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Why we should all be praying for David Tennant on Bafta night

2024 Bafta presenter David Tennant

Hosting an awards ceremony is, for the most part, a poisoned chalice. Memories are still fresh of comedian Joe Koy's spectacular flop at the Golden Globes — it never looks great when the host blames his writers mid-show for his material not making it to the box office — and Bafta often struggled to find its own master. (or mistress) of the ceremonies, who rose to the occasion with the aplomb that the increasingly prestigious evening deserves.

Over the years, the awards have been presented by a variety of actors, TV presenters and celebrities, from the inspiring (Billy Connolly) to the inexplicable (Noel Edmonds). There was a long period when the reliable duo of Stephen Fry and Jonathan Ross held the balance, alternating between 2002 and 2017, but the Bafta hosts have struggled to excel in the role since then.

It's a slightly thankless task that even broke national treasure Joanna Lumley, and last year the great Richard E. Grant, for whom I had high hopes, seemed nervous that night. As the newspaper's Michael Hogan later wrote: “Combined with all the flamboyant speeches, it meant being overly serious. A little sweet wit would have been nice. Grant was treated favorably, not least when he choked while introducing the In Memoriam montage, but it can be classed with predecessors Joanna Lumley and Rebel Wilson as a misfire.”

So this year's host in the much-loved David Tennant represents perhaps the most interesting choice Bafta organizers have come up with since fellow Scot Connolly hosted the ceremony in 1995. Tennant is one of the most popular actors. in the UK and has been around for decades, combining a rare degree of versatility with enormous warmth and charm.

He's been a household name since he took over the role of the Tenth Doctor from Christopher Eccleston in 2005, and his repeated return to the character is no doubt due to a mixture of a genuine desire to do a great job and the showrunners' knowledge that he is staying. by far the most popular of Doctor Who's current stars — has earned a degree of goodwill and name recognition that Tennant has parlayed into a stellar career.

So hosting the Bafta Awards can be a daunting task for anyone, even a veteran actor with years of experience on screen and stage. However, Tennant seems completely unfazed by this prospect. While he admitted to Variety that he was “a little confused” when asked, he also recently said that “it feels like being in a very privileged position, but without the nervousness of wondering whether you won it or not. You don't have to prepare a small, hastily scribbled speech on the back of an envelope. What larks.

Although he acknowledged that his composure could change as early as the evening — «I reserve the right to return to you on the evening of February 18th, when I'm shaking on the corner, having a panic attack» — Tennant also emphasized that «this is not my day job, that is kind of an advantage. There aren't many expectations from me because that's not what I do. So if I do it horribly, what's the harm?

David Tennant as Doctor Who Photo : BBC

Tennant won't be a demeaning Gervais-style huckster, doling out sardonic one-liners and offering sarcastic commentary on the luxury of the whole affair. (“Ricky Gervais is great at what he does, but it’s not my style. I don’t think I have that approach, so I think you just have to be who you are, really.”)

He will also not be a politicized host, despite the temptation to make sharp asides about all sorts of global events. Instead, Tennant promised: “Obviously we live in a world where all sorts of terrible things happen, and we are all deeply affected by it. But perhaps the purpose of the awards ceremony at the moment is to take our minds off it all.”

He is also admirably down to earth about the meaning or otherwise of the night. «Award ceremonies are funny, aren't they?» He said. “There’s so much nervous energy in the air. It's very exciting to be around this. And then they go on and on and on and on forever. Can we get everyone through the other end still feeling like we're celebrating and not desperate for their dinner?»

David Tennant and Cush Jumbo in Macbeth at the Donmar Warehouse Photo: Mark Brenner

Tennant, however, doesn't need to sing at dinner, figuratively or literally. He is going through a remarkable purple period, which includes a recent appearance on the Donmar Warehouse stage as Macbeth; a triumphant return to his iconic role, albeit now as the fourteenth rather than tenth Doctor, for reasons too complex to explain here; reuniting with his best friend and frequent co-star Michael Sheen in the second series of Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's metaphysical comedy Good Omens, in which he plays the devilishly charming demon Crowley. And in the next few months, the starring role of Lord Tony Beddingham in a gimmicky Disney series that cannot be missed; an adaptation of Jilly Cooper's beloved novel The Rivals.

Even if he completely fails as Bafta's host, it will do little to affect the enormous goodwill he enjoys. The wisest decision he ever made as an actor was to continue to alternate between lucrative screen roles and the artistic satisfaction he derived from playing often demanding Shakespearean roles. Since Doctor Who, Tennant has played Hamlet, Richard II, Benedict in Much Ado About Nothing and Berowne in Love's Labour's Lost, as well as taking on complex contemporary drama starring in Patrick Marber's Don Juan in Soho and C. P. Taylor. Good. This not only allowed him to avoid being typecast, but also allowed him to continue to expand his reach, whether at the RSC or in the West End.

This energy and desire to go against easy expectations has benefited him tremendously. Over the course of his career, he's played everything from swashbuckling romantic leads (including none other than Casanova, who introduced him to Doctor Who showrunner Russell T. Davies) to dastardly villains. His appearance as the nefarious Kilgrave in the superhero series Jessica Jones was a useful reminder that Marvel's streaming shows were appointment viewing and not something to be avoided at all costs.

Even if the program Tennant appears in isn't exactly a standout (like the superfluous third series of his semi-improvised lockdown comedy Staged or Steven Moffat's baffling Inside Man), he consistently brings his A-game to the role; It's hard to remember him being less than excellent at anything he did, let alone his unusually lazy role as a misogynistic villain in St Trinian's grim sequel The Legend of Fritton's Gold.

There is one small elephant in the room, however, and it may be flapping its ears on Sunday night given the company Tennant keeps at the Royal Festival Hall for the ceremony. Despite being one of the UK's most versatile and talented actors, he never had much success in film, with his roles there being limited to either voice work in How to Train Your Dragon and similar family-friendly offerings, or small roles in films like How to Train Your Dragon and other similar films. Mary, Queen of Scots (as fiery Scottish clergyman John Knox) ​​and Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire as villain Barty Crouch Jr.

He's had exactly one big Hollywood role, in the 2011 vampire comedy thriller Fright Night as tormented illusionist Peter Vincent, who played Roddy McDowall in the 1985 original, and the film, albeit a terribly enjoyable one, , was not a big box office hit, meaning Tennant has yet to return to mainstream studio filmmaking.

David Tennant in the 2011 horror film Fright Night Photo: John Bramley

When he was interviewed about this at the time, he maintained his usual self-deprecation. “I’m still a little puzzled as to why they thought of me and not a lot of other people, but I’m really glad they did,” he said. “When asked how he felt leaving Britain for a role that could have been a star if the film had been better, he replied: “I don’t really realize anything. I just jump from one thing to another and hope that everything makes sense. I respond to anything that seems new, different or exciting. “I think I’ve been lucky that it’s presented a lot of different opportunities, and that’s all I think one can really hope for.”

Given the dizzying eclecticism of the work he has taken on since then, from his decent but conflicted cop in Broadchurch to his frighteningly brilliant Hannibal Lecter-esque Dennis Nilsen in the drama Des, what he has been able to avoid is certainly blessing. from the lucrative straitjacket of uncomplicated roles. Unlike some of his contemporaries.

Tennant is of course no stranger to winning awards at ceremonies, with his own trophies including everything from Emmys to Scottish Baftas. Of course, it's possible that his famous nonchalance will desert him on stage and he'll become another underwhelming presenter, but few would bet against such a beloved and dynamic figure making the evening a notable success.

He also learned an important lesson from Coy's disastrous Golden Globes failure: no criticism of the most beloved pop star of our time. “Don't insult Tay-Tay, I think that's a lesson to be learned. I live in a Taylor Swift fan house, so I know better.» Words to live by and more.

The winners of the 2024 Bafta Film Awards will be announced on 18 February, broadcast on BBC One and BBC iPlayer

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