David Tennant
A Life in Time
and Space
David Tennant is the most powerful actor on British television. And, with two National Television awards to his credit and numerous other theatrical accolades, David has proven he’s here to stay.
The son of a Presbyterian minister, David was raised in the small suburban settlement of Ralston in Scotland. He appeared on screen before he was even out of school. Then, after graduating from drama school, he landed his first professional acting role in the theatrical production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Uiith. This was just the beginning of what has since become a distinguished acting career.
David has appeared in several high-profile dramas for the BBC. But, undeniably, it is his energetic and eccentric portrayal of the Time Lord in cult sci-fi drama Doctor Who for which he is most famous. Fulfilling his childhood dream, David has been voted ‘Best Doctor’ by readers of Doctor Who Magazine and the ‘coolest character’ on UK television in a 2007 Radio Times survey.
Also a respected classical actor, David has received rave reviews for his stage acting. As a budding young actor he held lead parts in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s productions of As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet and The Comedy of Errors. Now, nearly ten years on, he has returned to his roots to take up possibly his most challenging part to date – the title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
In this, the first ever biography of the charismatic Scottish actor, Nigel Goodall traces the events and circumstances that have shaped David’s life and career so far and transformed him into a hugely influential artist, and the coolest man on television.
Highlights include:
David’s unusual childhood in Renfrewshire, where his father was a Church of Scotland minister, and where David became obsessed by Doctor Who at the age of three.
Full details of his Scottish and Irish roots and the history of how his parents met, married and gypsied around the highlands in a bid to find the perfect settlement.
How David coped with his mother’s death and funeral during the filming of the 2007 Doctor Who Christmas Special with Kylie Minogue - and how Kylie helped him through his ordeal.
The truth about how he fulfilled his childhood dream of becoming an actor, stole his name from Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant (much to his mother’s annoyance) and landed the role he had always wanted since he was a toddler.
How he hated his school years, dealt with the gay rumours and taunting, got beaten up for dressing too camp, and almost lost his life from an infected appendicitis at the age of nine.
Details about his relationships with an impressive range of leading ladies from Sophia Myles to Kylie Minogue and most recently, Peter Davison’s daughter, Georgia Moffett. And his on and off screen relationship with co-star Billie Piper and how he encouraged her onto the London stage.
The truth about his relationships with Bethan Britton and Jennie Fava from the crew of Doctor Who and why he broke off from seeing each of them after only three months
His roles in BBC’s soon-to-be-seen drama Einstein and Eddington as well as his roles in Johnny Depp’s LA Without A Map, Blackpool and Casanova, the latter of which led him to being short listed to play the most coveted role on television - the Tenth Doctor.
Details of how David got cast in Hamlet by RSC Director Greg Doran and how David found himself the attention of an obsessed female stalker when he began rehearsals at the Courtyard Theatre.
Never before published behind-the-scenes stories and information from the sets of Doctor Who, The Last September (soon due for theatrical re-release), Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, and The Quatermass Experiment.
Foreword by leading entertainment journalist John Highfield plus appendices that include a filmography of television, film, stage, radio and audio books, plus awards and nominations and a Doctor Who Episode Guide.