Jodie Whittaker: The best roles by the Doctor Who star
The Doctor isn't her only great performance.
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While Jodie Whittaker’s time as The Doctor has passed, that doesn’t mean that our time of praising her acting prowess has. Whittaker was an accomplished actor on both small and big stages when she was cast in Doctor Who and shows no signs of stopping just because she has shut the door on the TARDIS for the final time.
Here are some of our favorite Jodie Whittaker roles from before and after her time starring in Doctor Who.
And remember, Whittaker will be appearing later this month at Seattle's Emerald City Comic Con 2024. You can reserve Jodie Whittaker ECCC '24 Photo Ops and Autographs now to avoid waiting in line one you're at the event.
Attack the Block
Attack the Block is not only one of Jodie Whittaker’s best and most fun roles, it marks the first time we saw John Boyega on screen before he would go on to Star Wars fame. Whittaker is firmly in the role of heroine as she tries to protect a South London council estate from a covert alien invasion. Her performance here feels most like her time as the Doctor, with a cheesy sci-fi plot that is carried by the charm of its cast.
Black Mirror
When Black Mirror is good, it makes for exceptional TV, and 2011’s 'The Entire History of You' is one of the show’s best offerings. In it, Whittaker stars as one half of a doomed couple in a world where every moment is captured on video. A couple begins using these recorded moments as fuel during their increasingly heated arguments. Like the best Black Mirror episodes, the episode shines a light on our increasingly toxic relationship with technology and social media.
One Night
One of Jodie Whittaker’s more recent roles has been one of her most critically acclaimed. In One Night, Whittaker is one of three friends who share a traumatic moment in their past. Now, twenty years later, one friend writes a book about those events without the others’ permission which causes plenty of dramatic outbursts that let Whittaker stretch her acting muscles.
Broadchurch
Before she was the Doctor, Whitaker was probably best known for her role as a grieving mother in BBC’s Broadchurch. A young boy named Danny washes up on shore in a small English town, the search for his killer and the impact his death has on his family becomes the key focus of the story. The series also stars the tenth Doctor, David Tennant, fresh off his time in the TARDIS as an extra treat for Doctor Who fans.
Venus
From her breakthrough role, it was clear that Whittaker was a capable and commanding actress. Peter O’Toole stars as an elderly actor who finds himself attracted to the young grandniece of a close friend. Jodie Whittaker’s performance in this intimate, independent film earned her a string of acting award nominations, including the British Independent Film Awards and the Satellite Awards.
Good
Though the film itself is heavily flawed, most critics agree that the biggest highlight of Good is Jodie Whittaker’s performance. The film follows a German literature professor named John Hadler trying to be a good person during the rise of Nazism in the 1930s, with Whittaker having the dubious honor of portraying the young Nazi sympathizer that Hadler marries to solidify his place in the Nazi hierarchy.
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