More than a decade after his groundbreaking performance as Vincent Van Gogh in Doctor Who, Tony Curran has said he would "definitely consider" returning to the show.
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Curran's portrayed the iconic artist in the episode Vincent and the Doctor alongside Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor and Karen Gillan's Amy Pond. His performance has gone down in Doctor Who history – largely thanks to a powerful scene in the episode, which sees the Doctor take Van Gogh to the Musée d'Orsay in the present day, where his art takes pride of place.
Speaking exclusively to RadioTimes.com to celebrate the release of his new series Mary & George, Curran said that, while he hasn't been approached to return to Doctor Who, he'd "definitely consider it".
The actor added: "Some people approach me to say ‘I’ve got a script’ or something about Van Gogh, playing something again. I don’t know, do you go back? I don’t know sometimes, it’s about recreating something. It depends on what it was.
"But it was definitely a very special time working with Matt and Karen. Of course, you just never know what you’re going to do in this profession sometimes. I was fortunate enough to get that role.
"Mayflies I did recently and that show was also quite poignant, I really enjoyed that, very intense. It was about a real man, a real person, real life issues.
"Vincent and Tully from Mayflies and most definitely King James is another character that I was lucky enough to play that encapsulates a lot of those elements of those characters I’ve played – from joy to love to tenderness to sensuality to the tragic nature of it all. Very human, which was very challenging but ultimately very fulfilling to play.”
Tony Curran, Karen Gillan and Matt Smith in Doctor Who.
The scene of Van Gogh visiting the gallery is the most re-watched clip on the Doctor Who YouTube channel, boasting 26 million views.
The next most watched is Matt Smith and David Tennant's Doctors meeting for the first time with 12 million views.
Curran's performance in the episode has been widely praised, with RadioTimes.com previously crowning the actor as the best ever guest star in Doctor Who.
Responding at the time, Curran said in a video on his social media: "I had a great time shooting the show with Matt, Karen, Bill Nighy, our lovely director Jonny Campbell and, of course, the incredible Richard Curtis, who wrote the episode.
"I've been doing this acting lark for over 40 years and I've never played a character that's had the response like Vincent has.
"It's been very moving and touching when people come up to me and share their thoughts and their feelings about how that episode moved them."
Doctor Who will return to BBC One in May. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on.
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Louise Griffin is the Sci-Fi & Fantasy Editor for Radio Times, covering everything from Doctor Who, Star Wars and Marvel to House of the Dragon and Good Omens. She previously worked at Metro as a Senior Entertainment Reporter and has a degree in English Literature.
Morgan Cormack is a Drama Writer for Radio Times, covering everything drama-related on TV and streaming. She previously worked at Stylist as an Entertainment Writer. Alongside her past work in content marketing and as a freelancer, she possesses a BA in English Literature.
