- Born
- Birth nameDavid John McDonald
- Height6′ 1″ (1.85 m)
- Widely considered as one of the greatest stage and screen actors of his generation both in his native Scotland and internationally, 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. Among other significant factors of his prolific artistic course, 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 and Markos.
- SpouseGeorgia Tennant(December 30, 2011 - present) (5 children)
- ChildrenWilfred TennantDoris TennantBirdie Tennant
- ParentsEssdale Helen (McLeod)
- RelativesBlair(Sibling)Karen(Sibling)
- Sideburns
- Very thin
- Raising his eyebrows a lot
- Cheeky smile
- 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.
- He started acting with the hope that he would one day get to play the title role on "Doctor Who".
- 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: The Movie (1996) but the series was not broadcast between 1990 and 1995).
- 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.
- 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.
- Doctor Who (2006) - £500,000 (2005)
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