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David Tennant
David John Tennant (né McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the tenth and fourteenth incarnations of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2005–2010, 2013, 2023). His other notable screen roles include portraying Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), DI Alec Hardy in the British crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017) and its American remake Gracepoint, Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present) and various fictionalised versions of himself in the comedy series Staged (2020–2022).
Tennant has worked extensively on stage, including a portrayal of the title character in a 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet that was later adapted for television. He is also a voice actor, featuring in the animated series DuckTales (2017–2021) as the voice of Scrooge McDuck. In 2015, he was the recipient of the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Award.
Tennant was born David John McDonald in Bathgate on 18 April 1971, the son of Helen (née McLeod) and Alexander "Sandy" McDonald. His father was a minister who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He grew up with his brother Blair and sister Karen in Ralston, where his father was the local minister. Two of his maternal great-grandparents, William and Agnes Blair, were Ulster Protestants from Derry who were among the signatories of the Ulster Covenant in 1912; William was also a member of the Orange Order. Tennant's maternal grandfather, footballer Archie McLeod, met William and Agnes' daughter Nellie while playing for Derry City FC. McLeod was descended from tenant farmers from the Isle of Mull. Tennant was born with an extra toe on his right foot; he has also suffered from anxiety since childhood.
At the age of three, Tennant told his parents that he wanted to become an actor because he was a fan of Doctor Who, but they encouraged him to aim for more conventional work. He later said that he was "absurdly single-minded" in pursuing an acting career. He watched almost every Doctor Who episode for years and once spoke to Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker at a book-signing event in Glasgow. He was educated at Ralston Primary School and Paisley Grammar School; he acted in various school productions. His talent was noticed by actress Edith MacArthur, who told his parents that she believed he would become a successful theatre actor after she saw him perform when he was 10 years old.
Tennant attended Saturday classes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before passing an official audition at the age of 16, becoming one of their youngest students and studying there between the ages of 17 and 20. In 1991, Tennant obtained here a BA degree in Dramatic Studies.
After discovering that there was another David McDonald already represented by the actor's union Equity, he created his stage name by adopting the surname of Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant, whom he had seen in Smash Hits. He later legally changed his surname to comply with rules set by the American Screen Actors Guild (which was later merged into SAG-AFTRA).
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 was shown on television and was also screened in schools. 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. He also made an early television appearance in the Scottish TV sitcom Rab C Nesbitt as a transgender barmaid called Davina. In the 1990s, he appeared in several plays at the Dundee Repertory Theatre.
Tennant was awarded his first major TV role as Campbell Bain in the BBC Scotland drama series Takin' Over the Asylum (1994), after impressing director David Blair during filming of another drama – Strathblair (1992). As Tennant recalled from the audition, "they needed someone who could believably act 19 and bonkers". During filming of Takin' Over the Asylum he 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 with 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 alternative version of the Doctor), and as panellists on the West Wing Ultimate Quiz on More4 (Weir later guest-starred on Doctor Who itself after Tennant left the series). One of his earliest big-screen roles was in Jude (1996).
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David Tennant
David John Tennant (né McDonald; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the tenth and fourteenth incarnations of the Doctor in the science fiction series Doctor Who (2005–2010, 2013, 2023). His other notable screen roles include portraying Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005), DI Alec Hardy in the British crime drama series Broadchurch (2013–2017) and its American remake Gracepoint, Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones (2015–2019), Crowley in the fantasy series Good Omens (2019–present) and various fictionalised versions of himself in the comedy series Staged (2020–2022).
Tennant has worked extensively on stage, including a portrayal of the title character in a 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet that was later adapted for television. He is also a voice actor, featuring in the animated series DuckTales (2017–2021) as the voice of Scrooge McDuck. In 2015, he was the recipient of the Special Recognition Award at the National Television Award.
Tennant was born David John McDonald in Bathgate on 18 April 1971, the son of Helen (née McLeod) and Alexander "Sandy" McDonald. His father was a minister who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. He grew up with his brother Blair and sister Karen in Ralston, where his father was the local minister. Two of his maternal great-grandparents, William and Agnes Blair, were Ulster Protestants from Derry who were among the signatories of the Ulster Covenant in 1912; William was also a member of the Orange Order. Tennant's maternal grandfather, footballer Archie McLeod, met William and Agnes' daughter Nellie while playing for Derry City FC. McLeod was descended from tenant farmers from the Isle of Mull. Tennant was born with an extra toe on his right foot; he has also suffered from anxiety since childhood.
At the age of three, Tennant told his parents that he wanted to become an actor because he was a fan of Doctor Who, but they encouraged him to aim for more conventional work. He later said that he was "absurdly single-minded" in pursuing an acting career. He watched almost every Doctor Who episode for years and once spoke to Fourth Doctor actor Tom Baker at a book-signing event in Glasgow. He was educated at Ralston Primary School and Paisley Grammar School; he acted in various school productions. His talent was noticed by actress Edith MacArthur, who told his parents that she believed he would become a successful theatre actor after she saw him perform when he was 10 years old.
Tennant attended Saturday classes at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland before passing an official audition at the age of 16, becoming one of their youngest students and studying there between the ages of 17 and 20. In 1991, Tennant obtained here a BA degree in Dramatic Studies.
After discovering that there was another David McDonald already represented by the actor's union Equity, he created his stage name by adopting the surname of Pet Shop Boys frontman Neil Tennant, whom he had seen in Smash Hits. He later legally changed his surname to comply with rules set by the American Screen Actors Guild (which was later merged into SAG-AFTRA).
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 was shown on television and was also screened in schools. 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. He also made an early television appearance in the Scottish TV sitcom Rab C Nesbitt as a transgender barmaid called Davina. In the 1990s, he appeared in several plays at the Dundee Repertory Theatre.
Tennant was awarded his first major TV role as Campbell Bain in the BBC Scotland drama series Takin' Over the Asylum (1994), after impressing director David Blair during filming of another drama – Strathblair (1992). As Tennant recalled from the audition, "they needed someone who could believably act 19 and bonkers". During filming of Takin' Over the Asylum he 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 with 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 alternative version of the Doctor), and as panellists on the West Wing Ultimate Quiz on More4 (Weir later guest-starred on Doctor Who itself after Tennant left the series). One of his earliest big-screen roles was in Jude (1996).