Actor Profile - David Tennant

By: Lord Nibbler (aka April Hulsey - Editor to Kensforce.com)

From The Monster Island News Archives (originally Posted 07/01/07)

I have to say I am truly impressed. I love British shows and their actors probably more than my United States shows and actors, but I never really had any shows to believe in because they always seem to go stale and tasteless. Never any originality. But I have to say that after watching season 3 of Doctor Who and the last episode (which I won’t blow for anyone) that I am truly impressed. Particularly, with its main actor – David Tennant.

The son of a Presbyterian minister, Tennant was brought up in Bathgate, the post-industrial town between Edinburgh and Glasgow immortalized in a song by his favorite band, The Proclaimers. (Because of this quote, I had their most famous “I’m Gonna Be” song stuck in my head for 2 days.) He decided to be an actor at a very young age (3 or 4) and was appearing on screen before he was even out of school. So boys and girls, Mr. Tennant is no stranger to the stage.

However, Tennant is not his real last name. Like most aspiring actors, as a result of conflicts with other registered members of actor’s unions, they are forced to choose another name not in use. He chose his acting surname from Neil Tennant, singer with Pet Shop Boys (good choice – love the Pet Shop Boys “Very” album as my favorites). According to various sources, 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.

But don’t think he landed his role on Doctor Who simply for his boyish good looks and charm alone, which the Observer described as a “perfect fusion of Brad Pitt and Michael Palin”. Oh no, Mr. Tennant is no stranger to hard work.

He was first talent-spotted by Scottish TV at a Saturday youth theatre club, an offshoot of the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama where he later trained. He graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, he is classically trained in Shakespearean literature, and has been quoted by saying:
“"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."

Most intelligent quotation from the man who decided to enter acting at the age of three according to sources through the Sci-Fi Channel. He is also rumored to have written an essay on how his greatest desire was to play Doctor Who on TV when he was in grammar school. (This is quite a substantiated goal considering everything.)

He brought himself from a little known aspiring actor to a fully respected classically trained actor who has performed in multiple roles varying from 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" to more major performances including the BBC’s production of Casanova in which he starred as the title role of the world’s most famous romantic lover. One of his more recent movie credits was his role playing Barty Crouch Junior in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

His credits include being 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. He was nominated for Best Classical Actor Under 30, Ian Charleson Award for his theatre role in "Comedy of Errors" as Antipholus of Syracuse. [2000]. Further, he won Best Male Performance, Critics Award for Theatre in Scotland for his theatre role in "Look Back in Anger" as Jimmy Porter. [2005] and he won Best Actor, Theatre Management Association for his role in "The Glass Menagerie" as Tom.


I must say though after watching Doctor Who’s season finale through YouTube, and after being so impressed with his heart felt performance, I had to know a little bit more about him. May I say that Mr. Tennant’s acting is warm, intelligent, and his ability comes so natural that you would swear that there is no one (not even Tom Baker) who was more qualified for this role. More than that, he is so wonderful an actor that I truly believe that if (god forbid) Doctor Who ends after next season, he will have a wonderful acting career in television and movies (which is great cause it is so hard to get good British TV shows in the United States). I would love to see him break out into movies – especially comedy!

I just got done watching The Friday Night Project show in which he hosts. Let me tell you all US fans, you must find it on YouTube because it was hysterical! I never laughed so hard in my life – I had a sore throat. Love the good humor which too came so easy for him.

I absolutely am impressed and, as our mates across the pond say, “gobsmacked” by the caliber of actor that he truly is. I will keep a watchful eye on his performances in the future and the like because he has truly become my favorite male actor (sorry Gerard Butler). If you would like to know more about Mr. Tennant and some fast facts about him, you can visit his website at http://www.david-tennant.com/temp/id4.html. May have to go download his performance in Secret Smile. Says he is the psychotic boyfriend from hell. Very interesting!

Thank you very much to david-tennant.com for the wonderfully beautiful pictures and facts!

Friends of Kensforce.com - your webmaster Ken Hulsey and this Editor - Lord Nibbler (aka April Hulsey) will do everything we can to try to get an interview with DT for the sake of our fans here in the U.S. I hope you liked this article!