PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA, THE: PALEYFEST NY 2018: DAVID TENNANT {LONG VERSION}
Summary
One in a series of evenings and special screenings presented as part of The Paley Center for Media's PaleyFest New York 2018. This evening celebrates the career of Scottish actor David Tennant.
Host David Bushman (curator, The Paley Center for Media) offers opening remarks and welcomes Joe McGovern (journalist, Entertainment Weekly). McGovern introduces clips of Tennant's work, including "Blackpool" (2004), "Broadchurch" (2013), "Gracepoint" (2014), "Jessica Jones" (2015), "Good Omens" (2019), "Camping" (2018), "Casanova" (2005), "Hamlet" (2009), "Richard II" (2013), "Spies of Warsaw" (2013), "Secret Smile" (2005), "The Politician's Husband" (2013), "The Escape Artist" (2013), "Extras" (2007), and "Doctor Who" (2005-2010). After the clips, Tennant joins McGovern onstage.
McGovern and Tennant touch on topics which include: Tennant's appearance on the British radio program "Desert Island Discs" and selection of Tim Minchin's "White Wine in the Sun," as heard in the clips, as his "castaway favorite"; his highly positive reaction to the recent debut of the new Doctor Who, played by Jodie Whittaker and written by Chris Chibnall, both of "Broadchurch"; his advice for Whittaker about handling the extremely high-profile role; particularly memorable "Doctor Who" episodes, including 2008's "The Doctor's Daughter," in which he met wife Georgia Moffett, and 1974's "Planet of the Spiders," in which Third Doctor Jon Pertwee transformed into Fourth Doctor Tom Baker; how the long-running series informed his early dream of becoming an actor; other childhood favorites, including the Incredible Hulk; the story of selecting his stage name, borrowing from Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, and eventually making a legal change after pushback from the Screen Actors Guild; frequent psychological themes in his projects, dating back to 1992's "Strathblair" and "Takin' Over the Asylum" (1994); his surprise at landing the titular role in the 2005 miniseries "Casanova" over his more traditionally handsome co-star Rupert Penry-Jones; memories of pleading with "Casanova" creator and writer Russell T. Davies for a small part in "Who," only to then be offered the main role; his immediate interest in the pilot script of the crime drama "Broadchurch," in which he plays irascible Detective Inspector Alec Hardy; whether he "takes characters home with him"; the intriguing challenge of recreating "Broadchurch" in an American setting for the Fox remake "Gracepoint"; his talent for accents and dialects; his new comedy series "Camping," also inspired from a British series and filmed largely in one small outdoor location; his role as the demon Crowley in the "outlandish" new fantasy series "Good Omens," adapted from the 1990 novel "Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch" by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett; his lack of familiarity with the popular book, contrasted with "aficionado" co-star Michael Sheen's expertise; reuniting with "Who" director Douglas Mackinnon; the story of his friendship with renowned Scottish actress Edith MacArthur, who attended his school play and later starred alongside him in "Hay Fever" (1992) and "Long Day's Journey Into Night" (1994); his reasons behind choosing certain projects, including his "Scottish insecurity" that his career could end at any moment; his upcoming role as theologian John Knox in the film "Mary Queen of Scots" (2018); and comparisons of his facial hair as Knox to his "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005) co-star Michael Gambon's similarly grandiose beard.
Questions from the audience then lead to a discussion of the following topics, among others: inspiration from hip celebrity chef Jamie Oliver for the Tenth Doctor's attire, including Tennant's insistence upon a certain pair of "ratty trainers"; updating Crowley's "rock star" wardrobe for 2018; his lack of improvisation on "Who," owing to Davies' witty scripts; his challenging stage role as Edgar in "King Lear"; 1975's "Genesis of the Daleks" as the earlier "Who" episode in which he would most like to have appeared; finding a sense of truth for his entitled, "nutter" villain character of Cale in "Bad Samaritan" (2018); his extensive scientific research for the role of Arthur Eddington in "Einstein and Eddington" (2008); his dream of a crossover between "Who" and the animated series "DuckTales," in which he voices Scrooge McDuck; how and why he slightly "edited" the famous "to be or not to be" speech for his 2008 stage role as Hamlet, in a version of the play intended to be a thriller; his simple advice for actors to "be on time, learn your lines and be nice"; and his views of the "timely and beautiful" messages of consent in the Netflix series "Jessica Jones," in which his villainous character Kilgrave has the ability to control others' actions with verbal commands.
Details
- NETWORK: N/A
- DATE: 6:30 PM
- RUNNING TIME: N/A
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: 134465
- GENRE: Seminars
- SUBJECT HEADING: N/A
- SERIES RUN: N/A
- COMMERCIALS: N/A
CREDITS
- David Bushman … Host
- Joe McGovern … Moderator
- David Tennant … Panelist
- Tom Baker
- Chris Chibnall
- Sean Connery
- Russell T. Davies
- Arthur Eddington
- Neil Gaiman
- Michael Gambon
- John Knox
- Edith MacArthur
- Douglas Mackinnon
- Tim Minchin
- Jamie Oliver
- Rupert Penry-Jones
- Jon Pertwee
- Pet Shop Boys
- Terry Pratchett
- Michael Sheen
- Georgia Tennant (see also: Georgia Moffett)
- Neil Tennant
- Jodie Whittaker