What’re peoples favourite performances in all of Doctor Who (including expanded stuff)?
To be clear, I don’t mean spesific moments, I mean in terms of what actors are just so perfectly suited for the role they play?
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Going first with the reason I wanted to make this topic: Murray Melvin as Bilis Manger is genuinely incredible, the only reason to watch the Torchwood Season 1 finalie, and everything I’ve listened to him in he’s just so so good.
He had 2 stories on screen, neither of which he was meant to be the focus of, and stole every scene so hard expanded material can’t stop using him to the point he’s a potential contender for my favourite Dr Who villians of all time
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Louise Jameson as Leela, on TV but especially on audio she is just sublime. I literally do not understand how she manages to do all that with her voice, but it is fantastic.
It’s so funny also, when she and Lalla Ward talk about their friendship because they have the exact sort of opposites attract thing as Leela and Romana do.
And of course Narvin wouldn’t work half as well without Seán Carlsen <3
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Arthur Darvill is perfect as Rory from beginning to end.
John Ringham as Tlotoxl is sublime.
Nabil Shaban is the only person who could have played Sil.
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I’ll come back and edit as more come to me but the one that immediately springs to mind is Michael Gambon in A Christmas Carol. You get what you pay for with that sort of casting.
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Honestly, one issue I’d have is there are too many performances I thought were great on various episodes of Doctor Who through the years. (And some I would mention normally already have been, like Sil and Leela.)
First off, obviously Bernard Cribbins as Wilf. Shaun Dingwall as Pete Tyler is pretty great when he shows up, too, and Camille Coduri as Jackie has grown on me a lot.
There have actually been a lot of wonderful performances from various Masters in the past, too, which isn’t surprising, since they have to live up to Roger Degado. The short time Derek Jacobi was in the role was great, Michelle Gomez kills it, Sasha Dhawan was really good the moment he stepped into the role, and as much flack as I might get, I think Anthony Ainsley’s a lot of fun in the role too.
I also, naturally, love Brian Blessed. Beatrix Lehmann as Professor Rumford. Tom Chadbon as Duggan?
I’ll probably think of more later…
(I did think of another actor I like, Mark Williams, but it’s been so long since I saw the episodes with Rory’s dad in them that I can’t remember if he belongs on this list. I can think of other roles I like him in!)
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Just to mention, Arthur Darvill was also great as Richard Madoc in the Sandman episode Calliope. (And Derek Jacobi was also in that episode!)
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Oh there is so much perfect casting over these last 60 years, where to begin 
- Nicholas Courtney as the Brigadier
- Lisa Bowerman as Benny
- Peter Capaldi as Frobisher
- Seàn Carlsen as Narvin
- Roger Delgado as The Master
- ANY Romanadvoratrelundar!
- Sophie Aldred as Ace
- Peter Bathurst as Mister Chinn
And about a thousand others, casting has always been one of Doctor Who’s greatest strengths 
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I agree with most of your picks above. Then there are also these:
Julian Glover in any of his roles, but especially Richard the Lionheart (“You defy me with the pope?!”).
Jean Marsh as Sara Kingdom and Lady Joanna.
Joseph Furst as the GOAT horribly acted pantomime villain.
Milton Johns as Benik and Kelner.
Peter Miles as Nyder.
William Hartnell, Patrick Troughton, Colin Baker, David Tennant, Matt Smith and Peter Capaldi as Doctor Who villains.
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Yay, Jean Marsh!
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Julian Glover and Jean Marsh in the Crusade is just one of the most perfect pairings in television history. Glorious through and through
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My immediate first thought is Capaldi and Gomez as 12 and Missy. Both feel so absolutely perfect in the roles and they just have incredible chemistry with each other in every scene they’re in and their performances are one major reason that 12’s is my favorite era.
To highlight a smaller part though, I think Sam Spruell as Swarm absolutely steals every scene he’s in better than just about any other villain in the show I can think of
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To bring up some iconic villain performances nobody has mentioned yet, Paul Seed as the Graff Vynda-K, David Banks as the Cyberleader, Lynda Baron as Captain Wrack, Ian Reddington as the Chief Clown, Diana Rigg as Mrs Gillyflower, and Ian Gelder as Zellin!
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No flack from me. I think he fits the era he is in well and he gives some excellent performances - Castrovalva (where his Portreeve is almost unrecognisable) and Survival especially.
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I don’t like The Crusade much but one of my all-time favourite Who scenes is the one where Joanna confronts Richard about being married off to the ‘infidels’.
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Quoted for truth.
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Derek Jacobi was a very very close second for me for who I was going to mention
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Oh god he really was
All of that show was incredible
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I’ve been rewatching I, Claudius recently and Jacobi (and the whole cast frankly) are magnificent.
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It was!
And I was familiar with most of the plot going in, as I own a fair amount of the Sandman in graphic novel form.
(Jenna Coleman was also great in the Sandman.)
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