Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special 2013, Chiwetel Ejiofor [VIDEO]: Matt Smith Could Have Lost 11th Doctor Role to '12 Years a Slave' Star

Matt Smith is departing BBC's "Doctor Who" after the 50^th anniversary special and the Christmas episode at the end of this year, but what if he had never been cast in the role of Eleven? According to a Tumblr post from show writer Neil Gaiman, a black actor had turned down the role of the eleventh Doctor and new reports claim that this actor was Chiwetel Ejiofor. Would you have preferred Ejiofor to Smith?

Check out Chiwetel in the latest trailer for his new film 12 Years a Slave right here:

Mstars previously reported on Gaiman's revealing Tumblr post. Here is an excerpt:

Thanks to a Tumblr Q&A session, Gaiman got the chance to answer some questions about "Doctor Who." When asked if a Doctor could ever be someone other than a white man, he responded:

"Yes, I have no doubt there will be [a black Doctor]. (I know one black actor who was already offered the part of the Doctor, and who turned it down.) Just as there will be a female Doctor."

When asked about the actor who turned down the role, Neil responded:

"You can ask, but seeing that it was something I was told in confidence by the actor in question, you won't get an answer."

Gaiman also said, "I'd rather see a female Doctor as a reaction to whatever Peter Capaldi is, than as a reaction to Matt's creation."

He also spoke about the choice of Capaldi: "I'm glad that we're getting an older Doctor - we've had two puppies, it's time to see someone older. It'll change the nature of the relationship with Clara in interesting ways, for a start."

And then the writer tackled a subject that many Whovians have in the back of their heads: Time Lords only have a set number of regenerations. His response:

"Well, that was the rule when we had Time Lords running the show. (And they were the ones who gave the Master his extra regenerations.) There aren't any Time Lords any more... MY OPINION (which is not Canon) is that the regeneration limit is a lot like the speed limit. You can break it, but things get a lot more dangerous if you do. The Time Lords were the traffic cops: they enforced the limit. With them gone, the Doctor can keep regenerating beyond 13, but with consequences."