David Tennant

David Tennant made his professional acting debut at age 16 in an anti-smoking film for the Glasgow Health Board. His early theatre work included the murder mystery Wanted, One Body with a local church group and Mozart from A to Z during his final year at drama school. After graduating, he joined the touring theatre group 7:84, appearing in Bertolt Brecht’s The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui alongside Ashley Jensen. He subsequently performed at the Royal Lyceum Theatre and Dundee Repertory Theatre. His early television credits included the Dramarama episode “The Secret of Croftmore” (1988), Strathblair (1992), Rab C. Nesbitt (1993) and Takin’ Over the Asylum (1994), in which he played Campbell Bain.

In 1995, Tennant appeared in Joe Orton’s What the Butler Saw at the Royal National Theatre. He joined the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for two seasons, beginning with As You Like It in 1996. His subsequent RSC credits included The Comedy of Errors, The Rivals and Romeo and Juliet. He also contributed to the Arkangel Shakespeare audio dramatisation series in 1998. His film debut came in Michael Winterbottom’s Jude (1996), followed by the American romantic comedy L. A. Without a Map (1998). His television credits included Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) (2000).

In 2001, Tennant played a Nazi guard in the Big Finish Productions audio drama Doctor Who: Colditz and subsequently appeared in the audio series Dalek Empire and Doctor Who Unbound. In 2002, he played Jeff in Kenneth Lonergan’s Lobby Hero at Donmar Warehouse and New Ambassadors Theatre, earning a nomination for the 2003 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor. His film credits included Bright Young Things (2003), an adaptation of Evelyn Waugh’s novel Vile Bodies. That year, he also played Katurian in the National Theatre production of Martin McDonagh’s The Pillowman and appeared in the BBC animated webcast Scream of the Shalka.

Tennant’s television credits in 2004 included He Knew He Was Right, in which he played Reverend Gibson, and the musical television serial Blackpool, in which he portrayed DI Peter Carlisle. In January and February 2005, he played Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger at Theatre Royal, Bath, and the Royal Lyceum Theatre, reprising the performance in 2006 for the Royal Court Theatre’s anniversary. He also played Briscoe in the live television film The Quatermass Experiment (2005) and Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005). His other 2005 television credits included Casanova, in which he played the title character, and Secret Smile.

Tennant became widely known for playing the Tenth Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who. He first appeared as the character at the conclusion of the 2005 series finale, “The Parting of the Ways,” before starring in three full series from 2006 to 2008. His tenure included the episodes “Voyage of the Damned” (2007) and “Journey’s End” (2008), as well as the Children in Need minisode “Time Crash” (2007), alongside Peter Davison. He made his directorial debut with the 2007 Doctor Who Confidential episode “Do You Remember The First Time?” and voiced the Doctor in the animated serials The Infinite Quest (2007) and Dreamland (2009). His final run as the Tenth Doctor comprised a series of specials released between 2008 and 2010. He also appeared in the Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures in “The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith” (2009). His final episode, “The End of Time: Part Two,” aired in January 2010.

Tennant’s other screen credits from 2006 to 2008 included The Chatterley Affair (2006), Recovery (2007), Learners (2007) and Einstein and Eddington (2008), in which he portrayed astronomer Sir Arthur Eddington. On stage, he played Prince Hamlet and Berowne in the RSC productions of Hamlet and Love’s Labour’s Lost in 2008. Hamlet transferred to London’s Novello Theatre in December 2008, and a television adaptation of the production was broadcast on BBC Two in 2009. His other 2009 credits included the film St Trinian’s 2: The Legend of Fritton’s Gold, the television hosting role on Masterpiece Contemporary and the unproduced NBC pilot Rex Is Not Your Lawyer. He played George Milton in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Of Mice and Men in 2010 and starred as Dave in the television drama Single Father that same year. He also co-presented Red Nose Day 2009 and appeared on Desert Island Discs in December 2009.

In 2011, Tennant starred as Jimmy Murphy in the television film United and guest-starred in the comedy series This Is Jinsy. He played Benedick opposite Catherine Tate as Beatrice in the West End production of Much Ado About Nothing (2011). His subsequent screen credits included the comedy film Nativity 2: Danger in the Manger (2012), in which he portrayed identical twins, and the BBC One drama True Love (2012). He voiced the droid Huyang in the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2012), earning the Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program award at the 40th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. He also presented the comedy quiz show Comedy World Cup (2012).

Tennant played Jean-François Mercier in the BBC Four drama series Spies of Warsaw (2013) and starred in the BBC Two political miniseries The Politician’s Husband (2013). He returned to the RSC in Richard II, playing the title role in productions at Stratford-upon-Avon in 2013 and the Barbican Centre in London from December 2013 to January 2014. He reprised the role at the Barbican in 2016 before the production transferred to the Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York. His television credits in 2013 included The Escape Artist and the first series of the ITV crime drama Broadchurch, in which he played DI Alec Hardy. He reprised the role, renamed Emmett Carver, in the American adaptation Gracepoint (2014). His 2014 film credits included What We Did on Our Holiday and Postman Pat: The Movie, in which he provided a voice performance. In 2015, he appeared on the BBC Radio 4 panel show Just a Minute and began playing Kilgrave in the Marvel and Netflix television series Jessica Jones, a role he continued through 2019.

In 2016, Tennant was cast as the voice of Scrooge McDuck in Disney XD’s DuckTales reboot. He portrayed Scottish psychiatrist R. D. Laing in the biographical film Mad to Be Normal (2017) and appeared in Patrick Marber’s Don Juan in Soho at Wyndham’s Theatre in 2017. His other 2017 film credit was You, Me and Him. He played Cale Erendreich in the thriller Bad Samaritan (2018). In 2019, he began playing the demon Crowley opposite Michael Sheen in the fantasy comedy series Good Omens, based on the novel by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman. The first season premiered in 2019, followed by a second season in 2023 and a 90-minute finale in 2026. Tennant also launched the podcast David Tennant Does a Podcast With... in February 2019, interviewing actors and other public figures.

Tennant starred as a doctor suspected of murdering his family in the Channel 4 miniseries Deadwater Fell (2020), receiving his first executive producer credit for the series. In September 2020, he portrayed serial killer Dennis Nilsen in the ITV miniseries Des, winning the International Emmy Award for Best Actor in 2021. From 2020 to 2022, he starred opposite Michael Sheen in the BBC comedy series Staged, playing fictionalised versions of themselves. In 2021, he played Phileas Fogg in the television adaptation of Jules Verne’s Around the World in Eighty Days. His subsequent television credits included Inside Man (2022), in which he played Reverend Harry Watling, and Litvinenko (2022), in which he portrayed Alexander Litvinenko. He reprised his role as Huyang in the live-action Star Wars series Ahsoka (2023) and the second season of Young Jedi Adventures (2024).

In 2023, Tennant played the title role in Max Webster’s production of Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse, opposite Cush Jumbo as Lady Macbeth. The production transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre in 2024. Tennant hosted the 77th British Academy Film Awards in February 2024 and returned to host the 78th ceremony in February 2025. He also joined the ensemble cast of the Disney+ television adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s Rutshire Chronicles novels, Rivals, playing Lord Tony Baddingham. The first season premiered in October 2024, and the second season premiered in May 2026.

In 2025, Tennant portrayed journalist Nick Davies in the ITV drama The Hack, which focuses on the News International phone hacking scandal. He also played Ian Ventham in the film The Thursday Murder Club (2025). In 2026, he starred in the third season of the anthology drama series Time. He is also set to appear in the sixth season of Hulu’s Only Murders in the Building.

Tennant has received several awards for his acting. He won the BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actor in 2007 for his work in Doctor Who and the BAFTA Scotland Award for Best Actor in Television for The Escape Artist. He also won the International Emmy Award for Best Actor in 2021 for Des and the BAFTA Scotland Award for Actor Television for There She Goes. He has received five National Television Awards for Most Popular Actor or Outstanding Drama Performance, in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2010 and 2021.