These concerns about fame are a far cry from his humble beginnings in acting. He was christened David McDonald but told to change his name by Equity to avoid confusion with another actor of the same name. He happened to read an article about the Pet Shop Boys' Neil Tennant, and thought that name would do.
Some general David Tennant background
Although such an aspiration might have been common for any British child of the 1970s, Tennant says he was "absurdly single-minded" in pursuing his goal. He adopted the professional name "Tennant" — inspired by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys, after reading a copy of Smash Hits magazine[10] — because there was another David McDonald already on the books of the Equity union. His first choice for a stage name was David Brandon (but that name was also disallowed), his second choice was David Tennant, and his third choice was Chris McDonald.
