While some actors and celebrities use their real names, many use a stage name instead. If a celebrity’s real name is already used by someone else, they often are required to use a stage name. Some actors use family maiden names, but others gain inspiration for their stage names from unusual places.
David Tennant is one actor who had to change his real name but had trouble settling on a stage name and used a music magazine to help pick his name. While Doctor Who fans know Tennant from the comeback of the popular show, they may be unaware of why the Scottish actor chose Tennant for his stage name.
What is David Tennant’s real name?
Born David John McDonald in 1971, Tennant always had a passion for acting. He performed in numerous school plays and even impressed actor Edith MacArthur at 10 years old. By 16, Tennant passed an audition for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, now called Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. The young, aspiring actor attended classes on Saturdays and was one of the Academy’s youngest students.
While the 16-year-old was then known by David McDonald, to pursue his acting dreams, he had to choose another name because of an actors’ union rule. The acting world already had a David McDonald, so to allow the young actor to make a name for himself, he had to pick a stage name.
Unique inspiration for Tennant’s stage name
Since the actors’ union required a name change for the rising star, young David used a music magazine to come up with his stage name, according to a Buzzfeed article. In an interview on The Late Late Show with James Corden, Tennant recalled not knowing how to choose a name because he didn’t know actors at 16, and was “just leafing through a magazine and thought, ‘What am I going to call myself?’” He happened to see the Pet Shop Boys in the magazine, and settled on David Tennant, inspired by the lead singer of the group Neil Tennant. While the two were from different backgrounds, the world couldn’t think of a better name fit to make one of the most loved Doctors in Doctor Who history.
Tennant’s rise to fame
Tennant, at only the age of three, told his parents of his aspiration to be an actor. While they tried to encourage him to pursue other traditional career options, Tennant was dedicated to achieving his dream. As a huge Doctor Who fan, he watched every episode. Therefore, it was only fitting that his breakthrough role was playing the Doctor in the hit BBC series.
Before becoming the fan-favorite Doctor, Tennant made his very first appearance in an anti-smoking film by the Glasgow Health Board while still attending school. Then, his first professional role was on a stage production of The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui, and around the same time, he was in a Scottish sitcom. Tennant went on to score his first major TV role in Takin’ Over the Asylum in 1994.
By 1996, he had his first big-screen role in Jade, and his acting career continued to grow from there. It was the opportunity to fulfill his childhood dream of starring in Doctor Who, playing the Tenth Doctor, when the world took note of Tennant’s talent.
While playing the Doctor from 2005 to 2010, Tennant also starred in other TV dramas and films, notably Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and the title role in an acclaimed BBC and Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet. Recently, he has starred in Around the World in 80 Days, Staged, Jessica Jones, and won an International Emmy Award for Best Actor for the three-part miniseries on ITV, Des.
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