REVIEW OVERVIEW: SUPPORTING ACTORS WHO HAVE DONE AN OUTSTANDING JOB PLAYING MULTIPLE ROLES

 I quite enjoyed doing the REVIEW OVERVIEW earlier this month and felt that there was more to say on the subject.

In the first installment of this latest series, we looked at how effectively lead actors in the show portrayed characters outside of the main roles they were given. From some of the more famous double-castings like Colin Baker playing Maxil and Six or Peter Capaldi playing Caelis and Twelve to the more obscure ones like Karen Gillan playing Amy and a Soothsayer in Fires of Pompeii. We looked at all of them and ranked how good of a job the performers did to make the characters seem distinct from each other. 

As is always the case with a REVIEW OVERVIEW essay, this is not merely a judgement call made purely on my own personal preferences. I tried to set up a legitimate method of critique that is, at least, slightly scientific in nature. If you would like to know my actual basis for criticism, it's in the previous entry. Here is the link:  https://robtymec.blogspot.com/2021/01/review-overview-when-leads-play.html.

What I'd like to do with this particular entry is look at five supporting actors that have done an outstanding job playing multiple roles throughout the span of the show. They will be submitted to the same criteria as our leads were and they will be ranked from least favorite to most. 

Let's get straight into it: 

NUMBER FIVE: 

LYNDA BARON

ROLES: 

Singer in The Gunfighters

Captain Wrack in Enlightenment 

Val in Closing Time 

One of the facts that puts her on this list is that Lynda has always gotten some fairly juicy parts whenever she's been on Doctor Who. When you're playing colorful characters, it can be easier to make them unique and different from each other. Mind you, you can only really achieve this if you're actually skilled at what you do. 

And that is certainly the case with Lynda Baron. Probably her most popular role of the three was Wrack. Which she plays with just the right level of relish that a villainess of her calibre requires. She's deadly and evil - but still great fun to watch! Her evil laugh is especially delightful. 

Val, on the other hand, is a much more grounded character. After being an Eternal hell-bent on universal domination, she is now just an older woman working in a shop who loves to gossip and make presumptions. But Lynda still makes her a very enjoyable character to watch. The whole gag about her thinking Craig and the Doctor are lovers plays out quite amusingly. Much of this is due to Baron's comedic timing.

And then, of course, there's her most unusual contribution to the series. In one of the oddest Doctor Who stories of all, she plays one of the strangest of roles. Donald Cotton (one of my fave writers for 60s Who) made the decision to link various scenes in the plot to The Gunfighters through verses of a song that were performed in voice-over. Lynda Baron, of course, was the vocalist hired to do the song. She is never actually seen onscreen. But she is, very much, a character in the story. Much of the lyrics she sings are quite humorous. So, once more, she has some fun with it. 

In some ways, she does suffer from a similar problem that Jean Marsh did. All of her characters are quite colorful and eccentric. If she played something a bit more low-key, we might have been even more impressed with her range. But it's still hard to deny that she is awesome in all her roles.    

NUMBER FOUR: 

MARK GATISS

ROLES: 

Professor Lazarus in The Lazarus Experiment 

Gantok in The Wedding of River Song (under the strange pseudonym of Rondo Haxton)

Captain Archibald Hamish Lethbridge-Stewart in Twice Upon a Time 

The only exclusively New Who actor that makes it onto this list. The Revived Series rarely has any performers play multiple parts. But, because of his unique relationship with the show, Gatiss manages to secure three very separate and unusual roles. All of which he performs to perfection.

Lazarus and the Captain (his full name, of course, is only revealed right at the end of the tale) are, pretty much, polar opposites. Lazarus is an arrogant rich man who gets whatever he wants. Including, of course, a second chance at life. The Captain is a noble gentleman living out what he believes to be the final moments of his existence. He accepts his fate meekly and is even willing to sacrifice himself so that someone else may live. The roles are so contrary that it becomes quite easy to see them as being two different people. The little mustache Gatiss grows for one of the parts is hardly necessary. We aren't sitting there going: "It's totally Lazarus all over again!". 

Of course, you can write two roles very differently from each other and if the actor isn't good at what he does, then the whole thing will fall flat. So Gatiss makes sure to deliver. I'm particularly impressed by the mannerisms he assigns to both characters. Lazarus' gestures are broad and expansive while the Captain keeps himself upright and reserved. I love when an actor shows that level of attention to detail.

And then there's Gantok. Yes, he disguised his voice, wore heavy prosthetics and used a false name in the credits. But still, you can't conceal an unconvincing performance. If Gatiss hadn't made the same commitment to the part that he did with his other roles, he wouldn't have fooled us. We really had no idea he was under there. It, literally, took me years before I found out. That's how good he is.

  

NUMBER THREE:

JOHN WOODNUTT   

ROLES: 

Hibbert in Spearhead from Space 

Draconian Emperor in Frontier in Space 

Duke of Forgill in Terror of the Zygons 

Seron in Keeper of Traken 

Admittedly, Woodnutt does suffer from a touch of typecasting. He has a certain penchant for regal characters. His Draconian Emperor is the best example of this. He's only in Frontier in Space for a very short while so he needed to have a lot of presence in that moment. Considering he's also in a mask and never really gets out of his weird throne much - he delivers quite well. 

Duke of Forgill is also of royal blood - but he's on a very different end of the spectrum. There seems to be no respect for his lineage anymore. So the character has a very different emphasis to it. And Woodnutt dons a nice thick Scottish accent for the part. Oddly enough, he's cast as Broton too. Which he also does a good job with. 

I find Seron doesn't get the attention he deserves. Everyone seems to care most about Terror of the Zygons and virtually ignores his final role in the show. Seron also has that regal air to him but is more of an elder statesman, this time. So, again, there's some versatility. He's not just the same character over and over. I also think Seron has a really great death scene. 

But Woodnutt really shows off his range in his very first role on the show. Hibbert is definitely more of an everyman than a king. The struggle he undergoes as he constantly tries to break free of Nestene control is also very well done. We do see a lot of what the character is meant to be like underneath the hypnotised slave. This is due to some very solid chops on Woodnutt's part.  

So, yes, his range isn't always so well-displayed with some of his roles. But, at least, he accented whatever little differences he could find with his more royal characters. And he was given, at least, one portrayal that showed off that he could do more than play people who tended to stand a lot on pomp and circumstance. 

NUMBER TWO:

DAVID COLLINS 

ROLES:

Vorus in Revenge of the Cybermen 

Poul in Robots of Death 

Mawdryn in Mawdryn Undead

I actually don't think there's a supporting actor that has shown greater versatility in Doctor Who than this one. In many ways, he should be first place in this ranking system. 

Vorus must have been a pretty tricky role to play under such restrictions. Most other alien characters, of late, had been given half-masks so that a certain range of expression was still possible. Collins had to bring out a personality with his face, more or less, completely covered. And he does a great job of it. Vorus is proud and arrogant. Full of bluster. Collins makes all of that obvious with strong gestures and a powerful voice. He really dives into the part and displays tremendous energy. This more-than-compensates for how much the mask conceals him. 

Poul shows off a completely different range from the actor. During some of the lighter moments of Robots of Death, he's quite charming and pleasant. The scene where he gives Leela a tablet for her water shows this off quite nicely. Even when he is more upset about the murders that are going on, he seems somewhat restrained. Never going over-the-top like he did with Vorus. He pays much better attention to subtler details in this portrayal. Leela remarks "He moves like a hunter." and Collins makes sure that there is a sort of slyer edge to his mannerisms to back the statement up. When he does finally have to "go big" with his robophobia, he gives Poul a lot of vulnerability and weakness. None of what he does as Poul resembles Vorus in the slightest. Were it not for certain vocal similarities, I doubt we would have been able to guess that these roles were played by the same person. 

Mawdryn, however, goes in a whole different direction from the other two. He's performed in a much more classical style. Almost like one of those regal characters that are so often handed to Woodnutt. His very prosaic dialogue lends itself to such behavior. He's meant to be a scientist but he comes across more as a lord. And, of course, there's a very tragic quality to the character. His life has been so long and miserable that he is now desperate for death. His incredible joy during his final moments was a very interesting direction to take the role in. Of the three, I do think Mawdryn was the best note for him to go out on. He has a larger-than-life air like Vorus while still displaying layers and delicacy like Poul. But is also his own unique character, too. 

It really is some fantastic acting work. Collins is amazing in all three parts.    

NUMBER ONE:

BERNARD HORSEFALL 

ROLES:

Lemuel Gulliver in The Mind Robber

First Time Lord in The War Games 

Taron in Planet of the Daleks 

Chancellor Goth in The Deadly Assassin 

Admittedly, I could be allowing personal preference to interfere ever-so-slightly with my supposedly scientific method. 

By my own system of evaluation, David Collins really does do the best job of making all his characters very distinct from each other. As I even said as I was discussing him, he should be Number One. But, I must confess, I do like Horsefall just a little bit better. 

There is a certain consistent trait that seems to run through all of Horsefall's roles. All his characters do seem to have a certain "hard edge" to them. They're not the tenderest of people. Even Taron, who's meant to be in love with Rebec, isn't exactly a sweetheart to her when she arrives on Spiridon. I wouldn't say he's one of those "tough guy actors" that you see in action movies. But he does have just a bit of that vibe going on.  

Having said that, however, there is a large range of variance that is also incorporated into all of his portrayals. He recognizes, for instance, that he is playing a fictional character who is quoting from the book he hails from and creates an air of absurdity whenever Gulliver is in a scene. Or that he is a god-like character in The War Games and gives him a strong sense of power. Even as Goth, who might actually be the same character we saw in War Games (a popular fan theory), he plays him differently. Part of the point of Deadly Assassin was to show that the Time Lords aren't quite as awesome and majestic as they have seemed. So Horsefall adjusts his portrayal accordingly. In this tale, he is a consummate politician who harbors a dark secret.    

Taron the Thal was his "everyman part". Or as close to one that he could get. His other characters in the show were somewhat larger-than-life. But Taron was a man on a desperate mission who had leadership thrust upon him. After seeing him in those more grandiose roles, the adjustment is slightly difficult when he is playing someone more average. But he does he pull it off. We do still end up liking Taron a lot - even if he's not that nice to his girlfriend! And, by the end, that's how we should feel about the character. He's a bit of a tortured hero.

Goth, however, is probably everyone's favorite. I do feel he deserves the appreciation he gets. Horesefall really does get us to believe that he's merely an innocent statesman who is just doing his job to find out who is truly behind the presidential assassination. I don't think any of us suspected that it was actually him. When he reveals his involvement with the Master in Episode Three - we're genuinely shocked. And yet, when you go back and watch the story a second time - it's totally obvious that it was him, all along. Just by the way he is manipulating events in the first two episodes, it makes sense that he would execute things the way he does. To have the skills to put that into your performance is the mark of a truly talented actor. You have to skew things just right so that we don't suspect Goth the first time around but can still see clearly that it was him when we do a re-watch. That's damned fine acting if you ask me! 

Good enough acting to make him Number One. Even though, according to my methodology,  he shouldn't be!    

And that is, in my opinion, the five supporting actors who did the best job of playing multiple roles in Doctor Who.  

I had been tempted, when I was first conceiving the essay, to discuss an actor who has done multiple roles but I always thought was terrible at it. But I changed my mind. I do feel there is enough negativity in Fandom these days, so I try to emphasise positives as much as I can when I write in here. Not to mention that I am an actor, myself. While I specialise in Stage, I consider TV actors to be "bigger stars" than I am. So to heavily criticise someone in television would just make me seem like I am jealous of their success. 

So, instead, I chose to take the High Road. 

For once.