OMEN
07-03-2006, 08:34 PM
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It's been a whirlwind of a year for Scottish actor David Tennant. Over the past 12 months, he has rocketed from being a relative unknown to a household name.
But he first appeared on TV back in 1994 in the drama Takin' Over The Asylum.
It was roles such as Reverend Gibson in Andrew Davies' adaptation of Trollope's He Knew He Was Right, the maverick DI Carlisle in Pete Bowker's acclaimed Blackpool, then the legendary Casanova in Russell T Davies' ground-breaking serial that have made him one of TV's new favourites.
But it's his role as the 10th Time Lord that is set to cement his place in history.
Kicking off this week on Prime, the Doctor and Rose return to Cardiff where the Doctor languishes in bed, recovering from the regeneration process, while Rose and Mickey battle sinister Santas, a killer Christmas tree and a plot to take over the world by the Sycorax ?a monstrous alien race.
When Christopher Eccleston starred as the ninth Doctor last year, 16 years had passed since the series last aired - and no one could have predicted its success.
Now David has settled into his role and is enjoying the experience immensely. "It was funny, when I first got asked I just laughed! I found it hilarious and impossible!
"But it's such a great job! I mean, I get to play a Time Lord and have a Tardis ? you can? knock that!"
The regeneration process the Doctor goes through is something David admits was an attractive part of the role.
"The fantastic thing about the regeneration process is that every time the Doctor goes through it, he changes to an extent.
"So as an actor, you get to work on a blank canvas where you don't have to worry much about what has gone before.
"It's interesting because he's always going to be the moral egalitarian, humanitarian, slightly wild, slightly anarchic bloke that he's always been. But because he? getting older he's moving on.
"He's seen it all before, every alien creature with a superiority complex.
"Viewers are going to see a slightly more no-nonsense Doctor and that is influenced by what Chris did with him.
"We are more aware that he's someone who fought a war, lost all his people and because he's the last Time Lord, the last authority in the universe, he's less indulgent, more ruthless."
The other striking difference between David and his predecessors is his look.
David, along with costume designer Louise Page, wanted a look that was distinctive and effective, something that states: "It's The Doctor". So they opted for a tailored calf-length coat - chocolate brown - with a blue pinstripe suit and white sneakers.
David says the look - which he's labelled "Geek Chic" - is one that's modern without being en vogue.
"I also wanted an outfit that wasn't too authoritarian. So that's why I opted for a scruffier-styled suit. It's more what you'd expect to see a student sporting than a college professor.
"Inevitably the look is influenced by the sort of things I like wearing." The majority of David's TV and theatre roles have been for a predominantly adult audience, so how does he feel about his new army of younger fans?
"It's genuinely watched by everyone, aged seven to 70 - including groups you wouldn't particularly expect to be huge Doctor Who fans.
"I'm continually surprised by the number of trendy teenage girls and middle-aged mums who come up to talk to me and who genuinely love the show.
"I think it's a good enough show to justify that kind of cross-spread of audience.
"I doubt I'll ever do something that attracts such a varied audience again."
Aside from David's eclectic array of TV credits, he has an equally impressive number of theatre roles to his name.
Two of his most recent roles were for the dark and gritty plays, The Pillowman and Look Back In Anger. For the latter, David was awarded the Best Male Performance award at the 2005 Critics Awards for Theatre of Scotland for his performance as Jimmy Porter.
His younger audience will also recognise him as Barty Crouch Junior in the fourth Harry Potter film, The Goblet of Fire.
http://stuff.co.nz/inl/images/masthead/SundayNews_Source.gif
It's been a whirlwind of a year for Scottish actor David Tennant. Over the past 12 months, he has rocketed from being a relative unknown to a household name.
But he first appeared on TV back in 1994 in the drama Takin' Over The Asylum.
It was roles such as Reverend Gibson in Andrew Davies' adaptation of Trollope's He Knew He Was Right, the maverick DI Carlisle in Pete Bowker's acclaimed Blackpool, then the legendary Casanova in Russell T Davies' ground-breaking serial that have made him one of TV's new favourites.
But it's his role as the 10th Time Lord that is set to cement his place in history.
Kicking off this week on Prime, the Doctor and Rose return to Cardiff where the Doctor languishes in bed, recovering from the regeneration process, while Rose and Mickey battle sinister Santas, a killer Christmas tree and a plot to take over the world by the Sycorax ?a monstrous alien race.
When Christopher Eccleston starred as the ninth Doctor last year, 16 years had passed since the series last aired - and no one could have predicted its success.
Now David has settled into his role and is enjoying the experience immensely. "It was funny, when I first got asked I just laughed! I found it hilarious and impossible!
"But it's such a great job! I mean, I get to play a Time Lord and have a Tardis ? you can? knock that!"
The regeneration process the Doctor goes through is something David admits was an attractive part of the role.
"The fantastic thing about the regeneration process is that every time the Doctor goes through it, he changes to an extent.
"So as an actor, you get to work on a blank canvas where you don't have to worry much about what has gone before.
"It's interesting because he's always going to be the moral egalitarian, humanitarian, slightly wild, slightly anarchic bloke that he's always been. But because he? getting older he's moving on.
"He's seen it all before, every alien creature with a superiority complex.
"Viewers are going to see a slightly more no-nonsense Doctor and that is influenced by what Chris did with him.
"We are more aware that he's someone who fought a war, lost all his people and because he's the last Time Lord, the last authority in the universe, he's less indulgent, more ruthless."
The other striking difference between David and his predecessors is his look.
David, along with costume designer Louise Page, wanted a look that was distinctive and effective, something that states: "It's The Doctor". So they opted for a tailored calf-length coat - chocolate brown - with a blue pinstripe suit and white sneakers.
David says the look - which he's labelled "Geek Chic" - is one that's modern without being en vogue.
"I also wanted an outfit that wasn't too authoritarian. So that's why I opted for a scruffier-styled suit. It's more what you'd expect to see a student sporting than a college professor.
"Inevitably the look is influenced by the sort of things I like wearing." The majority of David's TV and theatre roles have been for a predominantly adult audience, so how does he feel about his new army of younger fans?
"It's genuinely watched by everyone, aged seven to 70 - including groups you wouldn't particularly expect to be huge Doctor Who fans.
"I'm continually surprised by the number of trendy teenage girls and middle-aged mums who come up to talk to me and who genuinely love the show.
"I think it's a good enough show to justify that kind of cross-spread of audience.
"I doubt I'll ever do something that attracts such a varied audience again."
Aside from David's eclectic array of TV credits, he has an equally impressive number of theatre roles to his name.
Two of his most recent roles were for the dark and gritty plays, The Pillowman and Look Back In Anger. For the latter, David was awarded the Best Male Performance award at the 2005 Critics Awards for Theatre of Scotland for his performance as Jimmy Porter.
His younger audience will also recognise him as Barty Crouch Junior in the fourth Harry Potter film, The Goblet of Fire.
http://stuff.co.nz/inl/images/masthead/SundayNews_Source.gif