Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special 2013: Matt Smith Attending Fan Event, BBC Wanted Michael Jackson & Bill Cosby for 1980s Movie!

The 50^th anniversary of BBC's hit television experience Doctor Who is more than just a special television event. Though fans are waiting patiently for the November 23, 2013, special to air with the return of David Tennant and Billie Piper as well as the second to last episode featuring Matt Smith as the Doctor, there are still plenty of anniversary related events going on this year. One event is the celebration around the special and Matt Smith will be attending. This might actually be the last event that Smith attends as the Doctor so it will clearly be a big deal for Whovians as well as the 30-year-old actor.

"The event this year will be an extra special occasion for me," Smith said in a recent press release. "I'm truly looking forward to a huge celebration with the fans in the lead up to the 50th anniversary episode."

In June of this year, Smith announced that he would be leaving the role of the Doctor after three successful seasons. This news is bittersweet because fans have grown to love Smith's portrayal of Eleven, but now we have a new Doctor to look forward to!

Some actors linked to the iconic role include Ben Daniels ("House Of Cards"), Dominic Cooper ("The History Boys"), David Harewood ("Homeland") and Julian Rhind-Tutt ("The West Wing"). Perhaps the one actor most favored to take over the role is Rory Kinnear. He is best known for playing MI6 officer Bill Tanner in the last two Bond movies.

With these casting rumors circulating around, why don't we look back at some past performers asked to take over the role of the Doctor?

You may not believe this, but "The King of Pop," Michael Jackson, was actually approached in the lat 1980s to be the Doctor. Around this time, the Doctor Who movie was in pre-production and Jackson was at the height of his career.  What might be a little more interesting is that the BBC was also looking at Bill Cosby for the role!

Clearly neither of these two was cast and Paul McCann ended up playing the eighth Doctor in a television movie of Doctor Who.