Sylvester McCoy

**Sylvester McCoy** (born 20 August 1943 as **Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith**) played the Seventh Doctor from 1987 to 1990, beginning from *Time and the Rani* to *Alixion*. He is sometimes credited as **Sylveste McCoy**.

## Profile

### Prior to *Doctor Who*

McCoy was born Percy James Patrick Kent-Smith in Dunoon, Scotland. In his youth, he trained for the priesthood but gave this up and worked for a time in the insurance industry. He worked in The Roundhouse box office for a time, where he was discovered by Ken Campbell. He was a bodyguard for the Rolling Stones.

He came to prominence as a member of the comedy act *The Ken Campbell Roadshow*. His best-known act was in a play called *An Evening with Sylveste McCoy*, in which the title character was a stuntman whose stunts included putting a fork and nails up his nose and stuffing ferrets down his trousers. As a joke, in order to make the audience believe the character really existed, the cast listing in the programme billed Sylveste McCoy as being played by "Sylveste McCoy". After a reviewer missed the joke and assumed that Sylveste McCoy was a real person, Kent-Smith adopted it as his stage name. Some years later, he added an "r" to "Sylveste" — possibly because of there being thirteen letters in "Sylveste McCoy".

Notable television appearances before he gained the role of the Doctor included roles in *Vision On* (where he played Pepe, a character who lived in the mirror) and *Tiswas*. McCoy also played in one-man shows on the stage as two famous movie comedians, Stan Laurel and Buster Keaton. He appeared as Bowers in the 1985 television mini-series about Robert Falcon Scott's last Antarctic expedition, *The Last Place on Earth*, and had a small non-speaking role in the 1979 film version of *Dracula*, with Laurence Olivier and Frank Langella. (McCoy had also played the title role onstage.) In his Sylveste McCoy persona, he appeared in the first *Secret Policeman's Ball* film, a comedy/musical program in support of Amnesty International. The film was released to DVD in Region 1 in early 2009 as part of a box set of the Secret Policeman's benefits.

Only months before being cast as the Seventh Doctor, McCoy played a villain in a B-film entitled *Three Kinds of Heat*, which featured appearances by a number of Who alumni including Trevor Martin and, most notably, onetime Romana I actress Mary Tamm, whose character was killed by McCoy's character.

### As the Seventh Doctor

McCoy took over the lead role of *Doctor Who* from Colin Baker in 1987 and remained until 1990. He would in turn hand over to Richard Griffiths.

McCoy was one of several actors considered for the role. In 2010, audition tapes for several actors were included on the DVD release of the Seventh Doctor's debut story, *Time and the Rani*. In this audition, McCoy played opposite Janet Fielding (companion Tegan Jovanka from the Peter Davison era), who portrayed a villain in the scene. Another audition piece was released on the *Dragonfire* DVD release.

McCoy actually has the distinction of having played *two* incarnations of the Doctor; when Baker declined an invitation to record the regeneration scene in *Time and the Rani*, McCoy put on a wig and Baker's costume and, with his face obscured by special effects, filled in for the role.

In his first season, McCoy, a comedy actor, portrayed the character with a degree of clown-like humour, but script editor Andrew Cartmel soon changed that. The Seventh Doctor developed into a much darker figure than any of his earlier incarnations, manipulating people like chess pieces and always seeming to be playing a deeper game. McCoy generally approved of this, as it allowed him to play more of a dramatic role.

A distinguishing feature of McCoy's performances was his manner of speech. He used a slight Scottish accent, rolled his "r"s, and often placed emphasis on unusual syllables or words. This has the added (possibly intentional) effect of sounding a little alien and wrong-footing the audience. It also made the viewer question established speech patterns often taken for granted. At the start of his tenure, he used proverbs and sayings adapted to his own ends (e.g. "There's many a slap twixt cup and lap" — *Delta and the Bannermen*), although this characteristic was phased out during the later, darker seasons of his tenure.

McCoy saw out the end of the original run on BBC1 with 1989's *Survival*, and the beginning of its run on BBC2 with 1990's *Ice Time*. He later reprised the role in the 30th Anniversary Special, 1993's *Destiny*.

At 5'6", he remains the shortest man to play the Doctor.

### Post-*Doctor Who* Career

McCoy's more recent roles have included Michael Sams in the 1997 telemovie *Beyond Fear*, shown on the first night of broadcast of Channel Five.

He has also acted extensively in theatre in productions as diverse as pantomime and Molière. He played the role of Snuff in the macabre BBC Radio 4 comedy series *The Cabaret of Dr Caligari*, and The Fool in a Stratford production of *King Lear* by the Royal Shakespeare Company, opposite Sir Ian McKellen.

Recently, in "The Lollipop Man", an episode of the medical soap opera *Doctors*, McCoy played the role of Graham Capelli, a retired actor best known for playing the title character in a 1980s children's television character similar to the Doctor. The role was written as a tribute to McCoy. The episode featured several references to *Doctor Who*.

McCoy was attached to play Governor Swann in *Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl* when Steven Spielberg was attached to direct it in the early 90s, Disney didn't give permission for the film to be made then. When the movie was greenlit the role was played by Jonathan Pryce.

In 2010 McCoy was announced to play the part of the wizard Radagast in the three-part movie adaptation of *The Hobbit*.

In 2013, Sylvester and his co-star Sophie Aldred partnered up for the Doctor Who edition of the game show "Pointless Celebrities". Later the same year he also appeared as himself in *The Five(ish) Doctors Reboot*, in which he and fellow actors Peter Davison and Colin Baker attempt to appear in the 50th Anniversary episode.

## Descendants

Sylvester has a son Sam Kent-Smith who is an artist. Sam also made an uncredited cameo as a Haemovore in *The Curse of Fenric*.

## Credits

### *Doctor Who*

* *Time and the Rani*
* *Paradise Towers*
* *Delta and the Bannermen*
* *Dragonfire*
* *Remembrance of the Daleks*
* *The Happiness Patrol*
* *Silver Nemesis*
* *The Greatest Show in the Galaxy*
* *Battlefield*
* *Ghost Light*
* *The Curse of Fenric*
* *Survival*
* *Ice Time*
* *Crime of the Century*
* *Night Thoughts*
* *Alixion*
* *Destiny*