The Master is a recurring villain in Doctor Who. He/she is another Time Lord and has been referred to as the Doctor's "best enemy" by the Third Doctor in "The Five Doctors." The Master and the Doctor are frenemies and often play an intergalactic game of cat and mouse as the Master tries to take over Earth or the universe and the Doctor tries to stop him/her. As the Master has had many regenerations, The Master has been portrayed by multiple different actors. These different live-action incarnations of the Master will be revisited and ranked based on their presence in Doctor Who over the decades.
Peter Pratt plays the Master in "The Deadly Assassin," alongside Tom Baker as the Fourth Doctor. Pratt's Master has been in his body for so long that it has started to rot. He shrinks and kills several Time Lords and tries to kill the Doctor. He then plays dead and fools the Doctor and the Time Lords. Once the Doctor and the Time Lords realize that they have been tricked, the Master shrinks another Time Lord, stuns the Doctor and the Castellan Spandrell and steals the Sash and Rod of Rassilon so that he can use the Eye of Harmony to restart his regeneration cycle. Pratt's incarnation of the Master is one of the lowest on this list because his actions are not as evil as other incarnations and he was only given one story to play the role, in comparison to other actors who got stories over multiple seasons.
Derek Jacobi plays the Master in the 2007 episode "Utopia," alongside David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor. Jacobi's Master has placed his Time Lord DNA into his fob watch and has forgotten his past on Gallifrey, similar to how the Doctor transferred his Time Lord DNA into his own fob watch in "Human Nature" and "The Family of Blood." This incarnation of the Master calls himself Professor Yana and keeps hearing the sound of drums. Yana opens the fob watch, remembers his past as the Master, electrocutes his assistant Chantho and steals the Doctor's TARDIS. Although Jacobi does a great job in this role, his time as the Master is short-lived before he regenerates into John Simm's Master, therefore earning him a lower ranking.
Eric Roberts plays the Master in the 1996 Doctor Who TV movie, alongside Paul McGann as the Eighth Doctor. Roberts' incarnation of the Master makes the Doctor's TARDIS malfunction, kills an ambulance worker and takes control of his body, hypnotizes and kills a gangster called Chang Lee and attempts to destroy the Doctor's soul and take over his body using the Eye of Harmony. This incarnation of the Master is very camp and fun to watch, and even decides to "dress for the occasion" in Gallifreyan robes when he opens the Eye. However, other incarnations of the Master with higher rankings are more menacing and entertaining than Roberts' incarnation.
Sacha Dhawan is the actor playing the most recent incarnation of the Master, referred to as the Spy Master, in "Spyfall," "Ascension of the Cybermen" and "The Timeless Children," alongside Jodie Whittaker as the Thirteenth Doctor. Dhawan's Master manages to fool the Doctor, Graham, Yaz and Ryan by pretending to be former MI6 agent "O" and planning to destroy the human race with the help of an unnamed alien species in "Spyfall." In "The Timeless Children," the Master has control of an army of Cybermen and tries to use them to take over the universe. Dhawan's incarnation of the Master is the perfect combination of cunning and chaotic and gives a great performance as the most recent portrayal of the Doctor's archnemesis.
Michelle Gomez plays the incarnation of the Master most commonly known as "Missy," alongside Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor. Missy has appeared in multiple episodes, including "Deep Water," "Dark Water," "Death in Heaven," "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls." Missy's true identity is kept a secret until "Dark Water," when the Doctor learns that his enemy has regenerated as a woman and has also taken control of the Nethersphere to create an army of Cybermen. Missy has done several other evil things, including trapping Clara in a Dalek shell and teaming up with John Simm's Master. The introduction of Missy was the first indication that Time Lords can change genders when they regenerate, setting up the Twelfth Doctor's regeneration into Whittaker's Thirteenth Doctor. Missy is also very chaotic and almost has a redemption arc, making her more likable than some other incarnations of the Master.
Anthony Ainley plays the incarnation of the Master that appears after Geoffrey Beevers' Master takes over Tremas' body in "The Keeper of Traken." Ainley's Master is the last incarnation of the Master in Classic Who. This incarnation of the Master appears in multiple TV stories, including "The Five Doctors," "Logopolis," "The Mark of the Rani" and "Survival." This incarnation of the Master attempts to rule the universe, tries to use Earth as a power base and strives to destroy The Seventh Doctor by using the power given to him by the Cheetah Planet. Ainley's Master is also responsible for the Fourth Doctor's regeneration into the Fifth Doctor. This incarnation of the Master is more familiar with Classic Who fans and poses a genuine threat to the Doctor, Earth and the universe.
John Simm's incarnation of the Master appears after Derek Jacobi's Master evolves. Simm's Master appears alongside David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor in "Utopia," "The Sound of Drums," "Last of the Time Lords" and "The End of Time," and also alongside Peter Capaldi as the Twelfth Doctor in "World Enough and Time" and "The Doctor Falls." This incarnation of the Master becomes the Prime Minister of the UK, turns the passengers of the Utopia into the Toclafane and makes everyone on Earth a clone of himself. Simm's Master has more of a backstory thanks to showrunner Russell T. Davies -- it is revealed that Simm's Master hears the sound of drums because he looked into the time vortex as a child, which made him go insane. This incarnation of the Master has done some truly evil things and is a constant threat in the Doctor's life.
Roger Delgado plays the first incarnation of the Master and appears alongside Jon Pertwee as the Third Doctor. Delgado's Master appeared in "Terror of the Autons," which introduced the Autons as a recurring Doctor Who villain, and "The Sea Devils," which introduced the Sea Devils as a recurring Doctor Who villain. This incarnation of the Master attempts to take over Earth with Autons and Sea Devils and tries to provoke an all-out war between Earth and the planet Draconia with the help of the Daleks. This incarnation of the Master has been ranked highest because he introduced the character and also because of his involvement with the introduction of the Autons and the Sea Devils. This incarnation set the pattern of the love/hate relationship between the Doctor and the Master and also has incredible chemistry with Pertwee's Doctor.
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