his role as Spider-Punk in the upcoming film Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse, which will perhaps grace him with another nomination in the future.

1 Notable Nominations

Plenty of other Doctor Who actors were nominated, even if they didn’t win

Carey Mulligan – Mulligan notably portrayed the one-time companion Sally Sparrow in the season 3 episode “Blink.” She is known for her roles in films such as The Great Gatsby and, most recently, Saltburn. In 2009, 2020, and 2023, Mulligan was nominated for Best Actress for her roles in An Education,Promising Young Woman, and Maestro.

Pauline Collins – Collins starred in the season 2 episode “Tooth and Claw” as Queen Victoria. She also appeared as Samantha Briggs in the classic Doctor Who serial “The Faceless Ones” with Patrick Troughton’s Second Doctor. In 1989, Collins was nominated for Best Actress for her role as housewife Shirley in Shirley Valentine but lost to Jessica Tandy in Driving Miss Daisy.

Sophie Okonedo – Okonedo appeared in the season 5 episode “The Beast Below” as the future Monarch of England, Liz Ten. Before Doctor Who, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress in 2004 for her role as Tatiana in Hotel Rwanda. Despite losing, Tatiana did win her the award for Best Actress in the Drama category at the Black Reel Awards in 2005.

John Hurt – Established actor Hurt is remembered for his role as wandmaker Ollivander in the Harry Potter series, but he also portrayed the War Doctor in the Doctor Who 50th anniversary special “The Day of the Doctor.” He was nominated for two Oscars in his life, one for Best Supporting Actor as Max in Midnight Express in 1978 and one for Best Actor as John Merrick in The Elephant Man. After a battle with pancreatic cancer, Hurt passed away in 2017.

Richard E. Grant – Grant has made multiple appearances in Doctor Who over the years. He is best known as the recurring villain Dr. Simeon in the Eleventh Doctor’s era, but also as the Tenth Doctor in “The Curse of Fatal Death,” and also loaned his voice to the Ninth Doctor in the webcast animation “Scream of the Shalka.” In 2019, Grant was nominated for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Jack Hock in Can You Ever Forgive Me?

Andrew Garfield – Before Spider-man, Garfield starred as Frank in the Doctor Who season 3 two-part stories “Daleks in Manhattan” and “Evolution of the Daleks.” In 2017, he was nominated for Best Actor as Desmond Doss in the war movie Hacksaw Ridge. Despite losing, he quickly gained another nomination in 2022, once again for Best Actor, as Jonathan Larson in Tick, Tick… Boom!