The Scottish star, who recently appeared on Graham Norton and said he googled naked pictures of his co-stars, shot to fame in America thanks to his role in The Good Wife alongside Julianna Margulies, and was a favourite to play the Time Lord in recent years.
However, the idea of living in Cardiff for eight months of the year during filming was just too much of a turn-off to make him snap up the part.
Speaking at Listowel Writer’s Week in Ireland, Cumming revealed how he’d initially had a conversation with “that lovely Welshman”, assumed to be screenwriter Russell T. Davies, but he turned him down, according to Huffington Post.
When he was initially told he’d have to return to Britain and leave behind his successful life and base in New York, the actor happily considered the opportunity: “I said, ‘Sure, I still have a flat in London, it’d be perfect’.”
Although it wasn’t to be, as Davies then explained the reality of the situation to him: “I think that might have been what blew it.
“Nothing against Cardiff, but…” the 52-year-old hastily added.
And you would think that would be that, but Cumming was approached to play the role a second time by Mark Gatiss, another Dr Who writer, after hearing he’d shown interest.
When he was asked if his mind had changed on stepping into the infamous TARDIS, the Tin Man actor had the same response: “I said, ‘Fine, I’d love to, but they told me I’d have to go to Cardiff for eight months of the year,’ and he said, ‘Oh no, you’d still have to do that.'”
Moving to Wales’ capital city was just not an attractive enough offer.
“I’d do anything for Doctor Who, but I won’t do that,” Cumming explained.
The identity of the 13th Doctor is still up in the air for the popular BBC sci-fi series, and time is running out for producers to announce who will be taking over from Peter Capaldi at the end of the year, and it was recently revealed how many episodes are left in the series.
Names continue to swirl around the internet however, with bookies favourites being Kris Marshall and the more ground-breaking Phoebe Waller-Bridge. The actress will become the first ever female Doctor on the series if she bags the part.
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