1974–1991: Early roles The first few years of Capaldi's acting career were marked by sporadic appearances, beginning in a 1974 performance of the play
An Inspector Calls; his first onscreen appearance occurred in 1981 as Joe Edwards in the
Charles Gormley film
Living Apart Together. Starting in 1983, Capaldi received many more roles, appearing in diverse mediums as film, television, and theatre; he appeared as
Beatles member
John Lennon in a performance of
John, Paul, George, Ringo ... and Bert at the
Young Vic, and the same year had a significant role in the film
Local Hero as Danny Oldsen. His roles in television films include playing another
Beatle,
George Harrison, in
John and Yoko: A Love Story in 1985, and Robert McRae in
Chain in 1990. He portrayed roles in theatre such as the servant Fabian in
Twelfth Night and the protagonist
Jonathan Harker in
Dracula, in 1983 and 1984, among many others; and appeared in
Shadow of the Noose (1989) and ''
Agatha Christie's Poirot'' (1991).
1992–2004: Pivot to television Capaldi got his first starring role on television as Luke Wakefield, a strange man who imagines he has witnessed a crime, in the
BBC drama series ''Mr Wakefield's Crusade
in 1992. He also featured prominently as the spy chief Mr. Vladimir in the drama miniseries The Secret Agent'', also in 1992, and the protagonist's nemesis Dr. Ronnie Pilfrey in the comedy-drama
Fortysomething in 2003. He has been part of the regular cast on many shows: the protagonist's uncle Rory in the
television adaptation of
Ian Banks's
The Crow Road, His minor and guest roles have included: a TV producer named Tristan Campbell in two episodes of the sitcom
The Vicar of Dibley in 1994, and an appearance as a
university professor in the sitcom
Peep Show in 2004. He auditioned for the role of
Benjamin Sisko in the sci-fi series
Star Trek: Deep Space Nine in 1992, though he lost the role to
Avery Brooks. He was invited, in 1995, to audition for the role of the
Eighth Doctor for the
Doctor Who television movie, though he declined stating: "I didn't go. I loved the show so much, and I didn't think I would get it, and I didn't want to just be part of a big cull of actors." and the French poet and director
Jean Cocteau in the biographical film
Modigliani in 2004; investigator Luke Fitzwilliam in a stage adaptation of the
Agatha Christie novel,
Murder Is Easy at the
Duke of York's Theatre in 1993; and as journalist and art critic
Robbie Ross in the premiere run of the stage play
The Judas Kiss at the
Almeida Theatre in 1998, with the play subsequently moving to the
West End of London and then to
Broadway in
New York City. and directed the short film ''
Franz Kafka's It's a Wonderful Life, which starred Richard E. Grant and which was nominated and won various awards, with IndieWire Erik Kohn describing it as "a brilliant mix of gothic horror and holiday cheer" and praising the ambiguous nature of the film. Capaldi also wrote and directed the drama film Strictly Sinatra'', starring
Ian Hart and
Kelly Macdonald in 2001. These years saw Capaldi performing in various radio shows and audiobooks, with major roles including the German filmmaker and author
Wim Wenders in
Emotion Pictures, airing on
BBC Radio 3 in 1996; and Chief Petty Officer Grieves in the
BBC Radio 7 (now BBC Radio 4 Extra) comedy series
Our Brave Boys between 2002 and 2005.
2005–2012: Rise to fame and accolades Before taking over the lead role in
Doctor Who, Capaldi was best known for playing
spin doctor Malcolm Tucker in the Armando Iannucci-written BBC sitcom
The Thick of It from 2005 to 2012. Tucker is said to be largely, if loosely, based upon
Tony Blair's right-hand man
Alastair Campbell, although Capaldi has said that he based his performance more on Hollywood power players, such as the often abrasive
Harvey Weinstein. A film spin-off from
The Thick of It titled
In the Loop was released in 2009; Capaldi reprised his role. The role of Tucker was met with acclaim and won Capaldi several awards. From 2006 thorough 2010 he was nominated various times at both the
BAFTA TV Awards and
Royal Television Society Awards for Best Comedy Actor. He won the
2010 BAFTA TV Award for Male
Performance in a Comedy Role. He also won the 2010 and 2012
British Comedy Award for Best TV Comedy Actor. Other major roles during these years included: Dr Pete in the Scottish crime-drama series
The Field of Blood in 2011, for which he received a
BAFTA Scotland nomination in the TV actor category, though he was beaten by his co-star
Jayd Johnson; and Randall Brown on the BBC Two drama
The Hour in 2012, receiving a
BAFTA nomination for the role. Minor roles on television included
Sid's dad Mark Jenkins in the
E4 teen comedy drama series
Skins in 2007, though his character was killed off in the second series;
King Charles I in the historical fiction ''
The Devil's Whore in 2008, and Balthazar in the drama series The Nativity, based on the Nativity of Jesus in 2010. He also only held minor roles in films and stage-acting during this time: priests in the horror film Wild Country and comedy film The Best Man, both in 2005, and a small role as therapist Peter VanGellis in the comedy film Big Fat Gypsy Gangster in 2011, written by and starring his Getting On
co-star Ricky Grover, the absurdist play Absurdia
in 2007 in the Donmar Warehouse; and Professor Marcus in The Ladykillers'' at the
Liverpool Playhouse and
Gielgud Theatre in London in 2011. Capaldi wrote and presented
A Portrait of Scotland, a documentary detailing 500 years' history of Scottish portrait painting in 2009; and in 2012, Capaldi and
Tony Roche co-wrote, directed and performed in
The Cricklewood Greats, a
mockumentary about a fictitious film studio, which tracks real developments and trends throughout the history of British cinema. Capaldi voiced various roles during this period, all on BBC Radio 4, with the major roles including Alistair in the 2005–2006 situational comedy
Baggage, the Armourer in an adaption of
Dr. No in 2008, and one of the presenter Jim Tweedledee in the 2009–2010 satirical comedy
The News at Bedtime.
2013–2017: Doctor Who These years saw the rise of Capaldi to worldwide fame with his casting in the role of the
Twelfth Doctor in the BBC science-fiction series
Doctor Who, becoming the oldest actor since the first incarnation to star as
the Doctor and the third oldest to portray the character, at the age of 56; Capaldi stated that he had to seriously consider the increased level of visibility that would come with the part. He had portrayed characters in
Doctor Who before he was cast as the Doctor: Lobus Caecilius in the
Doctor Who episode "
The Fires of Pompeii". The following year he played civil servant
John Frobisher in
the third series of the
Doctor Who spin-off,
Torchwood. The start of 2013 saw Capaldi portraying the editor of
The Guardian Alan Rusbridger, in
The Fifth Estate, starring in
Inside the Mind of Leonardo, a documentary about
Leonardo da Vinci and appearing as a
World Health Organization doctor in
World War Z. Capaldi also directed several episodes of the
BBC Four sitcom
Getting On. He portrayed
Cardinal Richelieu in
an adaptation of
The Three Musketeers on
BBC One the next year, though with his casting, he was killed off-screen to avoid clashes with
Doctor Who. In August 2013 during a special event titled
Doctor Who Live: The Next Doctor, Capaldi was revealed as the next Doctor, succeeding
Matt Smith in the role, and made his first appearance as the Doctor in cameos in the
2013 specials, first in the 50th anniversary special, "
The Day of the Doctor", then the 2013 Christmas special, "
The Time of the Doctor", taking over the role at the end of the episode. Capaldi made his first regular in
Doctor Who in the episode "
Deep Breath" later that year, leading 40 episodes, consisting of three series and four specials during the next four years. In 2015 he voiced the Doctor in crossover video game
Lego Dimensions. In 2016, Capaldi reprised his role as the Twelfth Doctor in the
Doctor Who spin-off programme
Class, written by young-adult author
Patrick Ness. Besides
Doctor Who, he appeared as
Paddington Bear's neighbour Mr Curry in the family comedy film
Paddington in 2015 and reprised the role two years later film's sequel
Paddington 2, and as King Kinloch in
Maleficent in deleted scenes. He also appeared as himself in various short films and documentaries. On 30 January 2017, in an interview with
BBC Radio 2, Capaldi confirmed that
the tenth series would be his last. His final episode was the Christmas special, "
Twice Upon a Time", in which he was succeeded by actress
Jodie Whittaker. His performance as the Doctor was widely praised; with his Doctor being characterised as one who started out rude and grumpy, with a short fuse, but who grew and mellowed over time, into the perfect embodiment of kindness and love.
2018–present: Post–Doctor Who Capaldi's post–
Doctor Who career has partially involved voice acting: in 2018, he voiced
Rabbit in the
Disney film
Christopher Robin, and the next year he narrated
audiobook version of
Watership Down and ''Sputnik's Guide to Life on Earth
, winning an AudioFile Earphones award for his narration on both books. He also narrated an audiobook version of Nineteen Eighty-Four'' in 2021, Capaldi's live-action projects have included playing the role of
Mr Micawber in
The Personal History of David Copperfield, a comedy-drama film based on the novel by
Charles Dickens, in 2019 and elderly incarnation of the writer and soldier
Siegfried Sassoon in
Terence Davies's biographical drama
Benediction in 2021. He starred in the 2021
DC Extended Universe superhero film
The Suicide Squad as
the Thinker. While filming, Capaldi wrote and recorded
rock music for his debut solo studio album
St. Christopher, released through Monks Road Records that year on 19 November. Starting 2022 and 2024, he has been starring in the TV series ''
The Devil's Hour and the Apple TV+ crime thriller series Criminal Record respectively, the latter of which he also produces. Capaldi said that he was a fan of crime shows, but that often there is not much character development over the course of the show; therefore, they created a show where the plot changes the character and has a real impact on their life. As such, the show was characterised by Scott Roxborough of The Hollywood Reporter'' as "more interested in contemplating issues such as those of race, gender and other institutional disorders, in an ever increasing, politically polarized Britain." In addition, Capaldi made his return to theatre and directing: stage acting in a revival of
Constellations in 2021, acting against
Zoë Wanamaker; and directed a pilot for a TV series titled
They F**k You Up, though it remained unsold, in 2022. At the
2025 Glastonbury Festival, Capaldi joined
indie rock band
Franz Ferdinand during their Other Stage set on the Friday afternoon. Introduced as "a fellow Glaswegian, an Italian heritage Glaswegian" and "the original Capaldi", he performed vocals alongside lead singer
Alex Kapranos on the band's breakout hit "
Take Me Out" to rapturous crowds. ==Personal life==