Happy birthday Tom Baker! The Doctor Who favorite turned 88 Thursday (January 20), so we're celebrating by making him our British Icon of the Week. Here are 10 things we admire, enjoy, and just find interesting about this beloved actor.
1. Between 1974 and 1981, he portrayed the Fourth Doctor – and still relishes his connection with the show.
"What I enjoy most of all in the last 50 years of my life is that gift of playing Doctor Who," Baker told The Guardian last year. "Because he’s a good soul and I’m a good soul, it kind of licensed me to be my own rather silly but good-natured jolly self, you know, with pretensions to be heroic."
2. He made a memorable guest appearance in the show's 50th-anniversary special.
In 2013's "The Day of the Doctor," Baker makes a poignant return to the show as "The Curator," who shares an important and multi-layered conversation with Matt Smith's Eleventh Doctor.
3. He has his own tribute song.
In 1981, British synthpop group The Human League (known for their huge hit "Don't You Want Me") released a captivating instrumental track called "Tom Baker." As you'll hear below, it definitely has kind of a Doctor Who vibe.
4. He has one of the most recognizable voices around.
According to Campaign, in 2006 Baker's voice was voted the fourth most recognizable in the U.K. – only Queen Elizabeth II and Prime Ministers Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher placed higher!
5. Which helps to explain why he's become such an in-demand narrator and voiceover artist.
Over the years, Baker has given his voice to famous attractions including the London Dungeon and National History Museum, a rollercoaster at England's Alton Towers theme park, numerous TV documentaries, and of course popular sketch show Little Britain, which always began and ended with one of his pithy observations.
6. He made a memorable guest appearance in beloved '80s sitcom Blackadder.
Baker appeared in an episode of Blackadder II as the utterly ridiculous sailor Captain Redbeard Rum, a role he completely eats up – as you'll see below.
7. He also guested in an episode of iconic '80s crime series Remington Steele.
You can relive Baker's scenes with the show's stars Pierce Brosnan, Doris Roberts, and Stephanie Zimbalist below.
8. He has a playful sense of humor.
If you don't mind a bit of salty language, check out this brilliant Tom Baker anecdote a fan shared on Twitter.
9. He once recorded a cover of The Kinks' "You Really Got Me."
Yes, really – and proceeds from Baker's version, a kind of spoken-word club mash-up, went to U.K. homelessness charity Shelter.
10. Even The Simpsons has paid homage to him.
A cartoon of the Doctor has popped up in several episodes as "one of the esteemed representatives of television," and it's always Baker's Doctor they've resembled. Very cool indeed.
Have we missed out something that you love about Tom Baker?