Carey Mulligan, and 7 More Celebrities You Forgot Were on Doctor Who

The longer a show lasts, the more popular it becomes. Eventually, viewers become interested in the show not only for its storyline, but also for its surprising longevity, and it can become a staple not only among viewers, but also among actors. Appearing on Doctor Who has become something of a must for all successful British actors.

But not every cameo is as memorable as Game of Thrones ' Maisy Williams, and not every single one is as controversial. From Thomas Sangster to Ian McKellen, here are 8 stars you may have forgotten were on Doctor Who.

Carey Mulligan

Now known for her roles in some of Hollywood's most successful productions, such as Shame and The Great Gatsby, the actress' appearance in Doctor Who went unnoticed by many viewers, despite starring in one of the most popular horror episodes of the entire series.

Playing Sally Sparrow in the Steven Moffat-written episode Blink (S3E10), the actress helped introduce the concept of the Weeping Angels, who became one of the greatest threats to the Doctor and his companions.

Thomas Sangster

Best known for his role as Newt in The Maze Runner movies, the young actor was invited to play Tim Latimer in the Doctor Who television stories Human Nature (S3E8) and The Family of Blood (S3E9) in the 2000s. Although no one knew the actor's name at the time, his potential was obvious from the start.

Fun fact: Thomas Sangster is now married to another Doctor Who actress, Talulah Riley! The show brought everybody together.

Nick Frost

Although no one expected anything less from the comedian, he gets to play one of the funniest roles in an entire show, Santa Claus. As Doctor Who has never shied away from playing with real-life personalities and well-known fictional characters, it was only a matter of time before Santa made his appearance.

The actor appeared in two episodes, Death in Heaven (S8E12) and Last Christmas (Season 8 Christmas Special), the latter of which, despite its dark title, was one of Peter Capaldi 's four Christmas specials. Think what you will, but Frost definitely contributed to its success.

Stephen Fry

One of the show's newer guest stars, Stephen Fry's involvement with Doctor Who goes back a long way, to the time when he was supposed to write a two-part story for the Tenth Doctor. Unfortunately, due to the writer's busy schedule, this did not happen.

He did, however, manage to sneak in a few hours of filming to visit the show's set in 2019 to portray the mysterious head agent of MI6 called C. While Spyfall (S12E1 & S12E2) was not the success many had hoped it would be, Fry's appearance made things much better.

Jonathan Bailey

While there are many stars who have become successful after Doctor Who, Jonathan Bailey is one of the most prominent cases. Starring in the episode Time Heist (S8E5), he worked alongside Peter Capaldi's Twelfth Doctor, only to become so popular that his name is no longer associated with Doctor Who.

Now rumored to be up for his first Emmy for playing Tim Laughlin on Showtime 's Fellow Travelers, Bridgerton 's heartthrob is one of the bigger surprises in the Doctor Who revival.

James Corden

While there have been many actors who have dropped by the Doctor Who set at one time or another, there has also been one very famous late-night host who has adored the show and has been a part of it a few times.

Unlike many other celebrities, James Corden has had a larger role in the story. He played a cute guy named Craig Owens, an occasional roommate and good friend to Matt Smith 's Eleventh Doctor in the episodes The Lodger (S5E11) and Closing Time (S6E12).

Andrew Garfield

Before becoming one of the most successful names in Hollywood, the actor took small roles in the hope of breaking through. Appearing on Doctor Who in 2007 was an honor for him, especially since he had a role in a two-part episode alongside David Tennant's Tenth Doctor.

Garfield starred as Frank in two episodes of the show, Daleks in Manhattan (S3E4) and Evolution of the Daleks (S3E5), which delved deeper into the lore of one of the Doctor's most dangerous enemies.

Ian McKellen

The actor has been considered and offered various roles throughout the history of Doctor Who, but due to high demand, nothing has worked out for the show. The only time the actor appeared on Doctor Who was in the Christmas special entitled The Snowmen, which introduced Jenna-Louise Coleman as the new companion, Clara Oswald.

However, even in this episode, McKellen was nowhere to be seen on screen. Instead, he provided the voice of the Great Intelligence, so you would either have to be a very big fan or pay close attention to the episode to even notice this cameo.