Over the years, the Fast and Furious franchise has acquired many A-list stars in its freewheeling family. However, one name that you probably wouldn’t have associated with the action movies is Doctor Who alumni David Tennant. Well, hold onto your hats, cinephiles, because it turns out that when casting news for the 2013 movie Fast and Furious 6 was circling about, Tennant’s name was in the mix.
According to an old post from Latino Review’s Umberto ‘El Mayimbe’ Gonzalez, which can be accessed via web archives, the director of the Fast and Furious 6 film – Justin Lin – participated in a number of Skype calls with Tennant back in 2012. The reason behind the two’s virtual chats was simple: Lin wanted Tennant to sign onto his sequel. However, as fans of the Fast and Furious movies now know, Lin sadly never got his wish.
To this day, it is still unclear as to what role Tennant was eyed for. However, the most likely answer is that the Harry Potter star was a candidate for the villain in the movie that was ultimately played by Luke Evans.
Evans played the role of Owen G. Shaw in Fast and Furious 6. The Fast and Furious character was your stereotypical “European” bad guy that has become a familiar fixture in the Fast and Furious franchise. Owen is an ex-British Special Air Service and a Special Ops soldier turned terrorist. Despite being the main big baddie in Fast and Furious 6, he was later disposed of by the character Cipher – played by Charlize Theron.
Although seeing Tennant as a recurring antagonist in the Fast and Furious movies is fun to think about, we are happy that Evans got the role of Owen as he excelled as the villain.
2012 to 2013 was also a packed period for Tennant, as he appeared in several TV series during that time. It is understandable why the actor may have turned Lin down, as his schedule was already booked up.
Fans can look forward to seeing Tennant on their screens again in the Amazon Prime series Good Omens season 2, which is scheduled to release at the end of 2022.