Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer. He is best known for playing the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981, making him the longest-serving actor in the role.
Raised devoutly Catholic in Liverpool, Baker trained to become a Christian brother before turning to acting. He joined the National Theatre company in 1968. His first major film role was as Grigori Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), for which he was nominated for two Golden Globes. Following supporting roles in genre films such as The Canterbury Tales (1972), The Vault of Horror (1973) and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973), he was working part-time on a building site when he was cast as the lead in Doctor Who. Baker incorporated his own eccentric personality into the Doctor and became highly popular with audiences in the United Kingdom and abroad. His incarnation is often considered the best and most quintessential of the programme's classic series. Baker has reprised the role in audio dramas since 2009, and made a cameo appearance in the series' 50th-anniversary special "The Day of the Doctor" (2013).
Baker appeared in the television series Medics (1992–1995), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000–2001) and Monarch of the Glen (2004–2005). He moved into voice acting later in his career, providing narration for the comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Little Britain USA (2008). In 2006, his "sonorous" voice was voted the fourth-most recognisable in the UK.
Thomas Stewart Baker was born on 20 January 1934 at Liverpool Maternity Hospital. His mother, Mary Jane, was a barmaid and cleaner. His father, John Stewart Baker, was a steward in the Merchant Navy often absent from the household due to being away at sea. Baker was raised by his mother as a devout Roman Catholic. He had two younger siblings, Louisa and John.
Baker attended St Swithin's Primary School and was an altar boy in his youth. He then attended St Matthew's Catholic Secondary Modern School. Baker acted at school and was offered a job at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, but his mother forbade him. He was impressed by a theatrical presentation from a Christian brother who came to talk at the school. Baker performed poorly on his exams and he sought a religious career as "a way out" of becoming a labourer.
At 15 years old, Baker left school to become a novice religious brother with the La Mennais Brothers in Jersey. He subsequently moved to Cheswardine Hall in Shropshire as a noviciate. Baker "ignored [his] symptoms of fading faith", stating in his 1997 autobiography: "I had had enough of religious life. So deep was my resentment of authority that I realized I had an intense desire to break all the Commandments." On the advice of a visiting priest, he resigned after six years of training. By 1974, Baker had lost his faith in God.
He undertook his national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving for two years. Baker was initially in charge of the medical museum, but due to boredom, he secured a posting as a medical orderly at a British military hospital in Germany. He developed an interest in acting by taking part in the Medical Corps' amateur dramatics. Baker left the army in 1956 and took up acting, studying at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup for three years.
Baker was in his thirties when his professional acting career began. He worked in provincial repertory theatre, which he later recalled as "mostly flops or even disasters". His first acting role was in a 1966 production of The Winter's Tale at the Cambridge Theatre, the Edinburgh Festival and La Fenice in Venice, where he played multiple characters including Rogero, Autolycus and the bear. He made his film debut in a 1967 TV movie adaptation of the play, in the same roles. Baker had his first break whilst performing in a late-night pub revue for the 1968 York Festival. His performance was seen by a scout with the Royal National Theatre who encouraged him to audition for the company. Following a successful audition for Sir Laurence Olivier, Baker was given small parts and understudied. One of his bigger roles was the horse Rocinante in The Travails of Sancho Panza, directed by Joan Plowright. This led Olivier to cast Baker as the Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice. Other productions included The National Health and A Woman Killed with Kindness.
His stage work led to work on television, where he gained small parts in series such as Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Market in Honey Lane and Softly, Softly. He played Dr Ahmed el Kabir in the BBC's 1972 Play of the Month production of The Millionairess, directed by Bill Slater and starring Maggie Smith. Baker's National Theatre contract ended in 1971. He continued to appear in theatre productions, with a role in The Novelist at Hampstead and as the lead in Macbeth at the Shaw Theatre, London. Due to Baker's role as a Russian in The Idiot, Olivier recommended him to producer Sam Spiegel for the part of Grigori Rasputin in Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), his first major film role. Baker was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for his performance, one for Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture and another for Most Promising Newcomer. He subsequently appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1972 film adaptation of The Canterbury Tales. In 1973, he played a tortured artist in The Vault of Horror and the villainous sorcerer Koura in Ray Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad.
Baker worked on a building site between acting jobs, which earned him the nickname "Sir Laurence" from his workmates. He had expected to appear in three films in 1974—Isabella of Spain, Three Men Went to War and Jackson's War—but all had collapsed by late 1973. Anxious at his career prospects, on 3 February 1974 he wrote to Bill Slater, the incoming BBC Head of Serials, asking for acting work. Slater recommended him to Doctor Who producer Barry Letts, who was seeking a successor to Third Doctor actor Jon Pertwee. Letts and script editor Terrance Dicks were impressed by Baker's performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, and following a meeting with Baker in the BBC bar, the actor was quickly cast as the Fourth Doctor. Baker's casting was announced to the press on 15 February; he made his first appearance as the Doctor in the closing moments of Planet of the Spiders on 8 June. Baker's casting resulted in a wave of new acting offers. Even before recording his first season as the Doctor, he was cast in the television film The Author of Beltraffio (1974), directed by Tony Scott. The same year he played the title role in The Trials of Oscar Wilde at the Oxford Festival.
Although Baker had little idea of how he would play his version of the Doctor when cast, he quickly made the part his own, highlighting the character's eccentricity and alien qualities. Baker incorporated much of his own personality into the Doctor's and frequently made comedic scripting suggestions and ad-libs. His trademark look of wearing a floppy hat and long multi-coloured scarf, as well as his deep voice, made him an immediately recognisable figure. Audience-viewing figures for his first few years returned to a level not seen since the height of "Dalekmania" a decade earlier. Baker relished his status as a children's hero, stating it was "better to be" the Doctor than to return to his "tangled" private life. He avoided smoking or swearing in public out of awareness that the Doctor was considered a role model for children.
Under new producer Philip Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes, the series gained a gothic tone influenced by Hammer Horror films and was aimed at a more mature audience. Many of the stories from Baker's early seasons are considered classics, such as The Ark in Space (1975), Genesis of the Daleks (1975), The Brain of Morbius (1976), The Deadly Assassin (1976) and The Robots of Death (1977). Baker has named Hinchcliffe's tenure as his favourite period of the series, but the series' violent tone came under heavy criticism from conservative activist Mary Whitehouse. Hinchcliffe was replaced by Graham Williams, and the series' tone was lightened. Williams attempted to "rein in" Baker, but he was ultimately forced to accept the actor's growing influence over the programme.