TENNANTS SPECIAL
Star talks about playing Phileas Fogg alongside his boy in BBC blockbuster and his thoughts on the search for new Doctor Who
DAVID Tennant has spoken about acting with his eldest son Ty for the first time in a new BBC adaptation of Around the World in 80 Days, joking “We have a fight scene and he very much enjoyed wielding a baseball bat.”
David, 50, from Bathgate, West Lothian, adopted Ty, 19, in 2011 – the year he married Georgia, the mum of his four biological children.
Ty has been in movie Tolkien, TV’s War of the Worlds and Casualty, but will be seen in the eighth episode of the new BBC Christmas and New Year blockbuster based on Jules Verne’s 1872 book.
Doctor Who star David plays Phileas Fogg, who tries to circumnavigate the world in 80 days after a wager set by his friends.
Ty joined David on set in Bucharest for the Tennant family moment and the Scot admitted: “It was a great experience as I’ve really been looking forward to working with him.”
David said: “He’s been doing lots of other exciting things but we’ve never acted together until now.
“In the final episode, he plays a bit of a thug who tries to take down Fogg in a New York warehouse – so lots of family dynamics were played out that day! We have a fight scene and he very much enjoyed wielding a baseball bat. He is very cool,” said David, speaking to the Radio Times.
Georgia, the daughter of fifth Doctor Peter Davison, gave birth to Ty when she was 17. David adopted him after he married Georgia.
As it turns out, he’s incredibly talented... which is a great relief
DAVID TENNANT ON HIS ADOPTED SON TY’S ACTING
When he first revealed he wanted to carry on the acting dynasty, David admitted he and Georgia were worried he might not be good.
He said: “Georgia and I had this fear when he went into it of, ‘What if we see him in something and he’s rubbish?’
“Will we be able to tell him? But as it turns out, he’s incredibly talented. Which was a great relief to realise!”
The couple went on to have four other children: Olive, 10, Wilfred, eight, Doris, six and Birdie, two. Eldest daughter Olive has also shown promise as an actress. This year she made her debut in Kenneth Branagh’s movie Belfast.
Ty had to go to the premiere because Georgia was in quarantine with Covid which she then also passed on to David. While the actor tries to keep his private life as private as possible, he did open up on the challenges of homeschooling his children during lockdown – especially when he and Georgia had four to wrangle.
He said: “The thing is, you very quickly recognise the gaps in your own knowledge. It’s not just, ‘How do I do long division?’ It’s, ‘How do they teach long division now?’ Because it’s all changed.”
Clearly David loves being a family man, as his wife’s Instagram feed shows.
He also has a great career, which seems to be hit after hit, mixing the fun of Good Omens or Around the World in 80 Days with hard-hitting dramas like Des and upcoming Litvinenko, in which he plays Russian defector Alexander Litvinenko who was killed by being poisoned.
Last night, David was hoping to win an International Emmy for Des, and his
portrayal of Litvinenko could also see him in line for more awards.
He said: “I enjoy life and I enjoy what I do and I feel very fortunate. So I suppose I just want to keep it coming.”
David caused confusion to some this weekend when he was spotted at Adele’s An Audience With sporting red hair. But the dye was for his current role of Crowley, a demon from Good Omens – the second series of which he’s been filming with best pal Michael Sheen in Scotland.
The pair had a TV hit with the Zoomtastic Staged over lockdown but are now able to get out and about and film together.
The Covid pandemic also hit filming of the hugely expensive Around the World in 80 Days. The eight episodes will each be an hour long and were filmed in Romania which doubled up for the scenes filmed in Paris, Italy and America, and South Africa for the scenes in Yemen and the desert island.
Filming began in February 2020 but because of the pandemic delays didn’t finish until February 2021.
The Scot steps into the well-worn shoes of Phileas Fogg, a
19th-century gentleman and adventurer who, with his valet Passepartout, played by rising French actor Ibrahim Koma, takes on circumnavigating the globe in just 80 days. They are joined by an aspiring journalist Abigail Fix, played by The Crown’s Leonie Benesch. Previous actors who have played Fogg include David Niven in a 1956 Hollywood movie, Pierce Brosnan in a 1989 TV version, Steve Coogan in a 2004 flop, and Michael Palin, who based his first documentary travelogue in 1989 on Around The World in 80 Days as he followed the footsteps of Fogg. David said: “I hadn’t read the book. It’s a story that has been told many times and in many different ways and I suppose it’s because it has this outof-the-box dramatic structure. There’s an actual ticking clock pursuing them around the world.”
His Fogg is different to Verne’s version, who is rather aloof, English and assumes all will be well. David’s is a far more modern interpretation – full of self-doubt.
He said of the series: “It’s very exciting. In all the sets we were on it boggles my mind to think of the attention of detail and the amount of work that went into the construction before I even turned up.”
While it’s been over a decade since David quit being the 10th Doctor in 2010 after five years – many fans would love to see him back.
And next year’s 60th anniversary of the BBC sci-fi favourite is a possibility.
While he’s moved on from the Tardis in shows like Broadchurch, Jessica Jones, Good Omens and Des – he is seen as one of, if not the best of the Doctors.
A huge fan as a child, he also now has Peter Davison as his father-in-law.
David took over the role in the second series of the show which had been rebooted in 2005 by Russell T Davies with Christopher Eccleston as the Doctor.
When current Doctor Jodie Whittaker hands back the Tardis keys for good next year, Russell will return as the series’ showrunner.
David wouldn’t say if he would make a Tenth Doctor appearance but said of Russell’s return: “It’s exciting.”
As for who would take over as the Fourteenth Doctor: “Where do you go after Jodie Whittaker who has been so brilliant and mould-breaking. It’s never easy to cast a new Doctor.
“But this is a tough one.”