- "When I heard the Doctor himself, David Tennant, was a fan of Star Wars, I knew I had to find a way to get in contact with him to see if he would perform on The Clone Wars. The result was Huyang…I thought David was perfect for the part and he did not disappoint. He delivered a performance which impressed even the Master himself, George Lucas."
- ―Dave Filoni
David Tennant (born David John McDonald on April 18, 1971) is a Scottish actor and voice actor. He rose to prominence through appearing in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who as the tenth and fourteenth incarnations of the Doctor. A Star Wars fan since childhood, Tennant was offered the role of the droid Huyang in the fifth season the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars by the series' supervising director and Doctor Who fan Dave Filoni.
Tennant's voice appeared in two episodes which aired in 2012: "A Test of Strength" and "A Necessary Bond." His performance impressed Filoni and Star Wars creator George Lucas, and was also recognized with the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program. Tennant voiced the character again in 2023 for the live-action Disney+ series Ahsoka. As Huyang was portrayed through the use of props, Tennant recorded an early version of the droid's dialogue to allow the other actors to more effectively interact with his character. He returned once more in 2024 for the Disney+ animated series Young Jedi Adventures episode "Nubs's Big Mistake."
Biography[]
Doctor Who[]
- "David Tennant is a Star Wars fan. You could get him to do a voiceover on The Clone Wars."
"Oh he is? Wow, well, you never know. That's not a bad idea!" - ―Jonathan Wilkins and Dave Filoni, in an interview for Star Wars Insider
An image of Anakin Skywalker (left) from The Clone Wars and David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, foreshadowing the actor's eventual Star Wars role
David Tennant is a Scottish actor, born as David John McDonald in Bathgate, Scotland on April 18, 1971.[1] Tennant saw the 1977 film Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope in its theatrical run at six years old and became "obsessed" afterwards, a feeling he believed continued into adulthood.[4] He has also named Star Wars as one of his favourite films.[5] Tennant notably played the role of Barty Crouch Junior in the 2005 film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire[6] and rose in popularity for portraying the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in the British science fiction television series Doctor Who from 2005 to 2010.[1] He additionally voiced the character in two animated serials: The Infinite Quest and Dreamland.[7] Dave Filoni, supervising director of the animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, was introduced to Doctor Who by his wife, E. Anne Convery,[2] and the couple especially enjoyed Tennant's time in the series[3] and his interactions with his companion Rose Tyler.[8]
Filoni mentioned his enjoyment of Doctor Who in an interview with Jonathan Wilkins for the one hundred and twenty-fifth issue of the magazine Star Wars Insider,[3] first published to United States newsstands on April 26, 2011.[9] Wilkins mentioned that Tennant was a Star Wars fan and could do a voice role on The Clone Wars, which Filoni commented was "not a bad idea"[3] as he had admired the range and intensity Tennant had demonstrated as the Doctor.[10] The issue of Insider also featured an image of Tennant in his Doctor Who costume standing back to back with a 3D model of the character Anakin Skywalker from The Clone Wars.[3]
The Clone Wars[]
- "I just absolutely loved what David Tennant was doing with Doctor Who. There was such a quizzical nature to the character, a sense of whimsy but it could still get very powerful emotion out of the character, a lot of intensity, a lot of anger you know, just such a great display of range."
- ―Dave Filoni, on Tennant's acting qualities that led to his casting as Huyang
David Tennant first voiced Huyang (pictured) in two episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars.
Filoni later said that he knew he had to contact Tennant to discuss a role upon discovering his Star Wars fandom,[2] as he found that actors who were fans of Star Wars were more likely to accept roles in The Clone Wars.[10] He enjoyed the idea of merging the "fan-worlds" of Doctor Who and Star Wars and hoped to have a high quality role with which to entice Tennant.[8] After Filoni and writer Christian Taylor created the character of Huyang, an ancient droid that assists younglings in constructing their lightsabers, the role was offered to Tennant, who accepted.[10]
Filoni described Tennant as both "perfect"[2] and "magic" in the role[11] and stated that his performance had impressed Star Wars creator George Lucas, who especially enjoyed Huyang's interactions with the droid R2-D2.[10] The four episode arc that featured Huyang spanned the sixth to the ninth episodes of the series's fifth season. The episodes were titled “The Gathering,” “A Test of Strength” “Bound for Rescue” and “A Necessary Bond;”[12] and all four were combined into an 80 minute film titled "Young Jedi" which was screened for adolescent audiences at Celebration VI on August 25, 2012.[13] Writer Pablo Hidalgo alluded to Tennant's casting[14] in the official Star Wars Blog on a post made on October 24, 2012. He stated that an "amazing" guest star was featured in the episodes, and was surprised to find that the actor's role had not been reported elsewhere, attributing it to Tennant embodying the role so well that he was unrecognizable.[15]
The Daytime Emmy Award won by Tennant for voicing Huyang.
Tennant's casting was widely revealed in an article published on StarWars.com on November 7, 2012, which also included a preview clip from Huyang's debut in "A Test of Strength,"[2] which premiered on November 10, 2012.[2] The character appeared but did not have any dialogue in "Bound for Rescue"[16] (aired November 17, 2012),[12] and was voiced by Tennant again in[17] "A Necessary Bond"[17] (aired November 24, 2012).[12] The "Launchpad" department of Star Wars Insider 138, published on December 11, 2012,[18] reprinted a portion of Filoni's earlier Insider to take credit for inspiring Tennant's casting.[14]
For his performance, Tennant was nominated for the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program at the 40th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards. Two other actors from The Clone Wars were nominated: Jim Cummings for his portrayal of Hondo Ohnaka and Sam Witwer for his portrayal of Darth Maul. The nominations were announced on May 1, 2013[19] and Tennant won the award at the ceremony on June 14, 2013.[20] Filoni was delighted at Tennant's win and made a congratulatory Facebook post in response.[21]
Later career, Ahsoka, and Young Jedi Adventures[]
- "Doctor who? He's a professor"
- ―The caption accompanying a character poster portraying Huyang for the streaming series Ahsoka
Tennant reprised the role of Huyang (pictured) in the 2023 series Ahsoka.
In 2015, Tennant portrayed the villain Kilgrave in the Marvel Netflix series Jessica Jones.[23] The Star Wars novel Brotherhood by Mike Chen, published on May 10, 2022[24] included a rumor amongst the members of a Jedi Initiate Clan that "Professor Huyang was so old that the ancient droid supposedly arrived at the Jedi Temple in a big blue box thousands of years ago."[25] In Doctor Who, the Doctor—played by Tennant amongst other actors—is an ancient being[26] who travels in a time machine that looks like a blue police box from the 1960s.[27] In the same year, Tennant returned to the Doctor Who franchise in the role of the Fourteenth Doctor, with his first appearance airing on October 23, 2022.[28]
Tennant reprised his role as Huyang for the live-action Disney+ series Ahsoka,[29] which started production on May 9, 2022.[30] As a droid, Huyang was portrayed through props, so Tennant recorded an early version of his dialogue prior to filming so that the other cast members were able to more effectively interact with the character. Tennant's involvement in the series was not publicly confirmed until its first teaser trailer debuted on April 7, 2023, at Celebration Europe. The trailer featured a glimpse of Huyang with one line of dialogue, and Filoni, Ahsoka's creator and showrunner, confirmed Tennant was reprising the role.[29] Huyang appeared in the first two episodes of Ahsoka—"Part One: Master and Apprentice" and "Part Two: Toil and Trouble"—which premiered simultaneously on August 22, 2023.[31] A YouTube short featuring character posters for the series, including Huyang, was released on August 24, and included a caption that alluded to the character's Doctor Who connection by stating "Doctor who? He's a professor."[22]
Tennant voiced Huyang in every episode of the show's first season,[32][33][34][35][36] which aired weekly until the finale, "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord"[37] debuted on October 3, 2023.[38] The actor later reprised his role in "Nubs's Big Mistake," the first part of the fourth episode in the animated series Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures's second season,[39] which aired on August 14, 2024.[40]
Works[]
Filmography[]
| Year | Title | Series | Contribution(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "A Test of Strength" (S5E7)[12] | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Huyang | Voice[41] |
| 2012 | "A Necessary Bond" (S5E9)[12] | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Huyang | Voice[17] |
| 2023 | "Part One: Master and Apprentice" (S1E1) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[42] |
| 2023 | "Part Two: Toil and Trouble" (S1E2) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[43] |
| 2023 | "Part Three: Time to Fly" (S1E3) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[32] |
| 2023 | "Part Four: Fallen Jedi "(S1E4) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[33] |
| 2023 | "Part Five: Shadow Warrior "(S1E5) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[34] |
| 2023 | "Part Six: Far, Far Away (S1E6) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[35] |
| 2023 | "Part Seven: Dreams and Madness "(S1E7) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[36] |
| 2023 | "Part Eight: The Jedi, the Witch, and the Warlord" (S1E8) | Ahsoka | Huyang | Voice[37] |
| 2024 | "Nubs's Big Mistake" (S2E4) | Star Wars: Young Jedi Adventures | Huyang | Voice[39] |
Awards and nominations[]
| Ceremony | Institution | Award | Series | Role | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40th Daytime Creative Arts Emmy Awards | National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences | Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Huyang | Won[20] |
