Less than a week after the casting announcement of Alan Tudyk as the villainous Mr. Nobody in the DC Universe streaming show Doom Patrol, actor Timothy Dalton has joined the cast as Niles Caulder a.k.a. The Chief.
Genius. Visionary. Accomplished. Eccentric. Maybe a little insane. Dr. Niles Caulder, known more informally as “the Chief,” is the wheelchair-bound scientist who traditionally leads the quirky band of heroes called the Doom Patrol. Caulder is, in a word, brilliant. And so is this casting choice.
It was just announced that acclaimed actor Timothy Dalton (James Bond, Doctor Who, Wuthering Heights) will be playing the role of Caulder on Doom Patrol, the upcoming live action series based on the legendary comic book series. Having played both heroes and villains on screen and stage, Dalton should be well suited to the character, who has historically been a bit of both.
According to the Chief’s Doom Patrol character description, Dr. Caulder is a pioneer in medical science, searching the world over for those on the edge of death in need of a miracle. Brilliant, but controversial, Dr. Caulder will stop at nothing to help those he believes are in need, including his collection of strange heroes known as The Doom Patrol.
That “controversial” note may prove to be key. In Grant Morrison’s infamous run on the comic series, the Chief was revealed to be plotting to destroy much of the world in an attempt to restart human society. He was stopped by the Doom Patrol (getting decapitated in the process, which led to him living life as nothing more than a conscious, cryogenically preserved head for a while), and eventually seemed to recant his beliefs and once again become a force for good. However, as seen in Gerard Way and Nick Derington’s recent run on Doom Patrol, his ideas are still misguided and as a result, the team is pretty wary of him.
It’s unknown whether the show will follow a similar path with the character, or keep him as a largely heroic figure. Either way, Dalton should be up for the task. Best known for his stint as James Bond in both The Living Daylights and License to Kill, Dalton has been a presence in film since the 1960s, where he made an impression in both The Lion in Winter and Wuthering Heights. Genre fans will probably know him best from his roles in cult faves Flash Gordon, The Rocketeer and Hot Fuzz, and his appearance as a villainous Time Lord in Doctor Who opposite David Tennant.
While I was personally hoping that the casting rumors of Kelsey Grammer would come to fruition (the fact The Chief shares the same first name with Frasier’s brother notwithstanding), you can’t really complain with the final choice. Funny enough, this will be Dalton’s second time working with Brendan Frasier (who will be playing Cliff Steele/Robotman), the first being Looney Tunes: Back in Action.
Doom Patrol is a reimagining of one of DC’s strangest group of outcasts: Robotman, Negative Man, Elasti-Woman and Crazy Jane. Led by the mysterious Dr. Niles Caulder they’re called into action by the ultimate hero for the digital age, Cyborg. Banding together these rejects find themselves on a mission that will take them to the weirdest and most unexpected corners of the DC universe.
After seeing him as Sir Malcom Murray in Penny dreadful, i’m pretty glad to see him in anything
This is ableist casting, they should have cast a disabled actor in the role.
I was just thinking this – it’d be great if they’d found an actor who uses a wheelchair. As it’s an ensemble piece, there’d surely be enough ways to make it star-studded enough to carry a lesser-known actor in this role? (And it does pain me to say this, because I do love Timothy Dalton to bits – heck, I’d be all for him being the next James Bond!)
No, they get to cast whoever they want to cast in the role who fits their idea of what the character is. If they’d found a disabled actor that they’d wanted for the role, fine; if not, that’s their decision.
No, Cat, that’s not how diversity works. It’s just like with roles requiring people from other ethnicities. You don’t just take a white actor and get out the grease paint. Or, at least, that shouldn’t happen in 2018. But I get it. You’re not interested.
Uh, does anyone here watch Superstore on NBC? You do know that the guy playing Garrett isn’t really someone who requires a wheelchair. It’s called acting. Next you’re going to complain because they couldn’t find an actual robot talented enough to play Robot Man. Sheesh!
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