Following the news that Stephen Fry and Sir Lenny Henry CBE would guest star in the first episode of ‘Doctor Who’ Season 12, comes the announcement of two more guests– Goran Višnjić and Robert Glenister. Their exact episodes and roles were not revealed, although Višnjić teased that he was playing one of his “favourite people in history,” while the BBC divulged that “emotions will be charged” when Glenister’s character meets Jodie Whitaker’s Doctor and her TARDIS crew– Graham O’Brien (Bradley Walsh), Ryan Sinclair (Tosin Cole), and Yasmin Khan (Mandip Gill), all returning from S11.
Glenister isn’t a ‘Doctor Who’ virgin, as he revealed:
“I first appeared in Doctor Who in The Caves of Androzani at the tender age of 24 in 1984. 35 years later I got to be in it again at the not so tender age of nearly 60. How time flies!”
Glenister’s work has mainly been limited to British movies and television. Among his most notable roles are that of Ash “Three Socks” Morgan on ‘Hustle’ and Nicholas Blake on ‘Spooks’. He most recently starred on the sci-fi series ‘Curfew’, alongside Adam Brody, Billy Zane, and Sean Bean, which was released by Sky One in the UK and on Spectrum in the US. He will next be seen in the Amazon original movie ‘The Aeronauts’, in the role of Ned Chambers.
As for Višnjić, he exclaimed:
“I’ve always been a huge fan of Doctor Who, so when the offer to play one of my favorite people in history came, it made me so happy to be part of the show. And it turned into this awesome, dream job!”
Višnjić’s most recent series regular gig was portraying Garcia Flynn on NBC’s ‘Timeless’, so that should prepare him a bit for taking part in a time travel tale from ‘Doctor Who’. Since ‘Timeless’ ended, he has appeared on ‘This is Us’, ‘Santa Clarita Diet’, and ‘Dollface’. Most recently, he starred in the movie ‘General’ and its spinoff TV series, in his native Croatia. He first gained notice in the US for his role as Dr. Luka Kovac on ‘ER’.
‘Doctor Who’ executive producer Matt Strevens stated:
“One of the great joys of Doctor Who are the legendary actors who want to come and join in the Doctor’s adventures. We were thrilled to welcome Goran and Robert, whose work we’ve loved and admired for years. They create two iconic characters who are going to delight and entertain.”
‘Doctor Who’ Season 12 debuts on BBC One/BBC America on New Years Day, Wednesday, January 1, 2020. The second episode arrives on Saturday, January 4, and all subsequent episodes will air in the usual Saturday night time slot.
Source: Radio Times
