Tom Baker (born 20 January 1934) is an English actor and was the fourth Doctor Who. He played the role from 1974 – 1981, starring in 172 episodes over 7 series.
Baker left school at 15 to become a monk, but after 6 years lost his faith and left, completing his national service with the Royal Army Medical Corps and then joining drama school before becoming a professional actor in the late 60’s after his first marriage. He joined the National Theatre in 1968 and whilst there, he was recommended by Laurence Olivier for the role of Grigori Rasputin in the film Nicholas and Alexadra (1971) which was his first big film break, and one which saw him nominated for two Golden Globes. It was in 1974 that Baker took over from Jon Pertwee to become the Fourth Doctor, after the Doctor Who producer Barry Letts saw Baker in The Golden Voyage of Sinbad (1973).
Baker went on to become the longest serving actor in the part, and he is one of the most popular of all the Doctors, with many of the stories from his early period being considered Doctor Who classics.
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