Internet Casinos Say Johnny Depp Likely Doctor Who

Johnny Depp is the bookmakers' choice to get the coveted role of Doctor Who in an upcoming film adaptation of the television show, according to Internet casinos.

The long-running British television series Doctor Who is the latest show to be prepared for a movie version, and oddsmakers at Internet casinos are accepting plays on who may become the Doctor on the silver screen. Currently, Johnny Depp is the front-runner, and the role may be his to refuse.

Online gambling sites are posting Depp as a 2-1 choice. Perhaps the major sticking point is Depp's desire, or lack thereof, to play another quirky, fantastic character. Depp has finished a recent stretch of playing Willy Wonka, Sweeney Todd, Lewis Carroll's Mad Hatter, and Captain Jack Sparrow of "Pirates of the Caribbean " fame.

Depp is widely acknowledged as one of the world's great actors, and may want to take a turn in a more solemn and serious role rather than continue capturing the caricatures he has played lately.

Matt Smith, the current Doctor Who on the BBC production, is second choice at 9-4, followed by the man he replaced on tv, David Tennant, at 8-1. "Doctor Who " has been on the air intermittenly since 1963, and the character has been played by eleven different actors.

The series has incorporated the changes in star by explaining that the Doctor, who is an alien Time-Lord, goes through transformations on a regular basis, explaining new appearance and even personality.

Because the character is off-beat and slightly mad, some of the actors given odds on the part make for interesting speculation. Hugh Laurie of "House," at 18-1, Cristoph Waltz, fresh from his Oscar turn in "Inglourious Basterds" at 33-1, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, at 50-1, all could turn into great value plays if Depp decides he doesn't want the part.