Who is David Tennant?

Before Who

The son of a clergyman, David Tennant was born in 1971. Incredible as it sounds, he decided he wanted to become an actor at the age of three because, in his own words, he was "absurdly single-minded" about wanting to play Doctor Who. In fact, Tennant is the first Doctor who was actually a fan of the show as a child.

Obsessed with the idea of becoming a performer, he attended drama school in Scotland and quickly attracted attention with his enthusiasm. He eventually established himself with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and took small parts in various projects, including the film Jude, in which he shared a scene with ninth Doctor Christopher Eccleston. He achieved wider exposure playing roles like Barty Crouch Jr in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, but it was his turn in Russell T Davies's Casanova that led Davies, the man who brought Doctor Who back to our screens, to cast Tennant as the Tenth Doctor.

His Who

The Tenth Doctor's reaction to his own regeneration was an amused "That's weird". Which sums up his down-to-earth approach to incredible events. Whether he's facing off with human-Dalek hybrids, hobnobbing with strange cat-people or rewriting his own biology to eradicate his Time Lord self, it's all just part of the job description as far as he's concerned.

If the similarly pleasant Fifth Doctor had the air of an older brother, then the Tenth is like a younger older brother – even more approachable, warm and welcoming. That said, the Doctorish darkness is still there – he doesn't suffer fools any better than the First Doctor did, and he can be just as cold and ruthless towards his foes as the Seventh Doctor. Yet it's impossible to fully summarise this incarnation, given his status as the current occupant of the TARDIS. We'll just have to keep watching to see how he evolves…

After Who

Clearly we can't speak of post-Who projects for Tennant, as he's still very much engrossed in battling baddies across space and time. That said, he's managed to take time out from his hectic Who schedule to appear in some intriguing new projects – including a comedy drama called Learners in which he plays a driving instructor and will share the screen with his Doctor Who co-star Jessica Hynes. And look out for Einstein and Eddington, a fascinating drama about the world-shattering development of the theory of relativity. The Doctor would be bound to approve of that one.

Who knew?

Tennant's real surname is actually McDonald – he was forced to change it as there was already a David McDonald registered with the actor's union Equity. While mulling over what name to pick, he happened to flick through a magazine that featured an interview with Pet Shop Boys singer Neil Tennant, and a bulb appeared over David's head. (Not literally.)

Who says…

Tennant was completely bowled over at the thought of actually playing the Doctor, his own childhood hero. "I was sent good luck cards from Tom Baker and Peter Davison," he recounted. "They were the Doctors I grew up watching, while eating toast and drinking Tizer at home, so I was very honoured."