Scottish actor Peter Capaldi is the new Doctor Who, BBC American announced during a live broadcast on Sunday.
Capaldi becomes the 12th Doctor Who on the long running British sci-fi show which debuted in 1963, according to USA Today. He is the fourth Doctor Who since the franchise received a reboot in 2005, following Christopher Eccleston, David Tennant and Mark Smith.
Peter Davison, who played Doctor Who form 1981-84, appeared on Sunday's telecast, has a special connection to the character. His daughter is married to Tennant, who was the 10th Doctor Who.
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"In a way it's the longest job in television," Davison said, per USA Today. "It's a whirlwind time when you do it, and it keeps on going after."
"Doctor Who" was created in early 1963 by Sydney Newman and Donald Wilson, originally intended as a children's show, which would combine "an exciting adventure in time and space" with educational content about science and history, according to
the show's website.
It was a hit among adults with actor William Hartnell playing the original time and space-traveling Doctor Who.
The executive producer for "Doctor Who," Steven Moffat, said Capaldi was seriously considered the previous time the role was open before executives settled on Smith.
"There comes a right time for the right person to play it," Moffat said, according to USA Today. "We all had the same idea and it was a quite different idea. Everybody saw it and was like, 'That's the Doctor.' "
Capaldi currently has a co-starring role in the summer movie "World War Z" with Brad Pitt, according to IMDb.com. He will be seen in the upcoming "The Fifth Estate," with Benedict Cumberbath, who starred this summer in "Star Trek Into Darkness," and Laura Linney on Oct. 13.
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Capaldi is a familiar face to British fans, appearing on numerous television series, mini-series and television movies since 1984, most recently in "The Hour," "The Thick of It," "The Field of Blood," and "Getting On."
Capaldi directed the television movie "The Cricklewood Greats" in 2012 and is directing Ewan McGregor and Kate Hudson in the upcoming movie "Born to be King," scheduled to be out next year.
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