Tom Baker

Thomas Stewart Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and writer.

Thomas Stewart Baker was born on Scotland Road in the Vauxhall area of Liverpool on 20 January 1934.

His mother, Mary Jane (née Fleming), was a cleaner and devout Catholic.

His father, John Stewart Baker, was a seaman and was largely absent from the family due to being away at sea.

Baker attended Cheswardine Hall Boarding School in Shropshire.

At age 15, he became a novice religious brother with the Brothers of Ploermel (Brothers of Christian Instruction) in Jersey and later in Shropshire.

He left the monastery six years later after losing his faith.

In his autobiography, he said he had realised that he wanted to break each of the Ten Commandments—in order—so he thought he should get out before he did something serious.

Baker undertook his national service in the Royal Army Medical Corps, serving from 1955 until 1957.

Upon leaving the army, he served in the Merchant Navy.

Baker took up acting around 1956, joining the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup.

He became a professional actor in the late 1960s.

Baker was in his thirties when his professional acting career began and he worked in provincial rep theatre.

He had his first break whilst performing in a late-night pub revue for the 1968 York Festival.

His performance was seen by someone with the Royal National Theatre who encouraged him to audition for the company, which was headed at the time by Laurence Olivier.

Baker did so and was offered a contract.

From 1968 to 1971, he was given small parts and understudied; one of his bigger roles was the horse Rosinante in Don Quixote.

Baker's stage work led to work on television, where he gained small parts in series such as Dixon of Dock Green, Z-Cars, Market in Honey Lane and Softly, Softly.

His first major film role was as Grigori Rasputin in the film Nicholas and Alexandra (1971), which he got after Olivier had recommended him for the part.

He was nominated for two Golden Globe Awards for his performance, one for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and another for Best Newcomer.

Baker also appeared in Pier Paolo Pasolini's 1972 film version of Geoffrey Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, as the younger husband of the Wife of Bath.

Baker appeared as Moore, an artist whose paintings are imbued with voodoo power, in The Vault of Horror (1973), and as Koura, the villainous sorcerer, in Ray Harryhausen's The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973).

He played the fourth incarnation of the Doctor in the science fiction television series Doctor Who from 1974 to 1981.

In 1974, Baker took over the role of the Doctor from Jon Pertwee to become the Fourth Doctor in the BBC TV series.

He had been recommended to producer Barry Letts by the BBC's Head of Serials, Bill Slater, who had directed Baker in a Play of the Month production of Shaw's play The Millionairess.

Letts was impressed by Baker upon meeting him, and then, after seeing his performance in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, became convinced he was right for the part.

Baker was working on a construction site at the time, as acting jobs were scarce.

When he first took on the role, the media dubbed him "Boiler Suit Tom" because he had been supplied for a press conference with some old studio-set clothes to replace his modest garments.

Baker told the Daily Express that his friends teased him that "the BBC scoured London to come up with the only middle-aged-ten-year-old in the business."

Letts left the series after producing Baker's debut story, Robot (1974–1975), and was replaced by Philip Hinchcliffe.

Under Hinchcliffe and script editor Robert Holmes the series gained a "Gothic tone" influenced by Hammer Film Productions and, according to Hinchcliffe, was aimed "a bit more to the adults in the audience".

Baker quickly made the part his own, and audience-viewing figures for his first few years returned to a level not seen since the height of 'Dalekmania' a decade earlier.

His eccentric style of dress and quirky personality (particularly his trademark look—-wearing a long scarf—and his fondness for jelly babies), as well as his voice, made him an immediately recognisable figure, and he quickly caught the viewing public's imagination.

Baker contributed ideas for many aspects of his Doctor's personality; he became known for making "frequent and often comedic scripting suggestions and ad-libs", but the idea of wearing a scarf had been created by accident.

James Acheson, the costume designer assigned to his first story, had provided far more wool than necessary to the knitter, Begonia Pope, thinking this would enable her to choose a suitable colour.

However, due to a miscommunication, Pope knitted all the wool she was given.

During his period as the star of Doctor Who, the original series received its highest viewing figures.

Later in his career, Baker performed in the television series Medics (1992–1995), Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000–2001) and Monarch of the Glen (2004–2005).

He also provided narration for the television comedy series Little Britain (2003–2006) and Little Britain USA (2008).

His voice, which has been described as "sonorous", was voted the fourth-most recognisable in the UK in 2006.