Doctor Who
Who is Sylvester McCoy?

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Who is Sylvester McCoy?

No Doctor evolved as strikingly as the Seventh, who began as a buffoon and revealed darker depths as the series progressed. It was a role played to perfection by Sylvester McCoy, who relished showing his serious side after an early career as a comedian. But did you know Sylvester's not actually his name? Read on for the life and times of the real McCoy.

No Doctor evolved as strikingly as the Seventh, who began as a buffoon and revealed darker depths as the series progressed. It was a role played to perfection by Sylvester McCoy, who relished showing his serious side after an early career as a comedian. But did you know Sylvester's not actually his name? Read on for the life and times of the real McCoy.
Before Who

Before Who

Born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith in 1943, the future Seventh Doctor spent his teenage years training to be a priest in Scotland. But he soon realised that a strict religious life wasn't what he wanted, and he headed down to London in search of a new direction.

After a decade working in an insurance company, Kent-Smith quit office life to crack showbusiness. He started working in a theatre box office, where he was discovered by Ken Campbell, a performer in search of "wacky comedic talent" to go on tour with. Joining the Ken Campbell Roadshow, Kent-Smith created a stage character named Sylvester McCoy, specialising in doing massively unhealthy things like hammering nails up his nose and setting his hair on fire. When journalists began to assume he was actually called Sylvester McCoy, Kent-Smith decided to go along with it, taking on the name full time.
His Who

His Who

When McCoy heard that Colin Baker was leaving Doctor Who, he simply rang up his agent and said "There's a job going at the BBC and I'd like to apply!" A few auditions later the McCoy era was born – and it would run from 1987 to 1989.

As he was known as a brilliant slapstick performer, McCoy's early stories were deliberately light and comedic – with the Seventh Doctor a clownish figure with a tendency to spout garbled phrases... "You don't understand regeneration. It's a lottery and I've drawn the short plank".

But as time went on, the Seventh Doctor became a darker, mysterious figure who seemed to know much more than he let on, and was willing to manipulate everyone – even his own companion Ace – to achieve his goals. By the end, he was probably the most enigmatic Doctor since the First incarnation.
After Who

After Who

Although his tenure as the Doctor came to an end when the series went into extended hiatus in 1989, McCoy played the part one last time in 1996, when he regenerated into Paul McGann's Eight Doctor. He's also remained an acclaimed stage star and consistent TV actor, appearing in shows such as Rab C Nesbitt, Casualty and even Hollyoaks. He almost landed the part of Bilbo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, but ultimately lost out to Ian Holm. We're sure the Seventh Doctor would have exacted a cunning revenge for that…

Who knew?

If you can imagine such a thing, McCoy was once in a comedy double act with future film star Bob Hoskins, when they both toured as part of the Ken Campbell Roadshow in the 70s. Incidentally, Campbell himself auditioned for the part of the Seventh Doctor, losing out to his own protégé McCoy.

Who says…

Despite his comedic background, McCoy was glad to distance himself from that during his period as the Doctor. "I realised in the first season that I wanted my Doctor to be darker," he said. "I wanted to bring back the mystery and uncertainty that had been in the show originally." And so he did, rather splendidly.
 

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