Anthony Ainley, The Master in Dr Who

[LeShark75]

Ainley is THE Master.

[Cobbledstories]

Love this guy, he's pretty darn awesome.

[LibraGamesUnlimited]

I always felt bad for Ainley. I've read there would be many times he would give this really great performance and then the director (not sure which) would make him do it all over the top and he hated doing that. Also, I've read he felt trapped a bit in that they wanted him to play the Master just like he had been played before (since technically it wasn't a regeneration so much as a body heist) and he wanted to make the character his own. In the end I think he did anyway

[chiefdancingostriche]

@pattonfrodo, no way dude. similar in appearance perhaps, but ainley looked a little sharper i think. anyways he took a legendary role set forth by the original delgado and actually exceeded delgado's previous performance, something extremely unusual in acting.

[chiefdancingostriche]

anthony ainley was my favorite master of all time, outdoing roger delgado which was definitely not a easy thing to do. peter pratt, worst in my opinion, 2nd worst =geoffrey beavers. john simm did better than his immediate predecessor and the 2 most worsts but not quite as good as delgado nor ainley.

[Pattonfrodo]

@chiefdancingostriche is it me or do you or anyone else think roger delgado and Anthony Ainley looked sort of the same ?

[3CROWNS1991]

he was my next door neighbour, i kno many wont believe this, but its true, he was one of the nicest people you could ever meet, may he rest in peace

[Kilmer5]

@CarnivacGames So you really think some old geezer - albeit a great actor - would be the appropriate foil for Tennant's Doctor? A sexy, frenetic Doctor needs a complementary Master, and Simm delivered, with the added bonus of being cruel and crazy. Hope Simm comes back to play against Matt Smith, at least for a few scenes before he regenerates.

[ricchardo]

@Kilmer5 I would MUCH rather Dr. Who would return to being frightning, that's how I remember it from when I was a Kid. If I want "Sexy" I can get it from Americas Next Top Model.

[OlegKostoglatov]

Too many people blame the actor for the way a character is portrayed, I think the bad scripts and the producer and director are much more to blame for the decline of the Master and the Doctor's characters in the 80's. The actors are just given a job and told to do things a certain way, garbage in, garbage out.

[tardiselliotstudios]

its soo weird seeing him without the beard

[britfrenir]

@tardiselliotstudios He looks older than when is saw a photo of him from a Doctor Who convention or interview in the 80's. It looks like he lost some hair since then.

[Cocarat206]

He should leave the beard on :D

[paulmorris7777]

RTD version of The Master is a joke. A flying Time Lord. So stupid!

[duuude4]

@paulmorris7777 I agree that they absolutely killed him in The End of Time but he was perfect in the season 3 finale.

[leonado2]

Anthony Ainley was much underated in my oppinion. I thought his portrayel of the master was great. Especialy in the Tom Baker early Peter Davidson era. His character was spoilt in the McCoy era.

[Fender1976uk]

The new master is SHITE!! seriously!! he acts like a cocky everyday guy!! or even a teenager!! Ainley and Delgado were the best!!! and why have they got rid of the famous beard look in the current series?? dont you just hate it when someone changes something that works!!! and didn't need changing

[screamwriter1]

Dam hes dead?!!

[mortalhellion]

I have several autographs from Anthony Ainley and was a pen pal of his for a very short time too. He was extremely the nicest fellow ever. I'm proud to have corresponded with him. He always wrote to everyone. He was kind to all his fans.

[Trayusstudent1]

Anthony Ainley R.I.P, the first Master I ever saw on TV. In my view he's comparable to Roger Delgado's Master.

[darthbandon10]

People said his Master was too panto...they obviously haven't watched John Simm.

[SnakeOnAPlane]

Personally, I find John Simm was one of the weaker Masters. But just imagine if Derek Jacobi was on for the full finale! It would have been more brooding darkness and less Scissor Sisters!

[Cats1357911]

I feel Derek Jacobi would have been good he has fury but he had to regenerate thansk to Chantho Shooting him.

[jdmitchell2]

@SnakeOnAPlane

Agreed. Simm & Jacobi both lack the prescence to pull it off like Ainley or Delgado did.

[crabbieappleton]

@jdmitchell2 I agree. They turned the Master from an evil genius into the Joker.

[mummra4ever]

He was still an evil genius. His plan for taking over the world and foiling the doctor at the end of series 3 was planned in detail over a period of months.

[crabbieappleton]

@mummra4ever I think I misspoke. Simm still has the genius, but they turned him from someone who was evil and a genius but was really in control of himself at all times. He wanted to dominate, to rule.

The new Master seems to embrace the new (unspoken) rule that evil people have to be crazy in some fashion, that there must be something wrong with them mentally. It's like today's kids can't just be lazy or stupid: they have to have ADHD or something diagnosable....

[kamwrites]

@crabbieappleton I can see both. I can see the Master having been sane, and ultimately going insane in that manner. It made perfect sense to me. We've seen the Doctor himself in moments of instability.

[GavSalkeld]

@darthbandon10 Well said, I HATE Simm's interpretation.

[britfrenir]

@Trayusstudent1 Oh he's dead too now. Now I know I wish I should have gone to Doctor Who Conventions ealier if I wanted to meet him and others who were on the show. I hope I can find out about the next one before too many more from the classic series end up dying.

[Trayusstudent1]

@britfrenir Yeah, Roger Delgado was taken far ahead of his time. Had he not been killed in that car accident there would have been a final story for his incarnation where he dies saving the Doctor's life.

[ThomasJeromeNewton]

handsome bloke, he probably shagged the rani silly

[htilor]

Lucky!

[WINSTANLEYOBXa]

Superb!

[Jackalman99]

Ainley looked better as The Master than he did in real life. He should have always had a beard.