ACTOR · BORN 1971
David Tennant
- Born
- 18 April 1971, Bathgate, West Lothian, Scotland, UK
- Known for
- The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists! (2012), Bad Samaritan (2018), What We Did on Our Holiday (2014), Des (2020)
48 archived facts 5 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026
David Tennant (born 18 April 1971) is an actor best known for The Pirates! In an Adventure with Scientists!, Bad Samaritan and What We Did on Our Holiday.
48 Interesting Facts About David Tennant
Interesting Facts (18)
- #001
David Tennant often got into trouble at school because every article he wrote somehow ended up being about Doctor Who (1963).
- #002
Because of Screen Actors Guild rules in America, he legally changed his name to David Tennant (an actor's stage name must match their legal name).
- #003
He is the second of three Scottish actors to play the Doctor, after Sylvester McCoy and Peter Capaldi. In the episode Tooth and Claw (2006), when the Doctor disguises himself as a Scottish doctor, he got the chance to use his real accent.
- #004
While attending Paisley Grammar School, David Tennant wrote an essay stating that his greatest ambition was to play the Doctor in Doctor Who (1963), as he was an eager fan of the series, particularly during the Tom Baker and Peter Davison eras. His dream came true when Russell T. Davies cast him as the Tenth Doctor in Doctor Who (2005).
- #005
After filming four "Bank Holiday" specials and a Christmas special for 2009, David Tennant announced that he was leaving Doctor Who (2005). He had already completed his work on the 2008 Doctor Who (2005) Christmas special.
- #006
David Tennant is one of eight actors who played the same character in both Doctor Who (2005) and The Sarah Jane Adventures (2007), along with Matt Smith, Elisabeth Sladen, John Leeson, Tommy Knight, Alexander Armstrong, Lachele Carl and Nicholas Courtney.
- #007
When David Tennant first appeared on the BBC radio panel show "Just a Minute" (25 February 2015), he astonished the audience by improvising for a full minute on the subject "Exit, Pursued by a Bear."
- #008
The 2009 Theatregoers' Choice Award for Best Regional Production went to the RSC Hamlet production with David Tennant, and the 2009 Theatre Event of the Year Theatregoers' Choice Award went to David Tennant's return to the stage in the RSC Hamlet production.
- #009
David Tennant was nominated for the 2009 Broadcasting Guild Award for Best Actor for his roles as "Sir Arthur Eddington" in Einstein and Eddington (2008) and "The Doctor" in Doctor Who (2005).
- #010
He did not enjoy doing Additional Dialogue Recording (ADR) in post-production on episodes of Doctor Who (2005).
- #011
London: recording of the comedy panel game show ''Comedy World Cup'' (as host). Tennant filmed Broadchurch in Bristol Monday to Friday and returned to London at weekends to record Comedy World Cup.
- #012
Fright Night (2011) was filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
- #013
London: filming of the series The Politician's Husband (2013) (in June and July).
- #014
Rehearsals for the play Much Ado About Nothing were under way in London. Rehearsals began on 4 April in Shepherd's Bush.
- #015
January to May 2014: filming of Gracepoint in Victoria, Canada. David flew to Canada the day after the final performance of Richard II.
- #016
London: filming a TV commercial for Virgin.
- #017
Poland: filming Spies of Warsaw (2013) (between early April and mid-June).
- #018
June to July 2012: filming The Politician's Husband in London.
Behind the Scenes (14)
- #019
He is the son-in-law of actor Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson. Davison was also his favourite Doctor from the original Doctor Who (1963) television series. Tennant was chosen to present Come in Number Five (2011), a documentary about the production of Davison's Fifth Doctor era, and he appears as an extra in the Special Edition DVD release of Resurrection of the Daleks: Part One (1984).
- #020
His acting heroes are comedy star John Cleese and Shakespearean actor Derek Jacobi.
- #021
He is a big fan of film director Alfred Hitchcock.
- #022
He is a big fan of The West Wing (1999).
- #023
He is the only actor to play two canonical versions of the Doctor.
- #024
Margate, Kent: filming True Love (2012). Tennant began working on "True Love" two days after the play "Much Ado About Nothing" ended.
- #025
London and Watford, Hertfordshire, filming of The Politician's Husband (2013) (between mid-June and late July). Tennant began working on the series two days after returning from Poland.
- #026
May to October 2014. Filming of Broadchurch season 2 in Dorset, Devon and Somerset. David began working on Broadchurch three days after flying home from Canada.
- #027
On 31 August 2007 he switched on the Blackpool illuminations.
- #028
Filming of the mini-series drama Single Father (2010) for BBC Scotland in Glasgow, Scotland.
- #029
Filming in Uganda for Comic Relief.
- #030
In 2007, Tennant became the second actor to play the Doctor on Doctor Who to be interviewed as a guest on Britain's most famous talk show, Parkinson (1971). The first was Jon Pertwee, who was interviewed in 1980, six years after leaving the role.
- #031
Los Angeles, attending the TCAs. Tennant was in Los Angeles for only three days because he was in the middle of filming different projects.
- #032
January to May 2014. Filming of Gracepoint in Victoria, Canada. David flew to Canada the day after the final performance of Richard II.
Characters & Cast (6)
- #033
He auditioned for the lead role in the American NBC series Hannibal. Tennant did not get the part, but showrunner Bryan Fuller said in a magazine interview that Tennant's audition was very impressive and that he wanted to write him in as a guest star playing an unbalanced serial killer.
- #034
David Tennant is an esteemed classical actor who has played numerous leading 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."
- #035
On The Paul O'Grady Show (2004), Tennant revealed that he had auditioned for the role of "the Blue Meanie" in the remake of Yellow Submarine (1968).
- #036
He was a guest headliner in the comedy stage show 'Celebrity Autobiography' at the Leicester Square Theatre in London. Tennant gave his first performance two days after returning to England from New Mexico, where he was filming Fright Night.
- #037
While Tennant played the Doctor in Doctor Who (2005), his attractiveness and sex appeal were heavily emphasized. Wendy Padbury called him "gorgeous." When Michael Parkinson interviewed him in 2007, he even recounted that a journalist had described him as the first "Time Phwoar." However, he was not actually the first actor cast in the role with that idea in mind. John Nathan-Turner chose Peter Davison partly because he had "a large following with feminine viewers," and Jo Wright said Paul McGann was her first choice partly because he was "very good-looking."
- #038
In 2007, Tennant became the second actor to play the Doctor in Doctor Who to be interviewed as a guest on Britain's most famous talk show, Parkinson (1971). The first was Jon Pertwee, who was interviewed in 1980, six years after leaving the role.
Career & Awards (2)
- #039
David Tennant missed out on a 2009 Laurence Olivier Award nomination for his "Hamlet" because, after the production transferred from Stratford-upon-Avon, a back injury and surgery meant he could not perform enough shows during the London run.
- #040
He was nominated for the 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Actor of 2002 for his performance in "Lobby Hero," staged at the Donmar Warehouse and the New Ambassador's Theatre.
Life & Family (8)
- #041
As a child, his most treasured possession was a scarf his aunt knitted for him, modelled on the iconic multi-coloured scarf Tom Baker wore in Doctor Who (1963) in the 1970s.
- #042
He chose his acting surname from Neil Tennant, the singer of Pet Shop Boys. This came shortly after he read an interview with Tennant in "Smash Hits" and learned that, as a registered member under his real name David McDonald, he had to change his professional name to join the actors' union Equity.
- #043
He is the son-in-law of the actor Peter Davison and Sandra Dickinson. Davison was also his favourite Doctor from the original Doctor Who (1963) television series. Tennant was chosen to present Come in Number Five (2011), a documentary about the production of Davison's Fifth Doctor era, and appeared as an extra on the Special Edition DVD release of Resurrection of the Daleks: Part One (1984).
- #044
His actress wife Georgia Tennant gave birth to their first child, a daughter named Olive, on 29 March 2011.
- #045
It has been mentioned before that his father-in-law Peter Davison is respectfully remembered as the Fifth Doctor, but his mother-in-law Sandra Dickenson is also honoured in science fiction for the role of Trillian, companion to Zaphod Beeblebrox in the iconic TV series The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy.
- #046
The appearance of Spalding, Lex Luthor's assistant, in Paul Cornell's run on ''Action Comics'' is based on David Tennant. Cornell has written many expanded-universe stories featuring Tennant's Tenth Doctor.
- #047
April to May 2013: filming of The Day of the Doctor (2013) in Wales. His son was born the day after his last day on the film's set. Tennant then took three weeks off, though he recorded several voiceovers and TV commercials and, during that time, went to Stratford-upon-Avon for meetings about Richard II.
- #048
David Tennant's maternal grandfather was the footballer Archie McLeod.
Related pages
- Robert Carlyle — David Tennant comes up in the facts on that page
- Matthew Smith — David Tennant comes up in the facts on that page
Sources & editorial notes
Reference databases
- Wikipedia
- IMDb
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