BBC Worldwide LimitedThe regeneration of Doctor Who is inevitable—it's kind of the entire point that every few years the time- and space-traveling Doctor regenerates into a new body. And now that Peter Capaldi has held the role for a few years, he knows that it'll soon be time to vacate his position.
He told the Telegraph in an interview while filming this year's annual Christmas special that although he's signed on for a third season, he doesn't know if he'll stick around after that.
"This could be my final year—it's terrifying," he told the paper. "I love Doctor Who but it can be quite an insular world and I want to do other things. There will come a time when this is over. But I knew that when I started."
In fact, from the moment the 57-year-old landed the role, he started thinking about the day he'd leave. "I was thinking about my regeneration scene from the outset. That's my terrible melancholic nature. When you accept the job you know there'll come a day, inevitably, when you'll be saying goodbye."
Capaldi is the oldest person in many years to inhabit the role, and some fans complained when he was cast—but Capaldi didn't worry too much about their criticism. "Every Doctor should be different from the last one," he told the Telegraph. "If you want exclusively young, sexy guys, to me that's not Doctor Who. You want occasional ones like that—but then some other eccentrics."
Plus, he has a simple response to fans who aren't into his version of the iconic character: "I always think that if you're Doctor Who, somebody somewhere's going to love you. That's comfort. But if people don't like me there'll be another one along in a minute."
Watch former Doctor Who star David Tennant talk about his Fox mystery, Gracepoint, above.