David Tennant Character Analysis

In David Tennant portrayal of William Shakespeare’s brooding and dark prince Hamlet, Tennant utilizes his good looks and superior acting skills to bring to life a Shakespeare’s work. Given the modern setting of director Greg Doran variation of the play, we get to see Tennant truly stretch his talents. He’s snarky and self-deprecating: he hates himself, but he hates everyone else, even more. However, Tennant had a tendency to overplay the emotions Hamlet was described to feel during his monologs and still did not manage to reach fully into Hamlet's rage and indecision.

When director Greg Doran was casting the role of Hamlet in his modern gothic variation of the famous Shakespeare production he made the right choice in David Tennant. Best known for his performance in the title role of the popular British TV series Doctor Who, Tennant, however, is no stranger to Shakespeare’s works, over the years he has starred in As You Like It, Romeo and Juliet, Love's Labors’ Lost, and Richard II1. His modern attire set him apart from the usual dark cape and stocking with a black crisp suit and stylish oxfords. Noted to be “The greatest Hamlet of his generation”2 by The Guardian in an article praising his stage work over the …show more content…
He brought out the anxiety, anguish, snark, and cunningness that Hamlet is known for. In the famed soliloquies “O that this too too flesh would melt…” (1.2.129-159) Tennant is delivering his lines between massive sobs of grief, doubled over in apparent crippling anguish. He pushes past the lines and delves into the raw emotion that is not in the script. Tennant also brought out the insanity and madness that Hamlet struggles with throughout the play. Best demonstrated in his lines “Words, Words, Words.” (2.2.192) during a conversation with Polonius (Oliver Ford Davies) Tennant scared him off with absurd facial expressions and fits of intended

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