Interview: David Tennant Talks GRACEPOINT, Differences from UK TV

Recently, I was given the opportunity to participate in a phone interview with the Tenth Doctor himself, David Tennant. The Scottish phenomenon is a huge star in the United Kingdom, and he's (finally!) making his long-awaited American television debut alongside BREAKING BAD's Anna Gunn in Fox's new ten-part murder mystery GRACEPOINT, and this recapper couldn't be more excited. The mini-series premieres this Thursday, October 2, at 9 PM ET and spotlights the small town as they grapple with the murder of a beloved young local boy.

"On one level," Tennant explains, "it's a whodunit, and the sort of spine of that is something that I think is familiar to us from many TV shows and movies of the past." But to anybody who's seen the trailers, there's something underneath, some extra layer, that seems capable of drawing viewers to the show.

Tennant has an idea of what that may be. "I think what gives it an extra texture and really makes it something rather special is the way that the characters are drawn so beautifully. There's so much texture going on, that we get to understand the lives of all the different characters that get drawn into this and the impact of the event; the death of Danny Solano, which starts the whole ball running, which is the inciting incident in the show. It's not just another TV cop show death. We really understand the impact of that, and we really understand what that would mean to a small community such as Gracepoint."

For those of you completely new to the series, GRACEPOINT is based off of the popular UK drama BROADCHURCH, which is currently filming its second season. Tennant also stars in the UK version as Detective Inspector Alec Hardy, and reprises his role in GRACEPOINT as Detective Emmett Carver. The plots seem almost identical, but FOX promises that viewers of BROADCHURCH will still be surprised by the events that unfold in GRACEPOINT.

As one of those BROADCHURCH viewers (okay, you caught me, I was pretty much addicted to the show), something I was particularly curious about was whether or not Tennant's approaches to playing Detective Carver and DI Hardy were at all different. Sure, GRACEPOINT is based off of BROADCHURCH, but does that mean that the characters will be exactly the same?

"I just tried to play each scene as it came," reveals Tennant. "I didn't want to be self-consciously quirky about it. I just approached each scene as openly as I could, and tried to tell that story as honestly and as well as I could. I think that's all you can ever really do."

In the end, though, the two characters (and their respective shows) inevitably have their own identities. "At times there are some scenes that are very similar to BROADCHURCH," says Tennant. "There are others where, even though the words can be very similar at times, they play very differently. That was continually surprising for me being part of it. I don't suppose it would've been any other way."

Tennant attributes a large portion of those pleasant surprises to the rest of the show's impeccable cast. Skyler White may have been a divisive character on BREAKING BAD, but regardless of whether or not you liked Skyler, there's simply no denying the acting prowess of Anna Gunn. "I was very nervous," Tennant admits, "especially having done this show before...that relationship worked very well with the wonderful Olivia Coleman, who plays Miller in BROADCHURCH. I was nervous, of course, turning up on day one to meet Anna, because we had so much to do together, that that relationship was so important to get right."

In the end, Tennant had nothing to worry about. "It was a huge relief, and then a great joy, to work with her throughout the ten episodes. Everyone who knows her knows how talented she is. I was very chuffed to get to play alongside and also get to know her offset as well. She's a lovely lady and someone that I feel greatly enriched to know."

Okay, things seem to be adding up for GRACEPOINT so far. You've got two insanely talented actors leading the cast, and reassurances from everyone involved that GRACEPOINT and its UK counterpart are, in fact, not identical. But what is it that makes the Alec Hardy/Emmett Carver character so compelling? Why are audiences in both America and the UK so drawn to him?

"He's got a lot of secrets," Tennant hints. "Certainly at the start of GRACEPOINT, we've got an awful lot to learn about who this man is, and why he is motivated in the way that he is motivated."

Hmm, sounds suspicious. Yet, despite his shady past, viewers loved good ol' Hardy on BROADCHURCH. And I'd wager that even the people who didn't love him were, at the very least, pulling for him. "Even though he can be quite unpleasant and quite difficult at times," says Tennant, "I think ultimately we're all rooting for him, because he's got the interest of right on his side." Carver may be the new guy in town who can't even seem to get his own life in order, but in the end, he wants this murder solved as much as anybody else involved.

The line has been drawn between GRACEPOINT and BROADCHURCH. We know the similarities and differences. But what about the wider spectrum of differences between of American television versus British television? Is television production the same across the globe? Do British people dress proper and wear fancy top hats and monocles during filming? Tell us, Tennant!

"It's kind of the same job all over the world really; it kind of works in the same way."

Oh. Ok. But surely there's something unique that separates the two?

"At the end of the day, everyone's really just trying to tell the best story they possibly can, in the most compelling way. I would say that's more similar than I would have expected before I did it."

All right. I guess it makes sense that industry professionals, regardless of where in the world they call home, are primarily focused on the intricacies of production and want to craft an image that tells the story in the most profound and sincere way possible. Right?

"Craft service, that's a difference." There we go. The truth comes out! "We don't have that in Britain. There's more snacks on a US TV show. That, I would say, is the biggest difference."

On a more serious note, much of Tennant's earlier career flourished on stages across the UK. His critically-acclaimed role as the title character in the Royal Shakespeare Company's 2008 production of HAMLET has been hailed as the best portrayal of the royal Dane in recent history. Because of that, he's no stranger to performing the same piece numerous times. Reviving a character, for Tennant, isn't as strange as it may seem because of this history. "From a theater background, ...it's what you do eight times a week," explains Tennant. Going from Hardy to Carver, then, "didn't really feel like a repetition, it just felt like you were telling a story that was familiar, but there were enough differences."

An extensive television and film background doesn't hurt either, according to Tennant. "It's very rare you do one take of something, even on a TV show, so you're used to repeating things more than once. It just was an extension of that principle, I suppose, to go back and tell a similar story again from the start."

All things considered, GRACEPOINT is in line to become one of the most popular shows of the fall season, thanks in part to the large fan bases surrounding the former DOCTOR WHO star and his BREAKING BAD cohort. Does this mean, like BROADCHURCH, we'll get a second season? Tennant seems to hope so. "I think it's fair to say that throughout GRACEPOINT we don't entirely learn the answers to all Carver's particular questions. Maybe we will if we ever get a Season Two."

If there are as many pieces of the character puzzle left missing, as Tennant implies, there better be a season two, or they'll have at least one unhappy fan on their hands. But regardless of the series' future, GRACEPOINT is sure to be a show that will hook people from the opening scenes. After all, who doesn't love a good, old-fashioned murder mystery?

Don't forget to watch the premiere of GRACEPOINT - and celebrate David Tennant's American TV debut! - tonight, Thursday, October 2, at 9 PM ET on FOX.

Need to get caught up before the premiere? The cast answers the ultimate question: did your character do it?