Mark Gatiss Mark Gatiss , ( born 17 October 1966 ) twice credited as Sam Kisgart and once as Rondo Haxton , has been a major creative force in the production of " Doctor Who " fiction since the 1990s . Given his accomplishments as a " Doctor Who " author , screenwriter , audio writer , audio actor , screen actor , documentary narrator , and documentary subject , his contribution to the " Doctor Who " franchise is unique . Televised " Doctor Who " . In terms of televised " Doctor Who " , , Gatiss has contributed nine scripts and made four guest appearances since the series ' revival , and been a narrator and a subject of " Doctor Who Confidential " . Although other writers had enjoyed small roles in the 1963 version of " Doctor Who " , he was the first to have not just one , but two large speaking roles — Professor Richard Lazarus , the titular villain of " The Lazarus Experiment " , and " the Captain " in " Twice Upon a Time " . During Steven Moffat ' s time as showrunner , Gatiss was the only writer other than Moffat himself to write a script for every season . The Richard Lazarus prosthetic was later used in " Voyage of the Damned " to stand in for the actor playing Max Capricorn in some long shots . ( PCOM : " Voyage of the Damned " ) He later returned to make two brief , uncredited appearances during the Matt Smith era as a Spitfire Pilot in " Victory of the Daleks " and " A Good Man Goes to War " . He then made a credited return to the programme as Gantok in " The Wedding of River Song " . As of series 5 ' s " Victory of the Daleks " , Gatiss became the only person to have written and acted in the same episode of " Doctor Who " , and he claimed that it also made him " the first and only person so far to write for the series and be in it " twice " " . This episode also gave Gatiss the opportunity to write for seven different Doctors . This surpasses the number of different Doctors for whom Paul Cornell has written ( but they are on level ground if the Shalka Doctor is counted ) . , both writers are , however , behind Terrance Dicks , who has written " original " stories for eight different Doctors — and has written for nine different Doctors , if one counts Target novelisation s . With his role in this episode , Gatiss also achieved something of another " Doctor Who " record . , he has acted with nine of the eleven actors to have played the Doctor , though not always when that actor was playing the Doctor . Matt Smith was the sixth different Doctor he had encountered in a piece of performed " Doctor Who " . Later , in 2017 ' s " Twice Upon a Time " , Gatiss further appeared alongside the then - outgoing Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi , as well as David Bradley , who was playing the same role as the late William Hartnell ' s First Doctor . " Doctor Who " work in other media . Outside the programme proper , he has written various officially licensed novels , televised spoofs and audio plays , and has sometimes lent his voice to Big Finish Productions . Counting BBC - made spoofs and these audios , he is alone with Sir Derek Jacobi in having played both the Doctor and the Master . Gatiss also wrote the docu - drama " An Adventure in Space and Time " . A dramatised account of William Hartnell ' s tenure as the Doctor , it was produced and broadcast as part of the show ' s 50th anniversary celebrations . Work with " Doctor Who " personnel outside of the programme . Gatiss also has significant relationships with " Doctor Who " luminaries that extend beyond the programme itself . For instance , he is a frequent collaborator with Steven Moffat , with whom he created and produced " Sherlock " , a TV series which started airing in 2010 . He also played Robert Louis Stevenson in Moffat ' s . He has had some form of professional or semi - professional contact with every actor to have played the Doctor except William Hartnell and Patrick Troughton . David Tennant is his most common acting partner amongst people who ' ve played the Doctor . They ' ve been on screen together on several occasions — most prominently in and the episode " Drop Dead " of , which also featured Jessica Hynes . He ' s also been alongside Tennant in , which also co - starred Fenella Woolgar , Stephen Fry , Bill Paterson , Richard E Grant , and Jim Broadbent ; and the English - language cast of the Norwegian animated adventure , with Simon Pegg , Jim Broadbent and Steve Pemberton . He and Tom Baker have occasionally crossed paths , through their mutual connection to Matt Lucas . Gatiss script edited several episodes of , on which Baker was the regular narrator , and fellow " Doctor Who Confidential " narrator , Anthony Head , played a leading role . Later , he and Baker both appeared as actors in Lucas ' . Christopher Eccleston once appeared on an episode of Gatiss ' show , . He and Peter Davison were in several BBV productions at the start of Gatiss ' career , but following that , as of 2017 , they have only acted together in the Big Finish Productions audio story " Phantasmagoria " . By virtue of his participation in " The Zero Imperative " , he ' s acted on - screen alongside Caroline John , Jon Pertwee , Sylvester McCoy , Colin Baker , Louise Jameson , and Sophie Aldred .