Claim: Actors have played the Doctor.
Evidence: The incumbent Doctor is the Twelfth Doctor , played by Peter Capaldi , who succeeded Matt Smith in the role in the 2013 Christmas special `` The Time of the Doctor '' after he was granted a new `` cycle '' of regenerations by the Time Lords.
Peter Dougan Capaldi -LRB- born 14 April 1958 -RRB- is a Scottish actor , writer and director , best known for playing the twelfth incarnation of the Doctor in the television series Doctor Who.