Matt Smith, the new Doctor Who

Christopher Eccleston went for the leather jacket, David Tennant did the brown stripey suit. New Doctor Who Matt Smith will mostly be dressing like the singer of an emo band. Or Russell Brand's sweet natured, clean shaven younger brother Photograph: BBC/PA

'So I said to Jack Nicholson, no way buddy, YOU'RE the one who sounds like ME!' Matt Smith alongside Christian Slater in Swimming with Sharks at London's Vaudeville Theatre Photograph: Alastair Muir / Rex Features/Alastair Muir / Rex Features

'No, seriously, is there any chance of being your sidekick? I love Cardiff.' Matt Smith with co-star Sid Mitchell in Citizenship at the National Theatre in 2006 Photograph: Tristram Kenton/Tristram Kenton

Has he a) forgotten to lock the Tardis or b) got his sonic screwdriver mixed up with his digital drill bit? Matt Smith comes over all pensive with co-star Lorraine Ashbourne in Jimmy McGovern's The Street in 2007 Photograph: BBC/BBC

Instead of going underground, Matt Smith is about to start as the new Doctor Who. It must have been the bitterest pill his rivals have ever had to swallow. He might be an absolute beginner but, in the modern world, it helps when you're young. He is BBC1's new 5 o'clock hero (or whenever it's on these days). This is a mod-ish looking Smith as Labour researcher Danny Foster in BBC2 political drama Party Animals. That's entertainment! Photograph: BBC/BBC

Matt Smith would do anything to land the Doctor Who role. So when he heard they might cast a female doctor ... This is Smith in That Face at London's Duke of York Theatre in 2007, along with co-stars Julian Wadham and Lindsay Duncan. The production won a Laurence Olivier award Photograph: Tristram Kenton/Tristram Kenton

Screw your eyes up really tight and he looks like a young Kurt Russell. Maybe. Matt Smith at the London Evening Standard Theatre Awards in 2007 Photograph: Rex Features/Rex Features

Aged just 26, Matt Smith is the youngest Doctor Who to date. He also quite possibly has the worst haircut, but let's face it – there's some serious competition. Pertwee, anyone? Photograph: BBC/BBC