To which many American fans say, "Who?" (No pun intended)

55-year-old Scottish actor Peter Capaldi may be somewhat unknown to us "Bloody Colonials", but across the pond in the UK, Capaldi is known for great performances in TV series like "The Hour" and "The Thick of It", as well as roles in films like "Dangerous Liaisons" and "World War Z".

The announcement of Capaldi becoming the 12th incarnation of the Doctor came earlier today during a live broadcast on the BBC.  Show-runner and head writer Stephen Moffat admitted that Capaldi (not yet revealed at this point of the special) was a contender for the role four years ago when David Tennant was leaving the role.  Capaldi started the interview saying he was happy that he didn't have to keep the secret from his daughter anymore as she was upset his name wasn't being thrown around by fans as a possible candidate for the role.  When asked what he was doing when he got the news of his castings, Capaldi said he was actually on-set filming a BBC version of "The Three Musketeers" when he got that call, which he missed.  When he saw the missed call from his agent he called her back and she answered the phone saying, "Hello Doctor."

To fans of "Doctor Who", Capaldi is no stranger.  Capaldi appeared in the episode "Fires of Pompeii", playing a father in Rome whose family is saved from the destruction of Pompeii by The Doctor.  Capaldi also appeared in a season of the "Doctor Who" spin-off series "Torchwood".  Current Doctor Matt Smith will appear alongside previous Doctor David Tennant in the 50th Anniversary special in November, and then he will make his final appearance as the 11th Doctor in the Christmas special, regenerating into Capaldi's 12th Doctor by the end of the episode.

Funny note, in "World War Z", Capaldi played a Doctor for the World Health Organization, better known as a W.H.O. Doctor.

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