New Doctor Who Is Peter Capaldi. Actor Who?

As I told you yesterday, the new actor who will play Doctor Who has been revealed to be Peter Capaldi. Capaldi is a 55-year-old Scottish actor most well-known for his role as an acerbic, expletive-loving spin doctor on the British television series The Thick Of It. Actor Who playing Doctor Who! (I hadn't heard of him before either!) American audiences may have seen him as a doctor in the Brad Pitt zombie movie World War Z.

The BBC analyzes the choice:

After Matt Smith, the youngest actor to play the Doctor, comes Peter Capaldi, one of the oldest. 

At 55, the same age as first Doctor William Hartnell in 1963, Capaldi's casting seems a significant nod to the past as the show celebrates its 50th anniversary. 

Capaldi is likely to bring gravitas - as well as humour - to a role widely regarded as one of the most prized in British television.

I have to say that I am disappointed that the producers went with a very conventional choice, an old white guy with a British accent, as the 12th Doctor. Then again, first and foremost Doctor Who is a British science fiction show, and their fan base is the British public. Still, I had hoped that the producers would try and think outside the box and pick someone other than a white male. It's not clear to me if they are going to re-cast the current companion of the Doctor, who is now played by Jenna Coleman.