David Tennant on returning to Macbeth: 'It's thrilling and a bit scary'

Speaking about playing the role on stage, the star has described the prospect as "thrilling and a little bit scary".

"I’m really excited about it," he explained during an interview with Variety.

"It’s been a while since I’ve done Shakespeare. It’s very thrilling but equally — and this analogy probably doesn’t stretch — it’s like when someone prepares for an Olympic event.

"It does feel like a bit of a mountain and, yeah, you’re daring to set yourself up against some fairly worthy competition from down the years. That’s both the challenge and the horror of doing these types of things."

Read more:

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Tennant also praised "great director" Max Webster, who previously helmed the West End production of Life of Pi, explaining that "he’s full of big ideas".

He concluded: "It’s going to be exciting, thrilling, and a little bit scary. I’m just going to take a deep breath."

Tennant is well-versed in the world of Shakespeare, having performed with the Royal Shakespeare Company on numerous occasions – notably including the 2008 production of Hamlet which was later adapted into a BBC Two TV film.

Other Shakespeare credits on his CV include Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, Lysander/Flute in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Benedick in Much Ado About Nothing, and the title character in Richard II.

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