David Tennant

David Tennant

David Tennant at Comic-Con 2009.
Born David John McDonald
18 April 1971 (1971-04-18) (age 39)
Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland
Occupation Actor, presenter
Years active 1987–present

David Tennant (born David John McDonald; 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet,[1][2] Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Contents

Early life

Tennant was born on 18 April 1971 in Bathgate, West Lothian, and grew up in Ralston, Renfrewshire, where his father, the Reverend Alexander "Sandy" McDonald, was the local Church of Scotland minister.[3][4][5] He grew up with his brother, 6 years his elder, and sister, 8 years his elder.[6] Tennant's maternal great-grandparents, William and Agnes Blair, were staunch Protestants from Derry in Northern Ireland and among the signatories of the Ulster Covenant; William was a member of the Grand Orange Lodge of Ireland. Tennant's maternal grandfather, footballer Archie McLeod, met William and Agnes's daughter Nellie Blair while playing for Derry City F.C..[7]

Tennant was educated at Ralston Primary and Paisley Grammar School where he enjoyed a fruitful relationship with English language teacher Moira Robertson, who was among the first to recognise his potential.[8] He acted in school productions throughout primary and secondary school (his talent at this young age was spotted by actress Edith MacArthur, who after seeing his first role aged 11, told his parents she predicted he would become a successful stage actor).[9] He also attended Saturday classes at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. At 16 he passed an audition for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, one of their youngest students, and studied there between the ages of 17-20. He earned a bachelor's degree and was flatmates with friend Louise Delamere.

At the age of three, Tennant told his parents that he wanted to become an actor because he was a fan of Doctor Who,[10] and they tried to encourage him to do more conventional work.[6] He watched almost every Doctor Who episode for years, and he met Tom Baker at a book signing event in Glasgow and spoke to him.[6] Although such an aspiration might have been common for any British child of the 1970s, Tennant says he was "absurdly single-minded" in pursuing his goal. He adopted the professional name "Tennant" — inspired by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, after reading a copy of Smash Hits magazine[11] — because there was another David McDonald already on the books of the Equity union. His first choice for a stage name was David Brandon (but that name was also disallowed), his second choice was David Tennant, and his third choice was Chris McDonald.

Career

Early work

Tennant made his professional acting debut while still in secondary school. When he was 16 he acted in an anti-smoking film made by the Glasgow Health Board which aired on television and was also screened in schools.[9] The following year he played a role in an episode of Dramarama.

Tennant's first professional role upon graduating from drama school was in a staging of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui co-starring Ashley Jensen, one of a few plays in which he performed as part of the agitprop 7:84 Theatre Company. Tennant also made an early television appearance in the Scottish TV sitcom Rab C Nesbitt as a transsexual barmaid called Davina.

Tennant's first major TV role was as the manic depressive Campbell in the Scottish drama series Takin' Over the Asylum (1994). During filming, Tennant met comic actress and writer Arabella Weir. When he moved to London shortly afterwards he lodged with Weir for five years and became godfather to her youngest child. He has subsequently appeared alongside Weir in many productions; as a guest in her spoof television series, Posh Nosh; in the Doctor Who audio drama Exile- during which Weir played an alternate version of the Doctor- and as panelists on the West Wing Ultimate Quiz on More4.

One of his earliest big screen roles was in Jude (1996), in which he shared a scene with Christopher Eccleston, playing a drunken undergraduate who challenges Eccleston's Jude to prove his intellect.

Tennant developed his career in the British theatre, frequently performing with the Royal Shakespeare Company. His first Shakespearean role for the RSC was in As You Like It (1996); having auditioned for the role of Orlando, the romantic lead, he was instead cast as the jester Touchstone, which he played in his natural Scottish accent.[12] He subsequently specialised in comic roles, playing Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors and Captain Jack Absolute in The Rivals, although he also played the tragic role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.

Tennant also contributed to several audio dramatisations of Shakespeare for the Arkangel Complete Shakespeare series (1998). His roles include a reprisal of his Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors, as well as Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Edgar/Poor Tom in King Lear, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, all of which he performs in his natural accent.

In 1995, Tennant appeared at the Royal National Theatre, London, playing the role of Nicholas Beckett in Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw. The plot required Tennant to appear naked on stage.

In television, Tennant appeared in the first episode of Reeves and Mortimer's re-vamped Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) in 2000, playing an eccentric artist. This is one of his few TV roles in his native Scottish accent. During the Christmas season of 2002, he starred in a series of television commercials for Boots the Chemists.[13]

Tennant began to appear on television more prominently in 2004-05, when he appeared in a dramatisation of He Knew He Was Right (2004) Blackpool (2004), Casanova (2005) and The Quatermass Experiment (2005).

In film, he appeared in Stephen Fry's Bright Young Things (2003), and played Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Doctor Who (2005–2010)

Tennant with Doctor Who showrunner Russell T Davies (left), regular director Euros Lyn (centre right), and executive producer Julie Gardner (right) at Comic-Con in July 2009

Tennant's name was put forward as a candidate for the role of the Ninth Doctor in 2004, although the role went to Christopher Eccleston. With Eccleston's announcement on 31 March 2005 that he would not be returning for a second series, the BBC confirmed Tennant as his replacement in a press release on 16 April 2005. He made his first, brief appearance as the Tenth Doctor in the episode "The Parting of the Ways" (2005) at the end of the regeneration scene, and also appeared in a special 7-minute mini-episode shown as part of the 2005 Children in Need appeal, broadcast on 18 November 2005. He began filming the new series of Doctor Who in late July 2005. His first full-length outing as the Doctor was a 60-minute special, "The Christmas Invasion", first broadcast on Christmas Day 2005.

Tennant has expressed enthusiasm about fulfilling his childhood dream. He remarked to an interviewer for GWR FM, "Who wouldn't want to be the Doctor? I've even got my own TARDIS!" In 2006, readers of Doctor Who Magazine voted Tennant 'Best Doctor!', over perennial favourite Tom Baker.[14] In 2007, Tennant's Doctor was voted the "coolest character" on UK television in a Radio Times survey.[15] When Tennant was cast as Eccleston's successor, he had wanted to use his native Scottish accent and become 'the first kilted Doctor' according to an interview in the Daily Star, but writer Russell T Davies did not want the Doctor's accent 'touring the regions', so he used "estuary" English instead.

Tennant had previously had a small role in the BBC's animated Doctor Who webcast Scream of the Shalka. Not originally cast in the production, Tennant happened to be recording a radio play in a neighbouring studio, and when he discovered what was being recorded next door managed to convince the director to give him a small role. This personal enthusiasm for the series had also been expressed by his participation in several audio plays based on the Doctor Who television series which had been produced by Big Finish Productions, although he did not play the Doctor in any of these productions. His first such role was in the Seventh Doctor audio Colditz, where he played a Nazi lieutenant guard at Colditz Castle. In 2004 Tennant played a lead role in the Big Finish audio play series Dalek Empire III. He played the part of Galanar, a young man who is given an assignment to discover the secrets of the Daleks. In 2005, he starred in UNIT: The Wasting for Big Finish, recreating his role of Brimmicombe-Wood from a Doctor Who Unbound play, Sympathy for the Devil. He also played an unnamed Time Lord in another Doctor Who Unbound play Exile. UNIT: The Wasting, was recorded between Tennant getting the role of the Doctor and it being announced. He also played the title role in Big Finish's adaptation of Bryan Talbot's The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (2005). In 2006, he recorded abridged audio books of The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner, The Feast of the Drowned by Stephen Cole and The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards, for BBC Worldwide.

He made his directorial debut directing the Doctor Who Confidential episode that accompanies Steven Moffat's episode "Blink", entitled "Do You Remember The First Time?", which aired on 9 June 2007. In 2007, Tennant's Tenth Doctor appeared with Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in a Doctor Who special for Children in Need, written by Steven Moffat and entitled "Time Crash". This was the first "multi-Doctor" story in the series since The Two Doctors in 1985 (Not counting the 1993 special Dimensions in Time).[16] Tennant also later performed alongside Davison's daughter, Georgia Moffett, in the 2008 episode "The Doctor's Daughter" with her taking the titular role as Jenny.

Tennant also featured as the Doctor in an animated version of Doctor Who for Totally Doctor Who, The Infinite Quest, which aired on CBBC. He will also star as the Doctor in another animated six-part Doctor Who series, Dreamland.[17] Tennant guest-starred as the Doctor in a two-part story in Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, broadcast in October 2009.[18] Tennant continued to play the Tenth Doctor into the revived programme's fourth series in 2008. However, on 29 October 2008, Tennant announced that he would be stepping down from the role after three full series.[19] He played the Doctor in four special episodes in 2009, before his final episode aired on the 1st of January 2010.

The Daily Mirror reported that Tennant was forbidden from attending Doctor Who fan conventions while playing the role. This was done to avoid the chance that Tennant could accidentally let slip any plot points during filming of the series.[20] He said at the Children in Need concert that his favourite Doctor Who story is Genesis of the Daleks from the Tom Baker era, while another interview included him mentioning that his favourite classic monsters were the Zygons; although he never appeared in a television story with the Zygons, his Doctor confronted them in the novel Sting of the Zygons.

Other television roles (2005–present)

While playing the Doctor, Tennant was also in the early December 2005 ITV drama Secret Smile. His performance as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger at the Theatre Royal, Bath and Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh was recorded by the National Video Archive of Performance for the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre Collection. He revived this performance for the anniversary of the Royal Court Theatre in a rehearsed reading. In January 2006, he took a one-day break from shooting Doctor Who to play Richard Hoggart in a dramatisation of the 1960 Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial, The Chatterley Affair. The play was written by Andrew Davies and directed by Doctor Who's James Hawes for the digital television channel BBC Four. Hoggart's son Simon Hoggart praised Tennant's performance in The Guardian newspaper.[21]

On 25 February 2007, Tennant starred in Recovery, a 90-minute BBC1 drama written by Tony Marchant. Tennant played Alan, a self-made building site manager who attempted to rebuild his life after suffering a debilitating brain injury. His co-star in the drama was friend Sarah Parish, with whom he had previously appeared in Blackpool and an episode of Doctor Who. She joked that "we're like George and Mildred - in 20 years' time we'll probably be doing a ropey old sitcom in a terraced house in Preston."[22] Later in 2007 he starred in Learners, a BBC comedy drama written by and starring Jessica Hynes (another Doctor Who co-star, in the episodes "Human Nature", "The Family of Blood" and "The End of Time"), in which he played a Christian driving instructor who became the object of a student's affection. Learners was broadcast on BBC One on 11 November 2007. Tennant had a cameo appearance as the Doctor in the 2007 finale episode of the BBC/HBO comedy series Extras alongside Ricky Gervais. In 2008 Tennant played Sir Arthur Eddington in the biopic Einstein and Eddington filmed in Cambridge and Hungary a BBC and HBO co-production, with Andy Serkis depicting Albert Einstein.[23]

In 2009 he worked on a film version of the RSC's 2008 Hamlet for BBC 2.

From October 2009, he hosted the Masterpiece Contemporary programming strand on the American Public Broadcasting Service.[24]

In December 2009, he filmed the lead in an NBC pilot, Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, playing Rex, a Chicago lawyer who starts to coach clients to represent themselves when he starts suffering panic attacks.[25]

Other work (2007-present)

Tennant is the voice behind the 2007 advertising campaign for catalogue retailer Argos, although he uses an Estuary English accent as in his role as the Doctor and not his natural Scottish voice, but for adverts for The Proclaimers 2008 album and learndirect's in June 2008 he uses his own accent. More recently, Tennant's voice can be heard on Tesco Mobile and Nintendo Wii adverts.

Tennant appeared in Derren Brown's Trick or Treat.[26] In the 26 April–2 May issue of TV & Satellite Week Brown is quoted as saying "One of the appeals of Doctor Who for David is time travel, so I wanted to give him that experience. He was open and up for it, and I got a good reaction. He's a real screamer!". The episode aired on Channel 4 on 16 May 2008, and showed Tennant apparently predicting future events correctly by using automatic writing. Tennant also returned for the final episode of the series with the rest of the participants from the other episodes in the series to take part in one final experiment.

Tennant at Stratford-upon-Avon.

Tennant appeared in the 2008 episode "Holofile 703: Us and Phlegm" of the radio series Nebulous (a parody of Doctor Who) in the role of Doctor Beep, using his Lothian accent.

In 2008, Tennant voiced the character of Hamish the Hunter in the 2008 English language DVD re-release of the 2006 animated Norwegian film, Free Jimmy, alongside Woody Harrelson. The English language version of the film has dialogue written by Simon Pegg, who also starred in it as a main voice actor.

In early 2009 Tennant narrated the digital planetarium space dome film "We are Astronomers"[2] commissioned by the UK's National Space Centre.

On 13 March 2009, Tennant presented Comic Relief with Davina McCall. He mimed playing guitar with band Franz Ferdinand on a special Comic Relief edition of Top of the Pops.

In Summer 2009, he filmed St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold in which he plays the antagonist, Pomfrey. The film was released in December 2009.

At the October 2009 Spooky Empire convention, John Landis announced Tennant's casting in his movie Burke and Hare, starring alongside Simon Pegg.[27] In January 2010 it was announced Tennant had dropped out of the film (replaced by Andy Serkis) due to scheduling problems.

In November 2009, Tennant co-hosted the Absolute Radio Breakfast Show with Christian O'Connell for three consecutive days.[28]

Tennant also provides the narration and all the character voices for the audio book versions of the Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III stories by Cressida Cowell such as How to Train Your Dragon. In these audio books, Tennant employs his vocal skills to create a vast cast of recognisably distinct voices. Some of his most memorable characterisations include the Norfolk yokel of Norbert the Nutjob, the broad Glaswegian of Gobber the Belch, the hissing and whining of Toothless the Dragon and the sly insinuations of Alvin the Treacherous. He also played the role of Spitelout in the recent animated film adaption of said books. On 7 March 2010 he also appeared as George in a one-part BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Of Mice and Men in the Classic Serial strand.

Royal Shakespeare Company (2008-09)

Despite his recent focus on television work, Tennant has described theatre work as his "default way of being".[29] It was announced on 30 August 2007 that he would join the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), to play Hamlet (alongside Patrick Stewart) and Berowne (in Love's Labours Lost) during 2008.[30] From August to November 2008 he appeared at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as Hamlet, playing that role in repertory with Berowne that October and November. Hamlet transferred to the Novello Theatre in London's West End in December 2008, but Tennant suffered a prolapsed disc during previews and was unable to perform from 8 December 2008 until 2 January 2009, during which time the role was played by his understudy Edward Bennett.[31] He returned to his role in the production on 3 January 2009, and appeared until the run ended on 10 January.

Popularity

In December 2005, The Stage newspaper listed Tennant at No. 6 in its "Top Ten" listing of the most influential UK television artists of the year, citing his roles in Blackpool, Casanova, Secret Smile and Doctor Who.[32] In January 2006, readers of the British gay and lesbian newspaper The Pink Paper voted Tennant the "Sexiest Man in the Universe" over David Beckham and Brad Pitt.[33] A poll of over 10,000 women for the March 2006 issue of New Woman magazine ranked him 20th in their list of the "Top 100 Men".[34] In October 2006, Tennant was named as "Scotland's most stylish male" in the Scottish Style Awards.[35] He was named "Coolest Man on TV" of 2007 in a Radio Times survey. He also won the National Television Awards award for Most Popular Actor in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was voted 16th Sexiest Man In The World by a 2008 Cosmopolitan survey.[36]

He was ranked the 24th most influential person in the British media, in the 9 July 2007 MediaGuardian supplement of The Guardian. Tennant appeared in the paper's annual media rankings in 2006.

In December 2008 Tennant was named as one of the most influential people in show business by British theatre and entertainment magazine The Stage, making him the fifth actor to achieve a ranking in the top 20 (in a list typically dominated by producers and directors). One of the editors for The Stage said that Tennant placed highly on the list because he was "the biggest box office draw in recent memory".[37]

The popularity of Tennant has led to impersonations of him on various social networking sites, leading the BBC to issue a statement making it clear that Tennant does not use any of these sites and any account or message purporting to be or from him is fake.[38]

Personal life

Tennant has a brother, Blair, and a sister, Karen. His mother, Helen McDonald, died on 15 July 2007 of cancer.[39] His father, Sandy McDonald, appeared in a cameo non-speaking role as a footman in the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp". Tennant traced his family tree in an episode of BBC One's popular genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast on 27 September 2006. His episode explored both his Scottish ancestry and that from Northern Ireland, against the backdrop of the Troubles in the latter. Tennant's maternal great-great-grandfather, James Blair, was a prominent Ulster Unionist member of Derry City Council after the partition of Ireland. Tennant displayed discomfort after learning of his great-great-grandfather's membership in the Orange Order.[40] The programme revealed that Archie McLeod, the husband of Nellie Blair who once played with Derry City, was Tennant's grandfather.[41] Tennant is now a member of the club's Exiles Supporters Club.[42]

In 2008 Tennant was voted "Greenest Star on the Planet" in an online vote held by Playhouse Disney as part of the Playing for the Planet Awards.[43] Later that year he underwent surgery for a prolapsed disc.

Tennant is a supporter of the Labour Party and appeared in a party political broadcast for them in 2005. In 2010 he declared his support for then-UK prime minister, Gordon Brown[44] and in April 2010 he lent his voice to a Labour Party election broadcast.[45] He is a celebrity patron of the Association for International Cancer Research.

Filmography

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Anti-Smoking film[9] Jim Glasgow Health Board PSA
1988 Dramarama Neil McDonald Series 6, Episode 13, "The Secret of Croftmore"
1992 Bunch of Five Policeman Episode 5, "Miles Better"
1993 Rab C Nesbitt Davina Series 3, Episode 2, "Touch"
Strathblair Hiker 2
1994 Takin' Over the Asylum Campbell Bain Played a mental patient
1995 The Bill Steve Clemens Series 11, Episode 128, "Deadline", opposite Honeysuckle Weeks, who he would also appear alongside in Foyle's War
The Tales of Para Handy John MacBryde
1996 A Mug's Game Gavin Series 1, Episode 4
1997 Holding the Baby Nurse Series 1, Episode 2
Conjuring Shakespeare Angelo Episode 6 'Like a Virgin' (Open University documentary series on Shakespeare. Tennant appears in a filmed scene from the play Measure for Measure)[46]
1998 Duck Patrol Simon "Darwin" Brown
1999 The Mrs Bradley Mysteries Max Valentine Series 2, Episode 1, "Death at the Opera". Appeared alongside Peter Davison, one of his predecessors in Doctor Who. Both would feature in a Children in Need special episode, "Time Crash"
2000 Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) Gordon Stylus Series 1, Episode 1, "Drop Dead"
2001 People Like Us Rob Harker Series 2, Episode 4, "The Actor"
High Stakes Gaz Whitney Series 2, Episode 1 "The Magic Word"
Only Human Tyler Pilot
2002 Boot's Christmas Advert Husband
Foyle's War Theo Howard Series 1, Episode 3, "A Lesson in Murder"
2003 Posh Nosh Jose-Luis Series 1, Episodes 3 and 8, "Paella" and "Comfort Food"
Trust Gavin MacEwan Series 1, Episode 6
Spine Chillers Dr. Krull Series 1, Episode 1
2004 The Deputy Christopher Williams
He Knew He Was Right Rev Gibson
Traffic Warden The Traffic Warden
Old Street Mr. Watson
Blackpool DI Carlisle
2005 The Quatermass Experiment Dr Gordon Briscoe
Casanova Giacomo Casanova
Doctor Who: A New Dimension Narrator
2005–2010 Doctor Who The Doctor
2005 Secret Smile Brendan Block
2006 The Romantics Jean-Jacques Rousseau
The Chatterley Affair Richard Hoggart
Who Do You Think You Are? Himself Series 3, Episode 4
What Makes Me Happy[47] Poetry reader Series of short films that include poetry. Screened on Five in 2008.
2007 Recovery Alan Hamilton
Comic Relief Sketch Mr Logan/The Doctor Appeared alongside Doctor Who co-star Catherine Tate[48][49]
Dead Ringers Regenerated Tony Blair
2007, 2008 The Friday Night Project Guest host Series 4, Episode 1 and Series 6, Episode 2
2007 The Human Footprint Narrator
Learners Chris
Extras Himself/The Doctor Christmas Special
2008 Einstein and Eddington Sir Arthur Eddington
Everest ER Narrator Appeared in Australia on ABC1 in January 2009[50]
2009 Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions Narrator
Comic Relief 2009 Presenter
Doctor Who: Tonight's the Night Himself/ The Doctor Played with John Barrowman and Tim Ingham.
Troubled Young Minds[51] Narrator
The Sarah Jane Adventures The Doctor Series 3, episodes 5 and 6, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith[18]
Masterpiece Contemporary Host
QI[52] Panellist Christmas Special, in which he came second
Never Mind the Buzzcocks[53] Guest Host Series 23, Episode 12
Rex Is Not Your Lawyer[25] Rex Alexander NBC Pilot
The Catherine Tate Show[54] Ghost of Christmas Present Nan's Christmas Carol
Hamlet[55] Prince Hamlet Reprising his role from the Royal Shakespeare Company production
2010 Caught in the Web - A Newsround Special[56] Narrator
Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man Narrator
My Life Narrator Narrated the 'Karate Kids' episode
Diet or My Husband Dies[57] Narrator
Single Father[58] Dave
Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide[59] Himself
Stealing Shakespeare Narrator

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1996 Jude Drunk Undergraduate Appeared alongside Christopher Eccleston, whom Tennant succeeded in the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who.
1997 Bite Alastair Galbraith
1998 L.A. Without a Map Richard Plays lead opposite Vinessa Shaw. Also features Johnny Depp
1999 The Last September Captain Gerald Colthurst
2000 Being Considered Larry
2001 Sweetnight Goodheart Peter A short film.
2003 Nine 1/2 Minutes Charlie A short film.
Bright Young Things Ginger Littlejohn
2005 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Barty Crouch Jr. A Death Eater and son of Barty Crouch Sr. HP4, played by Roger Lloyd-Pack, who later appeared alongside Tennant on Doctor Who (episodes "Rise of the Cybermen"/"The Age of Steel").
2006 Free Jimmy Hamish Voice in 2008 English language DVD release
2009 Glorious 39 Hector
St. Trinian's II: The Legend of Fritton's Gold Sir Piers Pomfrey
2010 How to Train Your Dragon Spitelout Voice Only[60]
2011 The Decoy Bride James Aubrey [61]
Fright Night Peter Vincent [62]

Radio and CD audio drama

Year Title Role Radio Station / Production Company
2000 Henry VI, Part 1 Henry VI Arkangel Shakespeare
Henry VI, Part 2 Henry VI Arkangel Shakespeare
Henry VI, Part 3 Henry VI Arkangel Shakespeare
2001 Much Ado about Nothing Benedick BBC Radio 4
Sunday Worship: April Fools Himself (Presenter) BBC Radio 4
Doctor Who: Colditz Feldwebel Kurtz Big Finish
Dr Finlay: Adventures of a Black Bag Jackson BBC Radio 4
2002 Dr Finlay: Further Adventures of a Black Bag McKellor BBC Radio 4
Double Income, No Kids Yet Daniel BBC Radio 4
2003 Doctor Who: Sympathy For The Devil Col. Brimmecombe-Wood Big Finish
Doctor Who: Exile Time Lord # 2/Pub Landlord Big Finish
Caesar! - Peeling Figs for Julius Caligula BBC Radio 4
Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka Caretaker BBCi
The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents Dangerous Beans BBC Radio 4
Pompeii Narrator BBC Radio 4
2004 Dalek Empire III Galanar Big Finish
Doctor Who: Medicinal Purposes Daft Jamie Big Finish
Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre Narrator Time Warner
The Merchant of Venice Launcelot Gobbo Arkangel Shakespeare
How to Train Your Dragon Narrator Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series
How to be a Pirate's Dragon Narrator Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series
2005 UNIT: The Wasting Col. Brimmecombe-Wood Big Finish
Dixon of Dock Green PC Andy Crawford BBC Radio 4
The Adventures of Luther Arkwright Luther Arkwright Big Finish
Macbeth Porter Arkangel Shakespeare
King Lear Edgar Arkangel Shakespeare
The Comedy of Errors Antipholus of Syracuse Arkangel Shakespeare
2006 The Virgin Radio Christmas Panto Buttons Virgin Radio
The Stone Rose Narrator BBC Audio
The Resurrection Casket Narrator BBC Audio
The Feast of the Drowned Narrator BBC Audio
How to Speak Dragonese Narrator Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series
2007 The Wooden Overcoat Peter BBC Radio 4
How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse Narrator Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series
2008 Dixon of Dock Green Andy Crawford BBC Radio 4
Pest Control Narrator BBC Audio
2009 The Day of the Troll Narrator BBC Audio
How to Twist a Dragon's Tale Narrator Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series
2010 Of Mice and Men George Milton BBC Radio
Murder in Samarkand Craig Murray BBC Radio 4[63]
How to Ride a Dragon's Storm Narrator Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series

Theatre

Year Title Role Theatre / Notes
unknown The Ghost of Benji O'Neill
Twelve Angry Men
1991 The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui 7:84 Theatre Company Scotland
1991-2 Shinda the Magic Ape Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh [64]
1992 Jump the Life to Come[64] 7:84
Scotland Matters
Hay Fever Simon Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh[64]
Tartuffe Valere Dundee Repertory Theatre
1992-3 Merlin Arthur UK tour
1993 Antigone 7:84[64]
The Princess and the Goblin Curdie Dundee Repertory Theatre[65]
1994 The Slab Boys Trilogy Alan Young Vic
1995 What the Butler Saw Nick Royal National Theatre
An Experienced Woman Gives Advice Kenny Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
1996 The Glass Menagerie Tom Dundee Repertory Theatre
Long Day's Journey Into Night Edmund
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf Nick
As You Like It Touchstone Royal Shakespeare Company
The General From America Hamilton
The Herbal Bed Jack Lane
1997 Hurly Burly Mickey Old Vic/Queen's Theatre
Tamagotchi Heaven Boyfriend Did not appear on stage, only on film
1998 The Real Inspector Hound Moon Comedy Theatre
Black Comedy Brinsley Miller
1999 Vassa — Scenes from Family Life Pavel Albery Theatre
Edward III Edward, the Black Prince Shakespeare's Globe (staged reading)
King Lear Edgar Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester
2000 The Comedy of Errors Antipholus of Syracuse Royal Shakespeare Company
The Rivals Jack
Romeo and Juliet Romeo
2001 A Midsummer Night's Dream (2001-03-21 - Royal Shakespeare Company at the Barbican) Lysander and Flute.[66]
Comedians Gethin Price UK tour
2002 Push-Up Robert Royal Court Theatre
Lobby Hero Jeff Donmar Warehouse/Ambassadors Theatre
2003 The Pillowman Katurian National Theatre
2004 The Fleer Lord Piso Shakespeare's Globe (staged reading 2004-06-20, at the Globe Education Centre) [67]
2005 Look Back in Anger Jimmy Porter Theatre Royal, Bath/ Royal Lyceum Theatre
2006 Look Back in Anger Jimmy Porter Royal Court Theatre (rehearsed reading)
2008 Hamlet Hamlet Royal Shakespeare Company/Novello Theatre London
Love's Labour's Lost Berowne Royal Shakespeare Company

Awards and nominations

Awards
Nominations

See also

References

  1. ↑ Billington, Michael (2008-08-06). "Hamlet". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/stage/2008/aug/06/theatre.rsc. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  2. ↑ Nightingale, Benedict (2008-08-06). "Dr Whos David Tennant as Hamlet at the Courtyard Stratford". The Times (London). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/stage/theatre/article4466565.ece. Retrieved 2010-05-01. 
  3. ↑ "The Tenth Doctor: Actor Profile". BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/s4/characters/doctor10?character=doctor10&action=profile. Retrieved 10 April 2009. ""Born in Bathgate, West Lothian, David John McDonald"" 
  4. ↑ "Drama Faces: David Tennant". BBC Online. http://www.bbc.co.uk/drama/faces/david_tennant.shtml. Retrieved 10 April 2009. ""David's birthday is 18 April"" 
  5. ↑ "McDONALD, David John, (David Tennant)". Who's Who. A&C Black. 2008. http://www.ukwhoswho.com/view/article/oupww/whoswho/U119800/McDONALD_David_John_David_Tennant. Retrieved 10 April 2009.  Online edition Oxford University Press Dec 2008 (subscription or library card required).
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 "Desert Island Discs with David Tennant". Desert Island Discs. BBC. Radio 4. 2010-01-01.
  7. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/whodoyouthinkyouare/past-stories/david-tennant.shtml
  8. ↑ Scott, Marion (2005-11-27). "The Secret Diary of Dr Who, aged 14 3/4". The Sunday Mail. http://www.sundaymail.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16418493&method=full&siteid=64736&headline=the-secret-diary-of-dr-who--aged-14-3--4--name_page.html. Retrieved 2007-11-08. 
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Ready Steady Cook with David Tennant and his father". Ready Steady Cook. BBC. BBC 2. 2006-12-06.
  10. ↑ Foss, Roger (July/August 2008). "Partners in Time". What's On Stage: p. 15. http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=649. Retrieved 2008-07-06. 
  11. ↑ Shannon, Sarah (2005-12-07). "David Tennant: His days of blissful anonymity are numbered". The Independent (London). http://news.independent.co.uk/people/profiles/article331665.ece. 
  12. ↑ David Tennant, "Touchstone", in Player of Shakespeare 4, ed. Robert Smallwood (Cambridge University Press, 2000), p.30.
  13. ↑ Boots Advert starring David Tennant on YouTube
  14. ↑ "David Tennant named 'best Dr Who'". BBC News. 2006-12-06. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6211584.stm. Retrieved 2007-02-25. 
  15. ↑ TV's Coolest (Sky News)
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  17. ↑ BBC.co.uk Dreamland press release
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  19. ↑ [1] David Tennant quits as Doctor Who
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  21. ↑ Hoggart, Simon (2006-01-14). "Alcoholic? Not the Kennedy I knew". Simon Hoggart's week (London: The Guardian). http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2006/jan/14/politicalcolumnists.politics. Retrieved 2008-07-05. "Dad is played by the wonderful David Tennant (Blackpool, Casanova) who has carefully prepared his appearance by watching old interviews, even studying newspaper pictures of the time and having a picture of Dad on his mobile phone. He's extremely convincing - the suit, the hair, the Yorkshire accent, and trickiest of all, the speech rhythms. The only thing wrong is his sideburns. To do this film he had to take 24 hours off from making Doctor Who in Cardiff and, as he explained, the sideburns wouldn't grow back in a day." 
  22. ↑ Dempster, Sarah (2007-02-21). "Scissor sister". London: The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/theguardian/2007/feb/21/features11.g21. Retrieved 2008-07-05. 
  23. ↑ It was first broadcast in the UK on 2008-11-22. Andreeva, Nellie (2007-03-27). "HBO, BBC discover 'Einstein' project" (subscription required). The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/news/e3i0d15554c06ac16b895b2cd47ef9baca7?imw=Y. 
  24. ↑ Ryzik, Melena (14 May 2009). "Tennant Is Named a ‘Masterpiece’ Host". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/14/arts/television/14arts-TENNANTISNAM_BRF.html?_r=1&ref=television. Retrieved 14 May 2009. 
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  27. ↑ Latest Casting for John Landis' 'Burke and Hare', although Tennant has yet to confirm his casting.
  28. ↑ Absolute Radio DJ Profile
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  32. ↑ "The Stage 100 :: TV Ten". The Stage. 2005-12-29. http://www.thestage.co.uk/tvten/. Retrieved 2006-01-03. 
  33. ↑ "Dr Who Voted Sexiest Gay Icon". GayNZ.com. 2006-01-17. http://www.gaynz.com/news/default.asp?dismode=article&artid=3115. Retrieved 2006-01-18. 
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  35. ↑ Ross, Shân (2006-10-28). "Top Scots chosen for putting on the style". The Scotsman. http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=1595632006. Retrieved 2007-01-24. 
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  45. ↑ "General Election 2010: David Tennant and Sean Pertwee star in Labour advert". London: The Daily Telegraph. 2010-04-12. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/election-2010/7580270/General-Election-2010-David-Tennant-and-Sean-Pertwee-star-in-Labour-advert.html. Retrieved 2010-05-01.  Retrieved 12 April 2010
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Further reading

External links

Actors who have played the Doctor
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