Overview (3)

Mini Bio (1)

Often considered one of Scotland's greatest actors, David Tennant was born David John McDonald in West Lothian, Scotland, to Essdale Helen (McLeod) and Sandy McDonald, who was a Presbyterian minister. He is of Scottish and Ulster-Scots descent. When he was about 3 or 4 years old, he decided to become an actor, inspired by his love of Doctor Who (1963).



He was brought up in Bathgate, West Lothian and Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland and was a huge fan of the band The Proclaimers. He attended Paisley Grammar school and while there he wrote about how he wanted to become a professional actor and play the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who (1963).



He made his first television appearance (which was also his first professional acting job) when he was 16, after his father sent some photos of him to a casting director at Scottish television. He also attended a youth theatre group at weekends run by the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now renamed the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland). When he was 16 he auditioned for and won a place at the academy; the youngest student to ever do so, and started as a full time drama student when he was 17.



He worked regularly in theatre and TV after leaving drama school, and his first big break came in 1994 when he was cast in a lead role in the Scottish drama Takin' Over the Asylum (1994). He then moved to London where his career thrived. Amongst other things, he spent several years as a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and became famous from his lead roles in TV dramas Blackpool (2004) and Casanova (2005).



In 2005, his childhood wish came true. David was cast to play the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who (2005) alongside Billie Piper, after Christopher Eccleston decided to leave. Playing the Doctor made him a household name and a sex symbol, being voted "Sexiest Man in the Universe" by readers of The Pink Paper and 16th Sexiest Man in the World by a Cosmopolitan survey. Since leaving the series in 2010 his career has continued to rise, with lead roles in films, TV series and theatre.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Samtroy

Spouse (1)

Trade Mark (4)

Sideburns



Very thin



Raising his eyebrows a lot



Cheeky smile



Trivia (98)

David Tennant is a respected classical actor who has performed numerous starring roles for the Royal Shakespeare Company, including Touchstone in "As You Like It," Romeo in "Romeo and Juliet," Antipholus of Syracuse in "The Comedy of Errors," and Captain Jack Absolute in "The Rivals.".





He was nominated for a 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of 2002 for his performance in "Lobby Hero" performed at the Donmar Warehouse and the New Ambassador's Theatres.

Graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.



Acted with the 7:84 Theatre Company, a genre-bending, ground-breaking, political Scottish Theatre Group.





Best friends with Louise Delamere No Angels (2004)). They went to Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama together and shared a flat.



Chose his acting surname from Neil Tennant , singer with Pet Shop Boys . This came after reading an interview with Tennant in "Smash Hits" shortly after learning that he would have to change his professional name in order to join the actors' union, Equity, as there was already a registered member with his real name, David McDonald.



Nominated for Best Classical Actor Under 30, Ian Charleson Award for his theatre role in "Comedy of Errors" as Antipholus of Syracuse. [2000]

Won Best Male Performance, Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland, for his role in "Look Back in Anger" as Jimmy Porter. [2005]



Won Best Actor, Theatre Management Association, for his role in "The Glass Menagerie" as Tom.





Is a big fan of film director Alfred Hitchcock



He is the second of three Scottish actors to portray the character of the Doctor, following Sylvester McCoy and followed by Peter Capaldi . He got a chance to use his actual accent, once, when the Doctor poses as a Scottish physician in episode Doctor Who: Tooth and Claw (2006)).

On August 31, 2007, he turned on the illumination lights for Blackpool.





His acting heroes are comedy star John Cleese and Shakespearean performer Derek Jacobi

Considers Paisley as his hometown.





His father is Sandy McDonald , a retired minister; mother Helen died of cancer in July 2007.

Has a brother, Blair, and a sister, Karen.





Favorite actress is Audrey Hepburn



Favorite book is "The Catcher in the Rye" by J.D. Salinger

So many people wanted to see him in the 2009 RSC Production of Hamlet; the London run at the Novello Theatre sold out in three hours.





Missed out for a nomination for the 2009 Laurence Olivier Award for his "Hamlet" because he did not perform enough shows in London after the show transfered from Stratford-Upon-Avon, due to a back injury and surgery during the London run.

Nominated 2009 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company.



Won 2009 Critics Choice Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for his Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company.





He was nominated for the 2008 Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor for Recovery (2007) and Doctor Who (2005).



Nominated for the 2009 Broadcasting Guild Awards-Best Actor for his portrayal of "Sir Arthur Eddington" in Einstein und Eddington (2008) and "The Doctor" in Doctor Who (2005).

Winner 2009 Theatregoers' Choice Award Best Regional Production was RSC Production of Hamlet with David Tennant and 2009 Theatregoers' Choice Award for Theatre Event of the Year was David Tennant's return to the stage in the RSC Production of Hamlet.





From his first appearance in the role of the Doctor in June 2005 to when he gave the role up in January 2010, he became the second longest actor to play the title role continuously on television ( Tom Baker is the longest, who was on screen from 1974 until 1981) and the third longest overall ( Sylvester McCoy first appeared in September 1987 and exited in Doctor Who: Der Film (1996) but the series was not broadcast between 1990 and 1995).



Married to Georgia Tennant since 30th December 2011. They met on the set of Doctor Who (2005) in November 2007, but did not become a couple until some time later. She is the daughter of former Doctor Who (1963) star Peter Davison , who played the Fifth Doctor. In January 2011, UK tabloids reported that they had moved in together and become engaged. Moffett gave birth to the couple's first child two months later, and they married nine months after that. Tennant has never spoken about or confirmed their relationship to the media, though Moffett occasionally posts about him on her social media pages.



Tennant revealed on The Paul O'Grady Show (2004) that he had auditioned for the role of "the Blue Meanie" in the remake of Yellow Submarine (1968).



His fiancée, actress Georgia Tennant , gave birth to his first child, a daughter named Olive, on 29 March 2011.



He is the second of three non-English actors to portray the "Doctor Who" character. Along with Sylvester McCoy , and Peter Capaldi , all three are Scottish.

He adopted his wife's son, Tyler, in 2011.



He started acting with the hope that he would one day get to play the title role on "Doctor Who".





Is a big fan of the TV series, Firefly: Der Aufbruch der Serenity (2002).



His all-time favourite Doctor Who character is the Zygons, who first appeared in Doctor Who: Terror of the Zygons: Part One (1975), a Fourth Doctor adventure.

Auditioned for the lead role in the American NBC TV series Hannibal. Tennant was unsuccessful, but show-runner Bryan Fuller said in a magazine interview that Tennant's audition was so impressive, he wanted to write him a guest spot as a deranged serial killer.



His wife became pregnant for the third time seven months after their wedding, and gave birth on 3rd May 2013.





Did not enjoy doing the Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR) in post-production for Doctor Who (2005) episodes.



Used to get in trouble at school because all of the essays he wrote were about Doctor Who (1963) in some way.



His most treasured childhood possession was a scarf that an aunt had knitted him which was modeled on the iconic, multi-colored one worn by Tom Baker on Doctor Who (1963) in the 1970s.



The appearance of Lex Luthor's assistant Spalding in Paul Cornell 's run on ''Action Comics'' is based on him. Cornell has written many expanded universe stories featuring Tennant's Tenth Doctor.

Legally changed his name to David Tennant, due to rules of the Screen Actors' Guild of America (one's stage name must be the same as one's legal name).





Announced he is leaving Doctor Who (2005) after he films four "Bank Holiday" specials and a Christmas special for 2009. Has already finished work on the 2008 Doctor Who (2005) Christmas special. [October 2008]



Filming mini-series drama, Single Father (2010), for BBC Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland. [April 2010]



Margate, Kent: filming True Love (2012). Tennant started work on "True Love" two days after his play, "Much Ado About Nothing", ended. [September 2011]



Filming for Fright Night (2011), in Albuquerque, New Mexico. [September 2010]



In Carlisle and Newcastle filming United (2011). [December 2010]

Recording the radio play Kafka, the Musical in London. [January 2011]



In London rehearsing for the play 'Much Ado About Nothing.' Rehearsals started on 4 April in Shepherd's Bush. [April 2011]



Cardiff, Wales: Filming Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special [April 2013]



Los Angeles, attending the TCAs. Tennant was in LA for three days only as he was in the middle of shooting different projects. [August 2012]



London, shooting a TV commercial for Virgin. [December 2012]



Wales, filming the Doctor Who 50th Anniversary Special. [April 2013]



London: Recording the audiobook 'How to Steal a Dragon's Heart.' [January 2013]





Filming for the film, Wer ist die Braut? (2011), in Scotland and Isle of Man. [June 2010]



Bristol and West Bay in Dorset: Filming the TV series, Broadchurch (2013) (from early August to December). [August 2012]

Los Angeles: Auditioning for acting work and doing publicity for Spies of Warsaw. [December 2012]



London: recording the comedy panel game show ''Comedy World Cup'' (as presenter). Tennant filmed Broadchurch Mon-Fri in Bristol and returned to London on the weekends to record Comedy World Cup. [November 2012]



Hertfordshire and London, filming The Escape Artist. [February 2013]



Scotland, filming The Escape Artist [March 2013]



Guest starring in the comedy stage show 'Celebrity Autobiography' at the Leicester Square Theatre in London. Tennant made his first performance two days after he returned to England from New Mexico, where he'd been shooting the film Fright Night. [October 2010]





As of April 16, 2005, officially announced as the tenth actor to play the classic television character "Doctor Who," taking over from Christopher Eccleston for the second series of the BBC's Sci-Fi show revival. [April 2005]



Newcastle: shooting the BBC2 film, United (2011). [November 2010]

In Uganda filming for Comic Relief. [November 2010]





London, filming the BBC1 drama series The Escape Artist (2013). During this month Tennant also recorded numerous audio books and radio plays. [January 2013]



Playing "Hamlet" in RSC Stratford-upon-Avon, alongside Patrick Stewart . [August 2008]



London and Watford, Hertfordshire, filming Der Mann an ihrer Seite (2013) (between mid-June and the end of July). Tennant started work on the series two days after he returned from Poland. [June 2012]

June-July 2012. London, filming )The Politician's Husband_.



August - December 2012. Dorset and Somerset, filming Broadchurch.





January - March 2013. London, Scotland and Hertfordshire, filming The Escape Artist (2013).



April - May 2013. Filming the Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor (2013) in Wales. His son was born the day after his final day on set. Tennant then took three weeks off, though he recorded several voice overs and TV commercials, and took a trip to Stratford-upon-Avon to have meetings for Richard II during this time.

June - August 2013. Filming the movie What We Did On Our Holiday in Scotland.



January - May 2014. Filming Gracepoint in Victoria, Canada. David flew to Canada the day after the final performance of Richard II.



May - October 2014. Filming Broadchurch series 2 in Dorset, Devon and Somerset. David started work on Broadchurch three days after flying home from Canada.



August 2013 - January 2014. Playing Richard II in the Royal Shakespeare Production of the play in London and Stratford-upon-Avon.





His favorite band is The Proclaimers . He is also a huge fan of Madonna and says "Like a Virgin" was the first single he ever bought.



In 2007, Tennant became only the second actor to play the Doctor in the Doctor Who TV series to be interviewed as a guest on the UK's most celebrated talk show, Parkinson (1971). The first had been Jon Pertwee , who had been interviewed in 1980, six years after he had left the part.

Won Best Actor Award for his role in 'Richard II' at British Stage Awards 2015.



Amazed the audience at his first appearance on the BBC radio quiz show "Just a Minute" (25 Feb 2015) by speaking extemporaneously for a full minute on the topic "Exit, Pursued by a Bear.".



(February 2015 - August 2015) New York, shooting 'aka Jessica Jones'.



Is the only actor to play two canonical incarnations of The Doctor.



His fourth child, a daughter named Doris, was born in 2015.



His adoptive son's name Tyler was transferred use of the surname derived from the Old French tieuleor, tieulier (tiler, tile maker) and the Middle English tyler, tylere (a brick, a tile). The name originated as an occupational name for a tile or brick maker or layer.



His second daughter's name Doris means "a gift" in Greek. From the ancient Greek name Doris which meant "Dorian woman". The Dorians were a Greek tribe who occupied the Peloponnese starting in the 12th century BC. In Greek mythology Doris was a sea nymph, one of the many children of Oceanos and Téthys.



His son's name Wilfred means "desiring peace" from Old English wil "will, desire" and frith "peace". Saint Wilfrid was a 7th-century Anglo-Saxon bishop. The name was rarely used after the Norman conquest, but it was revived in the 19th century.



His maternal grandfather was footballer Archie McLeod.



His fifth child, a daughter named Birdie, was born in October 2019.



Personal Quotes (50)

Drama school is a pretty intense experience and I think it changes who you are. I think I grew up at drama school (which was fairly useful personally as much as professionally) and I certainly got exposed to a huge range of ideas, techniques, and practices that I had no previous experience of. I wouldn't have known what I was doing as an actor if I hadn't gone.



On his early decision to become an actor: "I was very small, about 3 or 4 I think, and just wanted to be the people on telly telling these wonderful stories. Obviously the idea grew and matured with me but I can't ever remember wanting to do anything else. I've just sort of taken it for granted all my life that that was what I would do."



I do thrive on hard work.



Unlike other enduring characters such as Sherlock Holmes or Tarzan, being the Doctor allows you a certain freedom that is both very demanding and very thrilling. It allows you to make the character using elements of yourself.





I was sent good luck cards from Tom Baker and Peter Davison . They were the Doctors I grew up watching, while eating toast and drinking Tizer at home, so I was very honoured.

I've always been a geek and slightly awkward... slightly umm... I was never the cool kid at school.



I'm as happy doing 'Postman Pat' as I am doing 'Hamlet.'



I'm a good person, I hope. But I'm never as good as I want to be, never as nice as I want to be, never as generous as I want to be.



I love characters who are clever and smart, and you have to run to catch up with. I think there's something very appealing and rather heroic in that.





I love a bit of political drama; The West Wing: Im Zentrum der Macht (1999) is probably my favourite television series of all time.



I'd love to work with Aaron Sorkin on something. Just the way he writes, he has no fear in writing people that are fiercely intelligent, and I love that.

I was hugely formed by stories I was told as a child whether that was in a book, the cinema, theatre or television and probably television more than any medium is what influenced me as a child and formed my response to literature, story-telling and, therefore, the world around me.



I remember a conversation with my parents about who the people on the TV were, and learning they were actors and they acted out this story and just thinking that was the most fantastic notion, and that's what I want to do.





I have such fond memories of watching Doctor Who (1963) when I was a kid and growing up, that if I've left anybody anywhere with memories as fond, then I feel like I've done my job.

I don't think I have ever done anything for this age of children before, a pre-school audience. Generally speaking, we don't have vivid memories of that age and what influenced us, yet clearly they are hugely formative years and it's really important that we can create television of a high quality for that audience.



Animation is a fascinating area from an acting point of view because it's not really like anything else because you are only providing a portion of the performance. That's very inspiring and it forces you to do things in a different way - to tell stories through your voice.



Twitter! It's like being stalked by committee!



The gritty indie films are a lot rarer than the films that aspire to fill multiplexes.



The bad guys probably get the better lines, don't they? And they wear less spandex. That would be quite good.



When you're playing a real person, there's a balance between playing the person in the script and playing the person as he was in life. You have to be respectful and true to who that person was, but at the same time tell the story in the film.



When you're older, you want to be scared because you understand more where the boundaries between fantasy and reality are, and I suppose they are more blurred the younger you are.



When you first read a script is the purest moment. That's when you can understand how an audience will ultimately receive it. The first reading of the script is so important because you're experiencing it all for the first time, and it's then that you really know if it's going to work or not.



To me, it feels like The Doctor has to have a long coat, and that's something imprinted on me from childhood, because he always did. And there's something heroic in a flapping coat, but at the same time, I need to get rid of it sometimes and just be a scrawny guy in a suit that doesn't quite fit.



The Doctor is the kind of character - because the guest cast is changing all the time, there are very few constants in the show, so the 'Doctor'- when you're there, you're in it a lot. You're speaking a lot.



It's always that tricky thing with a remake, especially when it's something that's well loved. You're coming to something that has a built-in fascination, but with that comes people ready to feel disgruntled that it's being remade at all.



If you can sell that you're the King of Scotland, or Henry V on a tiny stage in a studio theatre somewhere, then you can probably sell that you're a starship captain or a time traveler.



I've been quite lucky in that I've managed to tick off a few of my dream roles, really. Beyond that, you wait for the next script to come in that will have the dream role that you don't know exists yet, I suppose.



You know, I've just about got used to the fact that people in Britain know who I am on some level, but the notion that there's any kind of international recognition is still slightly bizarre to me.



(When asked "If you could be any Doctor, who would you choose to be?", Comic-Con 2009) Splendid chaps, all of them. I think that's the traditional answer to that question.



(On groupie brigades) Billie and I got chased through the traffic once in a car. You expect paparazzi to do that, but when it's normal people you start to think the world's gone a bit mad.



(On The Doctor and Rose) They weren't shagging in the TARDIS, because that would be weird.





(on his decision to leave Doctor Who (2005)): If I don't take a deep breath now and move on, I never will. I think it's best I don't outstay my welcome.

(At the 2006 National Television Awards) I think if my eight-year-old self could see me at the Royal Albert Hall winning a prize for playing the Doctor on telly, he would need a stiff shot of Irn-Bru.



(On growing up as a teengager) That's the nature of being a teenager. It felt awkward and ugly and different. I felt uncool to the depths of my soul and I've never really recovered from that - I still think I'm uncool.





(On almost being swayed to stay in Doctor Who (2005)) I had a meeting with Steven Moffat and in a way that's been the most difficult bit because I'm such a big fan of his. He told me some of his ideas for what's coming up in the show and it's going to be so good. When I finally thought I'd made a decision suddenly I was tempted to change my mind again.



(On his final scene in Doctor Who (2005) I never saw my final line coming, but it's absolutely perfect. That's when Russell is at his finest. Those are his masterstrokes.



(On being voted Sexiest Actor): Well, I'm not sure what to say about being called the sexiset actor of the year. I'm very flattered and somewhat bewildered. All I know is that I voted for John Barrowman . However I am unashamedly delighted that Doctor Who (2005) has been voted favourite show.



(On kissing John Barrowman at Comic-Con 2009): The moment was right and I felt it was appropriate at the time. It's something you know you'll get a headline back home for.



(On being cast in Casanova (2005)) They wanted him to be a cheeky chappie - that's why his love rival is Rupert Penry-Jones , who's 6ft 2in. It was all about the wit and the words



There is something about the type of imagination that powers Doctor Who (2005). That sweeps up viewers and inspires them in unexpected ways. Something about it's mix of the fantastic and the mundane, the far flung with the domestic that is unlike anything else.



(On being asked to star in Doctor Who (2005) It was funny, when I first got asked I just laughed! I found it hilarious and impossible! And I remember Russell, very perceptively, saying "Don't say anything now, because I know the experience is quite a weird one."



I remember, after seeing Jon Pertwee turn into Tom Baker in Doctor Who (1963), having a conversation with my parents at a very young age about actors and what they did. I remember getting the distinction between a character and an actor, as they explained it. I understood what fiction was very clearly - and I always feel uneasy when people talk about children not understanding the difference between fantasy and reality. I can only have been three, and was just enthralled by Doctor Who (1963). But I was quite clear that I didn't want to be a Time Lord - I wanted to be the person who played a Time Lord.



(While making Learners (2007), he commented on his own driving) I do have more speeding points than are entirely practical - but that's only because I'm up and down on the M4 to Cardiff a lot. They have draconian speeding fines. There'll have been some work going on three weeks previously, so there's one sign saying 'You should be going at 50 miles an hour here' and then 18 cameras to make sure that when inevitably you don't, with nobody else on the road at 3am, they can charge you hundreds and hundreds of pounds for the privilege. Listen, I've just got far too many speeding points. What can I do to defend myself? It's my fault.

[Asked to explain his acting process.He bursts out laughing, with his insistence that he doesn't have one underscored by the T-shirt he happens to be wearing that proclaims, "Anybody Can Do What I Do." But then, playing the good sport, he gives it a shot] It's a bit like wearing in a pair of shoes. You put them on your feet, and at first they squeak and hurt and you can't really walk. But you LIKE these shoes, so you work away at it until the shoes feel comfortable.



Relationships are hard enough with the people you're having them with, let alone talking about them in public.





[on his favourite Doctor, Peter Davison ] He was "my" Doctor. Just as he was for a whole generation. For three years in the early 1980s, Peter Davison achieved what many onlookers had feared might be impossible: he stepped effortlessly into Tom Baker 's shoes, he proceeded to make Doctor Who (1963) his own and he captured the hearts and minds of millions of young viewers.



When I was eight or nine maybe, there was a Tom Baker doll, a sort of rubbish Cyberman that all the paint fell off, and a giant robot, and then you had the Leela doll. But because the Leela doll looked a bit like a Cindy, and 'cause I was a nine-year-old boy in Paisley terrified that that would in some way make me something of a sissy, I never got the Leela doll! I never had the full set.

[on making television drama] You turn up in the morning, you run through it a couple of times and you do it.



About texting: The "text" is a wonderful invention. It's just one more way that I can turn all the lights out and lie under the table, and not have to interact with..humanity.



Salary (1)