Name	Lawyer
Caption	19th century painting of lawyers,by French artist Honoré Daumier
Official names	Attorney, counselor (counsel), solicitor, barrister, advocate
Type	Profession
Activity sector	Law, business
Competencies	Analytical skillsCritical thinking skillsKnowledge of the lawProficiency in legal research and legal writing
Formation	see Professional requirements
Employment field	Courts, government, private sector, NGOs, legal aid
Related occupation	Judge, Prosecutor, Law clerk, Law professor
Average salary	see Earnings and compensation

A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political and social authority, and deliver justice. Working as a lawyer involves the practical application of abstract legal theories and knowledge to solve specific individualized problems, or to advance the interests of those who retain (i.e., hire) lawyers to perform legal services.

The role of the lawyer varies significantly across legal jurisdictions, and so it can be treated here in only the most general terms. More information is available in country-specific articles (see below).

Terminology

In practice, legal jurisdictions exercise their right to determine who is recognized as being a lawyer; as a result, the meaning of the term "lawyer" may vary from place to place.

In Australia the word "lawyer" is used to refer to both barristers and solicitors (whether in private practice or practising as corporate in-house counsel).

In Canada, the word "lawyer" only refers to individuals who have been called to the bar or have qualified as civil law notaries in the province of Quebec. Common law lawyers in Canada may also be known as "barristers and solicitors", but should not be referred to as "attorneys", since that term has a different meaning in Canadian usage. However, in Quebec, civil law advocates (or avocats in French) often call themselves "attorney" and sometimes "barrister and solicitor".

In England and Wales, "lawyer" is used loosely to refer to a broad variety of law-trained persons. It includes practitioners such as barristers, solicitors, legal executives and licensed conveyancers; and people who are involved with the law but do not practise it on behalf of individual clients, such as judges, court clerks, and drafters of legislation.

In India, the term "lawyer" is often colloquially used, but the official term is "advocate" as prescribed under the Advocates Act, 1961.

In Scotland, the word "lawyer" refers to a more specific group of legally trained people. It specifically includes advocates and solicitors. In a generic sense, it may also include judges and law-trained support staff.

In the United States, the term generally refers to attorneys who may practice law; it is never used to refer to patent agents or paralegals.

Other nations tend to have comparable terms for the analogous concept.

Responsibilities

In most countries, particularly civil law countries, there has been a tradition of giving many legal tasks to a variety of civil law notaries, clerks, and scriveners. These countries do not have "lawyers" in the American sense, insofar as that term refers to a single type of general-purpose legal services provider; rather, their legal professions consist of a large number of different kinds of law-trained persons, known as jurists, of which only some are advocates who are licensed to practice in the courts. It is difficult to formulate accurate generalizations that cover all the countries with multiple legal professions, because each country has traditionally had its own peculiar method of dividing up legal work among all its different types of legal professionals.

Notably, England, the mother of the common law jurisdictions, emerged from the Dark Ages with similar complexity in its legal professions, but then evolved by the 19th century to a single dichotomy between barristers and solicitors. An equivalent dichotomy developed between advocates and procurators in some civil law countries, though these two types did not always monopolize the practice of law as much as barristers and solicitors, in that they always coexisted with civil law notaries.

Several countries that originally had two or more legal professions have since fused or united their professions into a single type of lawyer. Most countries in this category are common law countries, though France, a civil law country, merged together its jurists in 1990 and 1991 in response to Anglo-American competition. In countries with fused professions, a lawyer is usually permitted to carry out all or nearly all the responsibilities listed below.

Oral argument in the courts

Arguing a client's case before a judge or jury in a court of law is the traditional province of the barrister in England, and of advocates in some civil law jurisdictions. However, the boundary between barristers and solicitors has evolved. In England today, the barrister monopoly covers only appellate courts, and barristers must compete directly with solicitors in many trial courts. In countries like the United States that have fused legal professions, there are trial lawyers who specialize in trying cases in court, but trial lawyers do not have a de jure monopoly like barristers. In some countries, litigants have the option of arguing pro se, or on their own behalf. It is common for litigants to appear unrepresented before certain courts like small claims courts; indeed, many such courts do not allow lawyers to speak for their clients, in an effort to save money for all participants in a small case. In other countries, like Venezuela, no one may appear before a judge unless represented by a lawyer. The advantage of the latter regime is that lawyers are familiar with the court's customs and procedures, and make the legal system more efficient for all involved. Unrepresented parties often damage their own credibility or slow the court down as a result of their inexperience.

Research and drafting of court papers

Often, lawyers brief a court in writing on the issues in a case before the issues can be orally argued. They may have to perform extensive research into relevant facts and law while drafting legal papers and preparing for oral argument.

In England, the usual division of labour is that a solicitor will obtain the facts of the case from the client and then brief a barrister (usually in writing). The barrister then researches and drafts the necessary court pleadings (which will be filed and served by the solicitor) and orally argues the case.

In Spain, the procurator merely signs and presents the papers to the court, but it is the advocate who drafts the papers and argues the case.

In some countries, like Japan, a scrivener or clerk may fill out court forms and draft simple papers for lay persons who cannot afford or do not need attorneys, and advise them on how to manage and argue their own cases.

Advocacy (written and oral) in administrative hearings

In most developed countries, the legislature has granted original jurisdiction over highly technical matters to executive branch administrative agencies which oversee such things. As a result, some lawyers have become specialists in administrative law. In a few countries, there is a special category of jurists with a monopoly over this form of advocacy; for example, France formerly had conseils juridiques (who were merged into the main legal profession in 1991). In other countries, like the United States, lawyers have been effectively barred by statute from certain types of administrative hearings in order to preserve their informality.

Client intake and counseling (with regard to pending litigation)

An important aspect of a lawyer's job is developing and managing relationships with clients (or the client's employees, if the lawyer works in-house for a government or corporation). The client-lawyer relationship often begins with an intake interview where the lawyer gets to know the client personally, discovers the facts of the client's case, clarifies what the client wants to accomplish, shapes the client's expectations as to what actually can be accomplished, begins to develop various claims or defenses, and explains his or her fees to the client.

In England, only solicitors were traditionally in direct contact with the client. The solicitor retained a barrister if one was necessary and acted as an intermediary between the barrister and the client. In most cases a barrister would be obliged, under what is known as the "cab rank rule", to accept instructions for a case in an area in which they held themselves out as practising, at a court at which they normally appeared and at their usual rates.

Legal advice

Legal advice is the application of abstract principles of law to the concrete facts of the client's case in order to advise the client about what they should do next. In many countries, only a properly licensed lawyer may provide legal advice to clients for good consideration, even if no lawsuit is contemplated or is in progress. Therefore, even conveyancers and corporate in-house counsel must first get a license to practice, though they may actually spend very little of their careers in court. Failure to obey such a rule is the crime of unauthorized practice of law.

In other countries, jurists who hold law degrees are allowed to provide legal advice to individuals or to corporations, and it is irrelevant if they lack a license and cannot appear in court. Some countries go further; in England and Wales, there is no general prohibition on the giving of legal advice. Sometimes civil law notaries are allowed to give legal advice, as in Belgium. In many countries, non-jurist accountants may provide what is technically legal advice in tax and accounting matters.

Protecting intellectual property

In virtually all countries, patents, trademarks, industrial designs and other forms of intellectual property must be formally registered with a government agency in order to receive maximum protection under the law. The division of such work among lawyers, licensed non-lawyer jurists/agents, and ordinary clerks or scriveners varies greatly from one country to the next.

Negotiating and drafting contracts

In some countries, the negotiating and drafting of contracts is considered to be similar to the provision of legal advice, so that it is subject to the licensing requirement explained above. In others, jurists or notaries may negotiate or draft contracts.

Lawyers in some civil law countries traditionally deprecated "transactional law" or "business law" as beneath them. French law firms developed transactional departments only in the 1990s when they started to lose business to international firms based in the United States and the United Kingdom (where solicitors have always done transactional work).

Conveyancing

Conveyancing is the drafting of the documents necessary for the transfer of real property, such as deeds and mortgages. In some jurisdictions, all real estate transactions must be carried out by a lawyer (or a solicitor where that distinction still exists). Such a monopoly is quite valuable from the lawyer's point of view; historically, conveyancing accounted for about half of English solicitors' income (though this has since changed), and a 1978 study showed that conveyancing "accounts for as much as 80 percent of solicitor-client contact in New South Wales." In most common law jurisdictions outside of the United States, this monopoly arose from an 1804 law that was introduced by William Pitt the Younger as a quid pro quo for the raising of fees on the certification of legal professionals such as barristers, solicitors, attorneys and notaries.

In others, the use of a lawyer is optional and banks, title companies, or realtors may be used instead. In some civil law jurisdictions, real estate transactions are handled by civil law notaries. In England and Wales a special class of legal professional–the licensed conveyancer–is also allowed to carry out conveyancing services for reward.

Carrying out the intent of the deceased

In many countries, only lawyers have the legal authority to draft wills, trusts, and any other documents that ensure the efficient disposition of a person's property after death. In some civil law countries this responsibility is handled by civil law notaries.

Prosecution and defense of criminal suspects

In many civil law countries, prosecutors are trained and employed as part of the judiciary; they are law-trained jurists, but may not necessarily be lawyers in the sense that the word is used in the common law world. In common law countries, prosecutors are usually lawyers holding regular licenses who simply happen to work for the government office that files criminal charges against suspects. Criminal defense lawyers specialize in the defense of those charged with any crimes.

Education

The educational prerequisites to becoming a lawyer vary greatly from country to country. In some countries, law is taught by a faculty of law, which is a department of a university's general undergraduate college. Law students in those countries pursue a Master or Bachelor of Laws degree. In some countries it is common or even required for students to earn another bachelor's degree at the same time. Nor is the LL.B the sole obstacle; it is often followed by a series of advanced examinations, apprenticeships, and additional coursework at special government institutes.

In other countries, particularly the United States, law is primarily taught at law schools. In the United States and countries following the American model, (such as Canada with the exception of the province of Quebec) law schools are graduate/professional schools where a bachelor's degree is a prerequisite for admission. Most law schools are part of universities but a few are independent institutions. Law schools in the United States (and many in Canada and elsewhere) award graduating students a J.D. (Juris Doctor/Doctor of Jurisprudence) (as opposed to the Bachelor of Laws) as the practitioner's law degree. Many schools also offer post-doctoral law degrees such as the LL.M (Legum Magister/Master of Laws), or the S.J.D. (Scientiae Juridicae Doctor/Doctor of Juridical Science) for students interested in advancing their research knowledge and credentials in a specific area of law.

The methods and quality of legal education vary widely. Some countries require extensive clinical training in the form of apprenticeships or special clinical courses. Others, like Venezuela, do not. A few countries prefer to teach through assigned readings of judicial opinions (the casebook method) followed by intense in-class cross-examination by the professor (the Socratic method). Many others have only lectures on highly abstract legal doctrines, which forces young lawyers to figure out how to actually think and write like a lawyer at their first apprenticeship (or job). Depending upon the country, a typical class size could range from five students in a seminar to five hundred in a giant lecture room. In the United States, law schools maintain small class sizes, and as such, grant admissions on a more limited and competitive basis.

Some countries, particularly industrialized ones, have a traditional preference for full-time law programs, while in developing countries, students often work full- or part-time to pay the tuition and fees of their part-time law programs.

Law schools in developing countries share several common problems, such as an overreliance on practicing judges and lawyers who treat teaching as a part-time hobby (and a concomitant scarcity of full-time law professors); incompetent faculty with questionable credentials; and textbooks that lag behind the current state of the law by two or three decades.

Earning the right to practice law

Some jurisdictions grant a "diploma privilege" to certain institutions, so that merely earning a degree or credential from those institutions is the primary qualification for practicing law. Mexico allows anyone with a law degree to practice law. However, in a large number of countries, a law student must pass a bar examination (or a series of such examinations) before receiving a license to practice. In a handful of U.S. states, one may become an attorney (a so-called country lawyer) by simply "reading law" and passing the bar examination, without having to attend law school first (although very few people actually become lawyers that way).

Some countries require a formal apprenticeship with an experienced practitioner, while others do not. For example, a few jurisdictions still allow an apprenticeship in place of any kind of formal legal education (though the number of persons who actually become lawyers that way is increasingly rare).

Career structure

Abraham Lincoln is a famous example of a lawyer-turned-politician.]] The career structure of lawyers varies widely from one country to the next.

Common law/civil law

In most common law countries, especially those with fused professions, lawyers have many options over the course of their careers. Besides private practice, they can become a prosecutor, government counsel, corporate in-house counsel, administrative law judge, judge, arbitrator, law professor, or politician. There are also many non-legal jobs which legal training is good preparation for, such as corporate executive, government administrator, investment banker, entrepreneur, or journalist. In developing countries like India, a large majority of law students never actually practice, but simply use their law degree as a foundation for careers in other fields.

In most civil law countries, lawyers generally structure their legal education around their chosen specialty; the boundaries between different types of lawyers are carefully defined and hard to cross. After one earns a law degree, career mobility may be severely constrained. For example, unlike their American counterparts, it is difficult for German judges to leave the bench and become advocates in private practice. Another interesting example is France, where for much of the 20th century, all judiciary officials were graduates of an elite professional school for judges. Although the French judiciary has begun experimenting with the Anglo-American model of appointing judges from accomplished advocates, the few advocates who have actually joined the bench this way are looked down upon by their colleagues who have taken the traditional route to judicial office.

In a few civil law countries, such as Sweden, the legal profession is not rigorously bifurcated and everyone within it can easily change roles and arenas.

Specialization

In many countries, lawyers are general practitioners who will take almost any kind of case that walks in the door. In others, there has been a tendency since the start of the 20th century for lawyers to specialize early in their careers. In countries where specialization is prevalent, many lawyers specialize in representing one side in one particular area of the law; thus, it is common in the United States to hear of plaintiffs' personal injury attorneys.

Organization

Lawyers in private practice generally work in specialized businesses known as law firms, with the exception of English barristers. The vast majority of law firms worldwide are small businesses that range in size from 1 to 10 lawyers. The United States, with its large number of firms with more than 50 lawyers, is an exception. The United Kingdom and Australia are also exceptions, as the UK, Australia and the U.S. are now home to several firms with more than 1,000 lawyers after a wave of mergers in the late 1990s.

Notably, barristers in England and Wales and some states in Australia do not work in "law firms". Those who offer their services to the general public—as opposed to those working "in house"—are required to be self-employed. Most work in groupings known as "sets" or "chambers", where some administrative and marketing costs are shared. An important effect of this different organizational structure is that there is no conflict of interest where barristers in the same chambers work for opposing sides in a case, and in some specialised chambers this is commonplace.

Professional associations and regulation

Mandatory licensing and membership in professional organizations

In some jurisdictions, either the judiciary or the Ministry of Justice directly supervises the admission, licensing, and regulation of lawyers.

Other jurisdictions, by statute, tradition, or court order, have granted such powers to a professional association which all lawyers must belong to. In the U.S., such associations are known as mandatory, integrated, or unified bar associations. In the Commonwealth of Nations, similar organizations are known as Inns of Court, bar councils or law societies. In civil law countries, comparable organizations are known as Orders of Advocates, Chambers of Advocates, Colleges of Advocates, Faculties of Advocates, or similar names. Generally, a nonmember caught practicing law may be liable for the crime of unauthorized practice of law.

In common law countries with divided legal professions, barristers traditionally belong to the bar council (or an Inn of Court) and solicitors belong to the law society. In the English-speaking world, the largest mandatory professional association of lawyers is the State Bar of California, with 200,000 members.

Some countries admit and regulate lawyers at the national level, so that a lawyer, once licensed, can argue cases in any court in the land. This is common in small countries like New Zealand, Japan, and Belgium. Others, especially those with federal governments, tend to regulate lawyers at the state or provincial level; this is the case in the United States, Canada, Australia, and Switzerland, to name a few. Brazil is the most well-known federal government that regulates lawyers at the national level.

Some countries, like Italy, regulate lawyers at the regional level, and a few, like Belgium, even regulate them at the local level (that is, they are licensed and regulated by the local equivalent of bar associations but can advocate in courts nationwide). In Germany, lawyers are admitted to regional bars and may appear for clients before all courts nationwide with the exception of the Federal Court of Justice of Germany (Bundesgerichtshof or BGH); oddly, securing admission to the BGH's bar limits a lawyer's practice solely to the supreme federal courts and the Federal Constitutional Court of Germany.

Generally, geographic limitations can be troublesome for a lawyer who discovers that his client's cause requires him to litigate in a court beyond the normal geographic scope of his license. Although most courts have special pro hac vice rules for such occasions, the lawyer will still have to deal with a different set of professional responsibility rules, as well as the possibility of other differences in substantive and procedural law.

Some countries grant licenses to non-resident lawyers, who may then appear regularly on behalf of foreign clients. Others require all lawyers to live in the jurisdiction or to even hold national citizenship as a prerequisite for receiving a license to practice. But the trend in industrialized countries since the 1970s has been to abolish citizenship and residency restrictions. For example, the Supreme Court of Canada struck down a citizenship requirement on equality rights grounds in 1989, and similarly, American citizenship and residency requirements were struck down as unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1973 and 1985, respectively. The European Court of Justice made similar decisions in 1974 and 1977 striking down citizenship restrictions in Belgium and France.

Who regulates lawyers

A key difference among countries is whether lawyers should be regulated solely by an independent judiciary and its subordinate institutions (a self-regulating legal profession), or whether lawyers should be subject to supervision by the Ministry of Justice in the executive branch.

In most civil law countries, the government has traditionally exercised tight control over the legal profession in order to ensure a steady supply of loyal judges and bureaucrats. That is, lawyers were expected first and foremost to serve the state, and the availability of counsel for private litigants was an afterthought. Even in civil law countries like Norway which have partially self-regulating professions, the Ministry of Justice is the sole issuer of licenses, and makes its own independent re-evaluation of a lawyer's fitness to practice after a lawyer has been expelled from the Advocates' Association.

Of all the civil law countries, Communist countries historically went the farthest towards total state control, with all Communist lawyers forced to practice in collectives by the mid-1950s. China is a prime example: technically, the People's Republic of China did not have lawyers, and instead had only poorly-trained, state-employed "legal workers," prior to the enactment of a comprehensive reform package in 1996 by the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress.

In contrast, common law lawyers have traditionally regulated themselves through institutions where the influence of non-lawyers, if any, was weak and indirect (despite nominal state control). Such institutions have been traditionally dominated by private practitioners who opposed strong state control of the profession on the grounds that it would endanger the ability of lawyers to zealously and competently advocate their clients' causes in the adversarial system of justice.

However, the concept of the self-regulating profession has been criticized as a sham which serves to legitimize the professional monopoly while protecting the profession from public scrutiny. Disciplinary mechanisms have been astonishingly ineffective, and penalties have been light or nonexistent.

Voluntary associations of lawyers

Lawyers are always free to form voluntary associations of their own, apart from any licensing or mandatory membership that may be required by the laws of their jurisdiction. Like their mandatory counterparts, such organizations may exist at all geographic levels. In American English, such associations are known as voluntary bar associations. The largest voluntary professional association of lawyers in the English-speaking world is the American Bar Association.

In some countries, like France and Italy, lawyers have also formed trade unions.

Cultural perception of lawyers

Hostility towards the legal profession is a widespread phenomenon. The legal profession was abolished in Prussia in 1780 and in France in 1789, though both countries eventually realized that their judicial systems could not function efficiently without lawyers. Complaints about too many lawyers were common in both England and the United States in the 1840s, Germany in the 1910s, and in Australia, Canada, the United States, and Scotland in the 1980s.

Public distrust of lawyers reached record heights in the United States after the Watergate scandal. In the aftermath of Watergate, legal self-help books became popular among those who wished to solve their legal problems without having to deal with lawyers. Lawyer jokes (already a perennial favorite) also soared in popularity in English-speaking North America as a result of Watergate. In 1989, American legal self-help publisher Nolo Press published a 171-page compilation of negative anecdotes about lawyers from throughout human history.

In Adventures in Law and Justice (2003), legal researcher Bryan Horrigan dedicated a chapter to "Myths, Fictions, and Realities" about law and illustrated the perennial criticism of lawyers as "amoral [...] guns for hire" with a quote from Ambrose Bierce's satirical The Devil's Dictionary (1911) that summarized the noun as: "LAWYER, n. One skilled in circumvention of the law."

More generally, in Legal Ethics: A Comparative Study (2004), law professor Geoffrey C. Hazard, Jr. with Angelo Dondi briefly examined the "regulations attempting to suppress lawyer misconduct" and noted that their similarity around the world was paralleled by a "remarkable consistency" in certain "persistant [sic?] grievances" about lawyers that transcends both time and locale, from the Bible to medieval England to dynastic China. The authors then generalized these common complaints about lawyers as being classified into five "general categories" as follows:

Compensation

Lawyers are paid for their work in a variety of ways. In private practice, they may work for an hourly fee according to a billable hour structure, a contingency fee (usually in cases involving personal injury), or a lump sum payment if the matter is straightforward. Normally, most lawyers negotiate a written fee agreement up front and may require a non-refundable retainer in advance. In many countries there are fee-shifting arrangements by which the loser must pay the winner's fees and costs; the United States is the major exception, although in turn, its legislators have carved out many exceptions to the so-called "American Rule" of no fee shifting.

Lawyers working directly on the payroll of governments, nonprofits, and corporations usually earn a regular annual salary. In many countries, with the notable exception of Germany, lawyers can also volunteer their labor in the service of worthy causes through an arrangement called pro bono (short for pro bono publico, "for the common good"). Traditionally such work was performed on behalf of the poor, but in some countries it has now expanded to many other causes such as the environment.

In some countries, there are legal aid lawyers who specialize in providing legal services to the indigent. France and Spain even have formal fee structures by which lawyers are compensated by the government for legal aid cases on a per-case basis. A similar system, though not as extensive or generous, operates in Australia, Canada, as well as South Africa.

In other countries, legal aid specialists are practically nonexistent. This may be because non-lawyers are allowed to provide such services; in both Italy and Belgium, trade unions and political parties provide what can be characterized as legal aid services. Some legal aid in Belgium is also provided by young lawyer apprentices subsidized by local bar associations (known as the pro deo system), as well as consumer protection nonprofit organizations and Public Assistance Agencies subsidized by local governments. In Germany, mandatory fee structures have enabled widespread implementation of affordable legal expense insurance.

History

, by Flemish painter Quentin Massys. A civil law notary is roughly analogous to a common law solicitor, except that, unlike solicitors, civil law notaries do not practice litigation to any degree.]]

Ancient Greece

The earliest people who could be described as "lawyers" were probably the orators of ancient Athens (see History of Athens). However, Athenian orators faced serious structural obstacles. First, there was a rule that individuals were supposed to plead their own cases, which was soon bypassed by the increasing tendency of individuals to ask a "friend" for assistance. However, around the middle of the fourth century, the Athenians disposed of the perfunctory request for a friend. Second, a more serious obstacle, which the Athenian orators never completely overcame, was the rule that no one could take a fee to plead the cause of another. This law was widely disregarded in practice, but was never abolished, which meant that orators could never present themselves as legal professionals or experts. They had to uphold the legal fiction that they were merely an ordinary citizen generously helping out a friend for free, and thus they could never organize into a real profession—with professional associations and titles and all the other pomp and circumstance—like their modern counterparts. Therefore, if one narrows the definition to those men who could practice the legal profession openly and legally, then the first lawyers would have to be the orators of ancient Rome.

Early Ancient Rome

A law enacted in 204 BC barred Roman advocates from taking fees, but the law was widely ignored. The ban on fees was abolished by Emperor Claudius, who legalized advocacy as a profession and allowed the Roman advocates to become the first lawyers who could practice openly—but he also imposed a fee ceiling of 10,000 sesterces. This was apparently not much money; the Satires of Juvenal complain that there was no money in working as an advocate.

Like their Greek contemporaries, early Roman advocates were trained in rhetoric, not law, and the judges before whom they argued were also not law-trained. But very early on, unlike Athens, Rome developed a class of specialists who were learned in the law, known as jurisconsults (iuris consulti). Jurisconsults were wealthy amateurs who dabbled in law as an intellectual hobby; they did not make their primary living from it. Roman judges and governors would routinely consult with an advisory panel of jurisconsults before rendering a decision, and advocates and ordinary people also went to jurisconsults for legal opinions. Any citizen could call himself an advocate or a legal expert, though whether people believed him would depend upon his personal reputation. This changed once Claudius legalized the legal profession. By the start of the Byzantine Empire, the legal profession had become well-established, heavily regulated, and highly stratified. The centralization and bureaucratization of the profession was apparently gradual at first, but accelerated during the reign of Emperor Hadrian. At the same time, the jurisconsults went into decline during the imperial period.

In the words of Fritz Schulz, "by the fourth century things had changed in the eastern Empire: advocates now were really lawyers." For example, by the fourth century, advocates had to be enrolled on the bar of a court to argue before it, they could only be attached to one court at a time, and there were restrictions (which came and went depending upon who was emperor) on how many advocates could be enrolled at a particular court. By the 380s, advocates were studying law in addition to rhetoric (thus reducing the need for a separate class of jurisconsults); in 460, Emperor Leo imposed a requirement that new advocates seeking admission had to produce testimonials from their teachers; and by the sixth century, a regular course of legal study lasting about four years was required for admission. Claudius's fee ceiling lasted all the way into the Byzantine period, though by then it was measured at 100 solidi. Of course, it was widely evaded, either through demands for maintenance and expenses or a sub rosa barter transaction. They were ubiquitous and most villages had one.

Middle Ages

After the fallen of the Western Roman Empire and the onset of the Early Middle Ages, the legal profession of Western Europe collapsed. As James Brundage has explained: "[by 1140], no one in Western Europe could properly be described as a professional lawyer or a professional canonist in anything like the modern sense of the term 'professional.' " However, from 1150 onward, a small but increasing number of men became experts in canon law but only in furtherance of other occupational goals, such as serving the Roman Catholic Church as priests. From 1190 to 1230, however, there was a crucial shift in which some men began to practice canon law as a lifelong profession in itself.

The legal profession's return was marked by the renewed efforts of church and state to regulate it. In 1231 two French councils mandated that lawyers had to swear an oath of admission before practicing before the bishop's courts in their regions, and a similar oath was promulgated by the papal legate in London in 1237. During the same decade, Frederick II, the emperor of the Kingdom of Sicily, imposed a similar oath in his civil courts. By 1250 the nucleus of a new legal profession had clearly formed. The new trend towards professionalization culminated in a controversial proposal at the Second Council of Lyon in 1275 that all ecclesiastical courts should require an oath of admission. Although not adopted by the council, it was highly influential in many such courts throughout Europe.

Titles

Generally speaking, the modern practice is for lawyers to avoid use of any title, although formal practice varies across the world.

Historically lawyers in most European countries were addressed with the title of doctor, and countries outside of Europe have generally followed the practice of the European country which had policy influence through colonization. The first university degrees, starting with the law school of the University of Bologna (or glossators) in the 11th century, were all law degrees and doctorates. Degrees in other fields did not start until the 13th century, but the doctor continued to be the only degree offered at many of the old universities until the 20th century. Therefore, in many of the southern European countries, including Portugal and Italy, lawyers have traditionally been addressed as “doctor,” a practice which was transferred to many countries in South America (including Macau in China). The term "doctor" has since fallen into disuse, although it is still a legal title in Italy and in use in many countries outside of Europe.

The title of doctor has never been used to address lawyers in England or other common law countries (with the exception of the United States). This is because until 1846 lawyers in England were not required to have a university degree and were trained by other attorneys by apprenticeship or in the Inns of Court. Since law degrees started to become a requirement for lawyers in England, the degree awarded has been the undergraduate LL.B.

Even though most lawyers in the United States do not use any titles, the law degree in that country is the Juris Doctor, a professional doctorate degree, and some J.D. holders in the United States use the title of "Doctor" in professional and academic situations. In countries where holders of the first law degree traditionally use the title of doctor (e.g. Peru, Brazil, Macau, Portugal, Argentina, and Italy), J.D. holders who are attorneys will often use the title of doctor as well. It is not uncommon for English-language lawyers, especially in the United States, to use the honorific suffix "Esq." (for "Esquire"), irrespective of whether the lawyer is male or female.

In many Asian countries, the proper title for a lawyer is simply, "lawyer", but holders of the Juris Doctor degree are also called "博士" (doctor).

See also

Advocate

Advokat

Ambulance chaser (derogatory)

Attorney at law

Avocats Sans Frontières

Barrister, pupil barrister

Corporate lawyer

Counsel

Court dress

Esquire

Fiduciary

Law broker

Law firm

Legal Executive

Legalese

Licensed Conveyancer

List of jurists

Mountebank

Notary public

Practice of law

Privilege of the predecessors

Prosecutor

Public defender

Rules lawyer (derogatory)

Scrivener

Shyster (derogatory)

Solicitor, trainee solicitor

St. Ivo of Kermartin (patron saint of lawyers)

Notes

External links

Category:Legal ethics Category:Legal professions

Name	Julian Assange
Caption	Assange in 2010
Birth date	July 03, 1971
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Alma mater	University of Melbourne
Occupation	Editor-in-chief and spokesperson for WikiLeaks
Awards	Economist Freedom of Expression Award (2008)Amnesty International UK Media Award (2009)Sam Adams Award (2010)
Death date
Nationality	Australian

Julian Paul Assange ( ; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian publisher, software developer and Internet activist. He is the founder, spokesperson, and editor in chief of WikiLeaks, a whistleblower website and conduit for worldwide news leaks, with the stated purpose of creating open governments. Assange has worked as a computer programmer and was a hacker during his youth. In 2010, he published classified details about American involvement in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. On 28 November 2010, WikiLeaks and its five media partners began publishing secret US diplomatic cables. The White House has called Assange's release of the diplomatic cables "reckless and dangerous" while sources in the Kremlin linked to President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that he "could be awarded a Nobel prize."

For his work with WikiLeaks Assange has received glowing praise and accolades, along with public condemnation and calls for his execution. He received a number of awards and nominations, including the 2009 Amnesty International Media Award for publishing material about extrajudicial killings in Kenya and Readers' Choice for Time magazine's 2010 Person of the Year. He is currently on bail and under house arrest in England pending an extradition hearing. Assange has denied the allegations and claimed that they are politically motivated.

Early life

Assange was born in Townsville, Queensland, and spent much of his youth living on Magnetic Island.

When he was one year old, his mother Christine married theatre director Brett Assange, who gave him his surname. Brett and Christine Assange ran a touring theatre company. His stepfather, Julian's first "real dad", described Julian as "a very sharp kid" with "a keen sense of right and wrong". "He always stood up for the underdog... he was always very angry about people ganging up on other people." and other organisations, via modem. After they split up, they engaged in a lengthy custody struggle, and did not agree on a custody arrangement until 1999. The entire process prompted Assange and his mother to form Parent Inquiry Into Child Protection, an activist group centered on creating a "central databank" for otherwise inaccessible legal records related to child custody issues in Australia. Starting in 1994, he lived in Melbourne as a programmer and a developer of free software. He helped to write the book (1997), which credits him as a researcher and reports his history with International Subversives. On his personal web page, he described having represented his university at the Australian National Physics Competition around 2005. In his blog he wrote, "the more secretive or unjust an organisation is, the more leaks induce fear and paranoia in its leadership and planning coterie.... Since unjust systems, by their nature induce opponents, and in many places barely have the upper hand, mass leaking leaves them exquisitely vulnerable to those who seek to replace them with more open forms of governance."

Assange sits on Wikileaks's nine-member advisory board, and has stated that he has the final decision in the process of vetting documents submitted to the site. In 2006, CounterPunch called him "Australia's most infamous former computer hacker." The Age has called him "one of the most intriguing people in the world" and "internet's freedom fighter."

WikiLeaks has been involved in the publication of material documenting extrajudicial killings in Kenya, a report of toxic waste dumping on the coast of Côte d'Ivoire, Church of Scientology manuals, Guantanamo Bay procedures, the 12 July 2007 Baghdad airstrike video, and material involving large banks such as Kaupthing and Julius Baer among other documents.

Public appearances

, 2009]] In addition to exercising great authority and editorial control within WikiLeaks, Assange acts as its public face. He has appeared at media conferences such as New Media Days '09 in Copenhagen, He announced that the WikiLeaks submission system was again up and running, after it had been temporarily suspended. Assange was a surprise speaker at a TED conference on 19 July 2010 in Oxford, and confirmed that WikiLeaks was now accepting submissions again. He said that "from Australia's point of view, we think there are potentially a number of criminal laws that could have been breached by the release of this information. The Australian Federal Police are looking at that". McClelland would not rule out the possibility that Australian authorities will cancel Assange's passport, and warned him that he might face charges should he return to Australia. As of 11 December 2010 only 1295 cables have been released, or 0.5 percent of the total. In relation to its ongoing investigations of WikiLeaks, on the 14 December 2010 the US DoJ issued a subpoena ordering Twitter to release information relating to Assange's account, amongst others.

Pentagon Papers whistleblower Daniel Ellsberg said that Assange "is serving our [American] democracy and serving our rule of law precisely by challenging the secrecy regulations, which are not laws in most cases, in this country." On the issue of national security considerations for the US, Ellsberg added that "He's obviously a very competent guy in many ways. I think his instincts are that most of this material deserves to be out. We are arguing over a very small fragment that doesn’t. He has not yet put out anything that hurt anybody's national security". Assange told London reporters that the leaked cables showed US ambassadors around the world were ordered "to engage in espionage behavior" which he said seemed to be "representative of a gradual shift to a lack of rule of law in US institutions that needs to be exposed and that we have been exposing."

Role as a publisher

Assange received the 2009 Media award from Amnesty International, and he has been recognized as a journalist by the Centre for Investigative Journalism. In December 2010, US State Department spokesman Philip J. Crowley objected to the description of Assange as a journalist, and also stated that the US State Department does not regard WikiLeaks as a media organization. In response to a question from the press, Crowley said; "I think he’s an anarchist, but he’s not a journalist." Alex Massie wrote an article in The Spectator called "Yes, Julian Assange is a journalist", but acknowledged that "newsman" might be a better description of Assange.

Financial sanctions

On 6 December, the Swiss bank, PostFinance, announced that it had frozen assets of Assange's totalling 31,000 euros, because he had "provided false information regarding his place of residence" when opening the account. MasterCard, Visa Inc., and Bank of America also halted dealings with Wikileaks. Assange described these actions as "business McCarthyism". The English-language Swedish newspaper web-site "Local" quoted Assange on 27 Dec 2010 as saying that legal costs for the whistleblowing website and his own defence had reached £500,000. The decisions to halt donations to WikiLeaks by Visa, MasterCard and PayPal had cost it £425,000, the same amount it costs the website to publish for six months. Assange claimed WikiLeaks had been receiving as much as £85,000 a day at its peak.

Autobiography

In December 2010 Assange sold the publishing rights to his autobiography for over £1million. He told the Sunday Times that he was forced to enter the deals for an autobiography due to the financial difficulties he and the site encountered, he told them "I don't want to write this book, but I have to. I have already spent £200,000 for legal costs and I need to defend myself and to keep WikiLeaks afloat".

Criticism

In July 2010, after WikiLeaks released classified documents related to the war in Afghanistan, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, Mike Mullen, said in an interview with Democracy now, "Disagree with the war all you want, take issue with the policy, challenge me or our ground commanders on the decisions we make to accomplish the mission we’ve been given, but don’t put those who willingly go into harm’s way even further in harm’s way just to satisfy your need to make a point. Mr. Assange can say whatever he likes about the greater good he thinks he and his source are doing, but the truth is, they might already have on their hands the blood of some young soldier or that of an Afghan family." Assange responded, "There is, as far as we can tell, no incident of that. So it is a speculative charge. Of course, we are treating any possible revelation of the names of innocents seriously. That is why we held back 15,000 of these documents, to review that. ...it’s really quite fantastic that Robert Gates and Mullen...being the former head of the CIA during Iran-Contra and the overseer of Iraq and Afghanistan, and Mullen being the military commander for Iraq and Afghanistan—I’m not sure what his further background is, who have ordered assassinations every day, are trying to bring people on board to look at a speculative understanding of whether we might have blood on our hands. These two men arguably are wading in the blood from those wars."

On 29 November 2010, in the aftermath of WikiLeaks release of more classified American documents Sarah Palin wrote of Assange on her Facebook page, "He is an anti-American operative with blood on his hands. His past posting of classified documents revealed the identity of more than 100 Afghan sources to the Taliban. Why was he not pursued with the same urgency we pursue al-Qaeda and Taliban leaders?" she added, "Assange is not a 'journalist', any more than the 'editor' of al-Qaeda's new English-language magazine Inspire is a 'journalist'."

A number of political and media commentators, as well as current and former US government officials, have accused Assange of terrorism. US Vice President Joe Biden argued that Assange was "closer to being a high-tech terrorist than the Pentagon papers." In May 2010 Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had used the phrase, calling Assange "a high-tech terrorist", and saying "he has done enormous damage to our country. I think he needs to be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law".

Also in May 2010, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said: "Information terrorism, which leads to people getting killed, is terrorism, and Julian Assange is engaged in terrorism. He should be treated as an enemy combatant." In December 2010 former Nixon aide and talk radio host G. Gordon Liddy told WorldNetDaily, "Julian Assange is a severe national security threat to the U.S., and that then leads to what to do about it. This fellow Anwar al-Awlaki – a joint U.S. citizen hiding out in Yemen – is on a 'kill list' [for inciting terrorism against the U.S.]. Mr. Assange should be put on the same list."

Support

Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, former president of Brazil, expressed his "solidarity" with Assange following his 2010 arrest in the United Kingdom. He further criticised the arrest of Assange as "an attack on freedom of expression".

Prime Minister of Russia, Vladimir Putin condemned Assange’s detention as "undemocratic". A source within the office of Russian President Dmitry Medvedev suggested that Assange be nominated for a Nobel Prize, and said that "Public and non-governmental organisations should think of how to help him."

In December 2010, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur for Freedom of Opinion and Expression, Frank LaRue, said Assange or other WikiLeaks staff should not face legal accountability for any information they disseminated, noting that "if there is a responsibility by leaking information it is of, exclusively of the person that made the leak and not of the media that publish it. And this is the way that transparency works and that corruption has been confronted in many cases."

Daniel Ellsberg, who was working in the U.S. Department of Defense when he leaked the Pentagon Papers in 1971, was a signatory to a statement by an international group of former intelligence officers and ex-government officials in support of Assange’s work, which was released in late December 2010. Other signatories included David MacMichael, Ray McGovern, and five recipients of annual Sam Adams Award: Frank Grevil, Katharine Gun, Craig Murray, Coleen Rowley and Larry Wilkerson. Ellsberg has said, "If I released the Pentagon Papers today, the same rhetoric and the same calls would be made about me ... I would be called not only a traitor — which I was [called] then, which was false and slanderous — but I would be called a terrorist... Assange and Bradley Manning are no more terrorists than I am."

Prime Minister Julia Gillard has come under widespread condemnation and a backlash within her own party for failing to support Assange after calling the leaks "an illegal act" and suggesting that his Australian passport should be cancelled. Hundreds of lawyers, academics and journalists came forward in his support with Attorney-General Robert McClelland, unable to explain how Assange had broken Australian law. Opposition Legal Affairs spokesman, Senator George Brandis, a Queen's Counsel, accused Gillard of being "clumsy" with her language, stating, "As far as I can see, he (Assange) hasn't broken any Australian law, nor does it appear he has broken any American laws." Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd, who supports Assange, stated that any decision to cancel the passport would be his, not Gillard's. Queen's Counsel Peter Faris, who acted for Assange in a hacking case 15 years ago, said that the motives of Swedish authorities in seeking Assange's extradition for alleged sex offences are suspect: "You have to say: why are they [Sweden] pursuing it? It's pretty obvious that if it was Bill Bloggs, they wouldn't be going to the trouble." Following the Swedish Embassy issuing of a "prepared and unconvincing reply" in response to letters of protest, Gillard was called on to send a message to Sweden "querying the way charges were laid, investigated and dropped, only to be picked up again by a different prosecutor."

On 10 December 2010 over five hundred people rallied outside Sydney Town Hall and about three hundred and fifty people gathered in Brisbane where Assange's lawyer, Rob Stary, criticised Julia Gillard's position, telling the rally that the Australian government was a "sycophant" of the US. A petition circulated by GetUp!, who have placed full page ads in support of Assange in The New York Times and The Washington Times, received more than signatures. Accepting the award, Assange said, "It is a reflection of the courage and strength of Kenyan civil society that this injustice was documented." Readers' Choice in Time magazine's Person of the Year poll, and runner-up for Person of the Year., and an informal poll of editors at Postmedia Network named him the top newsmaker for the year after six out of 10 felt Assange had "affected profoundly how information is seen and delivered".

Le Monde named him person of the year with fifty six percent of the votes in their online poll. Le Monde is one of the five publications to cooperate with Wikileaks' publication of the recent document leaking.

Allegations of sexual assault

On 20 August 2010, Swedish police opened an investigation against Assange in connection with sexual encounters with two women, aged 26 and 31, one in Enköping and the other in Stockholm. Within hours, Stockholm's chief prosecutor Eva Finne reviewed the case and dropped the rape investigation, saying there was insufficient evidence to suggest rape but kept open the molestation investigation, and on 30 August Stockholm police questioned Assange. He denied the allegations, saying he had consensual sexual encounters with the two women.

Claes Borgström, who represents the two women, appealed against the decision to drop the rape investigation. The Swedish Director of Public Prosecution then reopened and expanded the investigation on 1 September. Swedish investigators reinterviewed the two women, wanting to clarify their allegations before talking to Assange but he left Sweden on 27 September, according to statements in UK court, and refused to return to Stockholm for questioning in October, according to Borgström. According to Assange's lawyer, Mark Stephens, Assange made repeated attempts to contact the prosecution, spending over a month in Stockholm before obtaining permission to leave the country, with the Swedish prosecution stating an interview would not be required.

On 18 November 2010 the Swedish prosecutor Marianne Ny asked the local district court for a warrant for Assange in order for him to be heard by the prosecutor. The court ordered detention as a suspect with probable cause for rape, sexual assault, and coercion. An appeal from the legal representatives of Assange was turned down by the Svea Court of Appeal, and the Supreme Court of Sweden declined to hear the case. On 6 December 2010, Scotland Yard notified Assange that a valid European arrest warrant had been received. He presented himself to the Metropolitan Police the next morning and was remanded to London's Wandsworth Prison. On 16 December he was granted bail and placed under house arrest at Ellingham Hall, Norfolk, the High Court Judge rejected the prosecution's argument that he was a flight risk. Bail was set at £240,000 surety with £200,000 ($312,700) required to be actually deposited in the courts account.

On release Assange said "I hope to continue my work and continue to protest my innocence in this matter," Assange claimed that the extradition proceedings to Sweden were "actually an attempt to get me into a jurisdiction which will then make it easier to extradite me to the US." Swedish prosecutors have denied the case has anything to do with WikiLeaks. His defence team outlined seven strands of their argument, including a challenge for abuse of process as well as the potential risks to Assange's person were he "rendered" to the US.

Residency

Though an Australian citizen, Assange has not had a permanent address for several years. Assange has described himself as constantly on the move. He has lived for periods in Australia, Kenya and Tanzania, and began renting a house in Iceland on 30 March 2010, from which he and other activists, including Birgitta Jónsdóttir, worked on the 'Collateral Murder' video. In December 2010 it was reported that US Ambassador to Switzerland Donald S Beyer had warned the Swiss government against offering asylum to Assange.

In late November 2010, Deputy Foreign Minister Kintto Lucas of Ecuador spoke about giving Assange residency with "no conditions... so he can freely present the information he possesses and all the documentation, not just over the Internet but in a variety of public forums". Lucas believed that Ecuador may benefit from initiating a dialogue with Assange. Foreign Minister Ricardo Patino stated on 30 November that the residency application would "have to be studied from the legal and diplomatic perspective". A few hours later, President Rafael Correa stated that WikiLeaks "committed an error by breaking the laws of the United States and leaking this type of information... no official offer was [ever] made." Correa noted that Lucas was speaking "on his own behalf"; additionally, he will launch an investigation into possible ramifications Ecuador would suffer from the release of the cables. He was ultimately released, in part because journalist Vaughan Smith offered to provide Assange with an address for bail during the extradition proceedings, Smith's Norfolk mansion, Ellingham Hall.

References

External links

Full coverage at Aljazeera

Profile: Wikileaks founder Julian Assange at BBC News

Julian Assange: Hero or Villain? – slideshow by Life magazine

Archived versions of the home page on Julian Assange's web site iq.org (at the Internet Archive)

Russia Today via You tube">WikiLeaks editor on Apache combat video: No excuse for US killing civilians - April 2010. Russia Today via You tube

Interview with Julian Assange on release of Afghan war files - 1 August 2010 Russia Today via YouTube

Julian Assange: Why the world needs WikiLeaks - July 2010 video at ted.com

Frost Over the World - Julian Assange - December 2010. Al Jazeera English via You tube

Category:1971 births Category:Australian Internet personalities Category:Australian activists Category:Australian computer programmers Category:Australian journalists Category:Australian whistleblowers Category:Internet activists Category:Living people Category:People from Townsville, Queensland Category:University of Melbourne alumni Category:WikiLeaks

Name	Hulk Hogan
Names	The Super Destroyer
Height	Hollywood, California (as Hollywood Hogan)
Resides	Tampa, Florida (born August 11, 1953), better known by his ring name Hulk Hogan, is an American professional wrestler, actor, television personality, and musician currently signed to Total Nonstop Action Wrestling (TNA).

He also spoke extensively on his payment, and his concerns of not being a top priority to Vince McMahon, despite the fact that he felt he was the company's biggest draw:

Hogan's last WWE appearance to date occurred on December 10, 2007 on the WWE Raw 15th anniversary. He saved Hornswoggle from being attacked by The Great Khali.

Memphis Wrestling and PMG Clash of Legends (2007)

After a brief fall out with McMahon and WWE, Hogan was lured to Memphis Wrestling with the proposal of wrestling Jerry "The King" Lawler. The match had been promoted on Memphis Wrestling Prime Time for several months. On April 12, 2007, however, Lawler announced in a news conference that WWE had barred him from wrestling Hogan on the basis that NBC performers (including Lawler, on the basis of co-hosting the NBC-owned USA Network's WWE Raw and his appearances on the biannual WWE Saturday Night's Main Event) are contractually prohibited from appearing on VH1, the channel on which Hogan Knows Best airs. Lawler was replaced with Paul Wight.

in 2009.]] On November 21, 24, 26, and 28, Hogan performed with a group of wrestlers across Australia in a tour titled Hulkamania: Let the Battle Begin. The main event was a rematch between Hogan and Ric Flair. Hogan defeated Flair in all four matches. It was the first time Hogan had performed in Australia.

On December 5, 2009, Hogan announced on UFC's The Ultimate Fighter that he would be making his official TNA debut on January 4, 2010, in a special live three hour Monday night edition of TNA Impact!. Carter revealed Hogan's role in the company in an interview with The UK Sun stating when his job came to question, "he is involved with everything from looking at the talent to how we shoot the show". On the January 4, 2010 Impact!, Hogan debuted after a motorcade arrival reuniting briefly with former nWo partners Kevin Nash, Scott Hall, and Sean Waltman, the latter two of whom made their returns to the company. He, however, rejected to join their renewed pairing stating, "it's a different time" before Bischoff appeared to clarify he and Hogan would "flip the company upside down" and everyone would have to earn their spot. Hogan developed a feud with TNA Founder, Jeff Jarrett during Jarrett's triumphant speech of the company's success, confronting him and noting that Carter saved the company he almost made collapse and claimed Jarrett had to (kayfabe) earn his spot in TNA like the rest. At TNA Genesis on January 17, Hogan and Bischoff revealed a newly renovated TNA Impact! Zone and opposed the use of the 6 sided ring for the traditional squared circle. On the February 18 edition of Impact! Hogan took Abyss under his wing, gave him his Hall of Fame ring and said that it would make him a god of wrestling. The following week Hogan announced that he would be making his in-ring TNA debut on the March 8 Monday night edition of Impact! in a tag team match, where he and Abyss face A.J. Styles and Ric Flair. On the March 8 Monday night edition of Impact! Hogan and Abyss defeated Styles and Flair, when Abyss pinned Styles. Afterwards, the returning Jeff Hardy saved Hogan and Abyss from a beatdown at the hands of Styles, Flair and Desmond Wolfe. On the June 17 edition of Impact! Hogan's alliance with Abyss came to an abrupt end, when Abyss turned heel. Abyss later claimed that he was controlled by some entity, that was coming to TNA. The next months Hogan worked with Bischoff, Jeff Jarrett and Samoa Joe against Sting and Kevin Nash, who claimed that they knew that Hogan and Bischoff were up to something. During this time Abyss went on a rampage, attacking Rob Van Dam to the point that he was forced to vacate the TNA World Heavyweight Championship and eventually put his hands on TNA president Dixie Carter, which led to her signing the paperwork, presented by Bischoff, that would have Abyss fired from TNA following his match with Van Dam at Bound for Glory. Hogan was set to wrestle with Jarrett and Joe against Sting, Nash and D'Angelo Dinero at Bound for Glory, but was forced to miss the event due to a back surgery. However, he would make a surprise appearance at the end of the event, turning heel, helping Jeff Hardy win the vacant TNA World Heavyweight Championship and aligning himself with Hardy, Bischoff, Abyss and Jarrett. On the following edition of Impact! it was revealed that Bischoff had tricked Carter and the paperwork she had signed a week earlier, were not to release Abyss, but to turn the company over to him and Hogan. Meanwhile, Bischoff's and Hogan's new stable, now known as Immortal, formed an alliance with Ric Flair's Fortune. Dixie Carter returned on the November 25 edition of Reaction, informing Hogan and Bischoff that a judge had filed an injunction against the two on her behalf over not having signatory authority, indefinitely suspending Hogan from TNA. During his time away from TNA, Bollea underwent a potentially career–ending spinal fusion surgery on December 21, 2010.

Other media

Television and movie roles

at Walt Disney World's Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park]] Hulk Hogan's crossover popularity led to several television and movie roles. Early in his career Bollea played the part of Thunderlips in Rocky III (1982). He also appeared in No Holds Barred (1989), before starring in the family films Suburban Commando (1991), Mr. Nanny (1993), Santa with Muscles (1996), and (1998). He starred in his own television series, Thunder in Paradise, in 1994. He is the star of The Ultimate Weapon (1997), in which Brutus Beefcake also appears in a cameo.

Bollea also starred in a pair of television movies, originally intended as a pilot for an ongoing series for TNT, produced by Eric Bischoff. The movies, Shadow Warriors: Assault on Devil's Island and Shadow Warriors: Hunt for The Death Merchant, starred Hogan alongside Carl Weathers and Shannon Tweed as a freelance mercenary team. In 1995, he appeared on TBN's Kids Against Crime.

Bollea made cameo appearances in Muppets from Space, (the theatrical cut) and Spy Hard as himself. Hogan was offered the role of Zeus in Little Hercules in 3D on an episode of Hogan Knows Best and was shown during the filming of the movie. He also had a cameo at the end of the movie Little Monsters. Hogan also made two appearances on The A-Team (in 1985 and 1986), and along with Roddy Piper, Hogan lent his voice for a few episodes of the stop-motion animation skit show, Robot Chicken. He guest-starred in a two-part episode of Suddenly Susan in 1999. In 2001, Hogan guest-starred on an episode of Walker, Texas Ranger, playing a reformed criminal now operating a Christian Community Center and helping Walker steer teenagers away from gangs.

Bollea hosted the comeback series of American Gladiators on NBC in 2008. He also hosted and judged the short-lived reality show, Hulk Hogan's Celebrity Championship Wrestling. Hogan will have a special entitled Finding Hulk Hogan on A&E; on November 17, 2010.

Hogan Knows Best

On July 10, 2005, VH1 premiered a new reality show titled Hogan Knows Best which centers around Hulk Hogan, his then-wife Linda, and their children Brooke and Nick. Set in their home in Clearwater, Florida, the show follows the family in their efforts to fulfill the dreams of their children while still maintaining their sense of closeness. At the show's onset, 16-year-old Brooke is trying to break into the music industry while younger brother Nick (age 14) goes through a series of career aspirations including becoming a professional race car driver and following in his dad's footsteps as a pro wrestler.

As of July 2008, Hogan Knows Best transferred its focus into a new show called Brooke Knows Best which focuses on his daughter's move into a new apartment to continue her pursuit of a music career.

Music and radio

Bollea released a music CD, Hulk Rules, as Hulk Hogan and The Wrestling Boot Band. Also, Green Jellÿ released a single, a duet with Hogan, performing Gary Glitter's classic song "I'm the Leader of the Gang (I Am)". He has also made cameos in several music videos. From her self-named show, Dolly the music video for Dolly Parton's wrestling-themed love song "Headlock on my Heart" features Hogan as "Starlight Starbright". On the show, Parton mentioned that the tabloid Weekly World News had "reported" that she had written a song about her love for a wrestler, and said "if you read in the Weekly World News, it must be true!" In the music video "Pressure" by Belly ft. Ginuwine, Bollea and his daughter Brooke both made brief cameo appearances.

Bollea is a regular guest on Bubba the Love Sponge's radio show. He also served as the best man at Bubba's January 2007 wedding. On Monday March 12, 2010, Bollea hosted his own radio show, titled Hogan Uncensored, on Sirius Satellite Radio's Howard 101.

Endorsements and business ventures

Food industry

Hulk Hogan's Pastamania was a restaurant in the Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota. It was created and financed by Hogan. It opened on the Labor Day weekend of 1995 and was later heavily hyped on World Championship Wrestling's live flagship show WCW Monday Nitro, which actually premiered that September from the mall. The restaurant, which remained in operation for less than a year, featured such dishes as "Hulk-U's" and "Hulk-A-Roos."

In an interview on both the Tonight Show and Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Bollea claimed that the George Foreman Grill was originally offered to him, but he failed to respond in time. George Foreman was called and he chose to endorse the grill instead of a blender which became the Hulk Hogan Thunder Mixer. This claim was validated on an episode of Hogan Knows Best, in which his wife Linda and the family are worried about Hogan's wrestling career and plead with him to take up a career in marketing. Hulk explains about turning down the Foreman grill, and his choice to invest in the shake-mixer instead, saying that whenever he thinks about investing in something "big," he thinks about what happened with the grill and the shake-mixer. However, he has since endorsed a similar product known as "The Hulk Hogan Ultimate Grill."

In 2006, Bollea unveiled his own energy drink, Hogan Energy, distributed by Socko Energy. It was featured in an episode of Hogan Knows Best. His name and likeness are also applied to a line of microwavable hamburgers, cheeseburgers, and chicken sandwiches sold at Wal-Mart called "Hulkster Burgers".

In September 2008, Bollea's net worth was revealed to be over $30 million.

Other

During an interview with The Sun, Bollea claimed to be planning his own federation to compete against Vince McMahon. Bollea says he has raised $40 million of the $80–$100 million goal and his venture is something that will eventually revolutionize the sport of professional wrestling.

In April 2008, Bollea announced that he would be lending his license to video game developer Gameloft to create "Hulkamania Wrestling" for mobile phones. Hogan stated in a press release that the game would be "true to [his] experiences in wrestling" and use his classic wrestling moves like the Doublehand Choke Lift and Strong Clothesline.

Personal life

On December 18, 1983, Bollea married Linda Claridge (born August 24, 1959). They have a daughter Brooke (born May 5, 1988) and a son Nick (born July 27, 1990). Bollea made his personal life the centerpiece of the television show Hogan Knows Best, which includes his wife and two children.

Bollea's 17 year old son Nick was indicted as an adult on November 7, 2007 on four criminal charges. The charges stemmed from an August car accident which seriously injured the passenger in Nick's car, John Graziano. Nick pleaded no contest and was sentenced to eight months in jail on May 9, 2008.

According to an interview in The National Enquirer, Christiane Plante revealed that she had an affair with Hogan in 2007 while the Hogan family was shooting Hogan Knows Best. Plante was 33 years old at the time and had worked with Brooke Hogan on her 2006 album. On November 20, 2007, Linda filed for divorce in Pinellas County, Florida. Hulk told St. Petersburg Times that he was unaware of the filing when the paper called for a comment. The Graziano family's lawyer believed the divorce might have been an attempt to divide the family's assets from a planned civil suit against the Bolleas regarding their son, Nick. After filing for divorce, Linda (48 at the time) began dating Charlie Hill (19 at the time). Hill was a student at Brooke and Nick's high school, one grade above Nick and one grade below Brooke. In November 2008, Linda revealed to the public that she made the decision to end her marriage after finding out about Hulk Hogan's affair.

Bollea was honored as the 2008 King of the Krewe of Bacchus, a New Orleans carnival organization. Hogan visited the Children's Hospital of New Orleans and rode in the parade where he threw doubloons with his likeness. Hogan received the honor in part because meeting Hogan is one of the most requested "wishes" of the terminally ill children benefited by the Make-A-Wish Foundation. Bollea has suffered numerous health problems, particularly with his back since retiring as a wrestler following the years of heavy weight training and jolting as a wrestler.

On October 27, 2009, St. Martin's Press released Hulk Hogan's autobiography, My Life Outside the Ring. The wrestler has continued to stay in the news, due to his revelation that he considered suicide in 2007, shortly after his wife filed for divorce.

Bollea has been in a relationship with Jennifer McDaniel since early 2008. The two were engaged in November 2009 and married on December 14, 2010, in Clearwater, Florida.

Filmography

In wrestling

at WrestleMania XIX]]

Finishing moves

Axe Bomber – Japan

Running leg drop

* Belly to back suplex

Big boot

* "Luscious" Johnny Valiant

Nicknames

"The Hulkster"

* MSG Tag League Tournament (1982, 1983) – with Antonio Inoki

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame and Museum

*Class of 2003

Pro Wrestling Illustrated

* PWI Comeback of the Year (1994, 2002)

* PWI Feud of the Year (1986) vs. Paul Orndorff

* PWI Match of the Year (1985) with Mr. T vs. Roddy Piper and Paul Orndorff at WrestleMania

* PWI Match of the Year (1988) vs. André the Giant at The Main Event

* PWI Match of the Year (1990) vs. The Ultimate Warrior at WrestleMania VI

* PWI Match of the Year (2002) vs. The Rock at WrestleMania X8

* PWI Most Hated Wrestler of the Year (1996, 1998)

PWI Most Inspirational Wrestler of the Year (1983, 1999)

* PWI Most Popular Wrestler of the Year (1985, 1989, 1990)

* PWI Wrestler of the Year (1987, 1991, 1994)

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers in the PWI 500 in 1991

PWI ranked him #1 of the 500 best singles wrestlers of the "PWI Years" in 2003

PWI ranked him #57 of the Top 100 Tag Teams of the "PWI Years" with Randy Savage in 2003

Southeastern Championship Wrestling

NWA Southeastern Heavyweight Championship (Northern Division) (1 time)

Most Outstanding Forienger (1983)

World Championship Wrestling

WCW World Heavyweight Championship (6 times)

World Wrestling Federation / World Wrestling Entertainment

WWE World Tag Team Championship (1 time) – with Edge

WWF/E Championship (6 times)

Royal Rumble (1990, 1991)

WWE Hall of Fame (Class of 2005)

References

Notes

External links

HulkHogan.com (Official Website)

Professional wrestling record for Hulk Hogan from The Internet Wrestling Database

Professional Wrestling Hall of Fame Profile

WWE Hall of Fame Profile

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David Tennant (born David John McDonald; 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. In addition to his work in theatre, including a widely praised Hamlet, Tennant is best known for his role as the tenth incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, along with the title role in the 2005 TV serial Casanova and as Barty Crouch, Jr. in the 2005 film adaptation, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Early life

Tennant was born on 18 April 1971 in Bathgate, West Lothian in Scotland and grew up in Ralston, Renfrewshire, where his father, the Reverend Alexander "Sandy" McDonald, was the local Church of Scotland minister. He grew up with his brother, 6 years his elder, and sister, 8 years his elder.

Tennant was educated at Ralston Primary and Paisley Grammar School where he enjoyed a fruitful relationship with English language teacher Moira Robertson, who was among the first to recognise his potential. He acted in school productions throughout primary and secondary school (his talent at this young age was spotted by actress Edith MacArthur, who after seeing his first role aged 11, told his parents she predicted he would become a successful stage actor). He also attended Saturday classes at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. At 16 he passed an audition for the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, one of their youngest students, and studied there between the ages of 17-20. He earned a bachelor's degree and was flatmates with friend Louise Delamere.

At the age of three, Tennant told his parents that he wanted to become an actor because he was a fan of Doctor Who, and they tried to encourage him to do more conventional work. 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 — because there was another David McDonald already on the books of the Equity union. His first choice for a stage name was David Brandon and his second choice was David Tennant.

Career

Early work

Tennant made his professional acting debut while still in secondary school. When he was 16 he acted in an anti-smoking film made by the Glasgow Health Board which aired on television and was also screened in schools. He subsequently specialised in comic roles, playing Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors and Captain Jack Absolute in The Rivals, although he also played the tragic role of Romeo in Romeo and Juliet.

Tennant also contributed to several audio dramatisations of Shakespeare for the Arkangel Shakespeare series (1998). His roles include a reprisal of his Antipholus of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors, as well as Launcelot Gobbo in The Merchant of Venice, Edgar/Poor Tom in King Lear, and Mercutio in Romeo and Juliet, all of which he performs in his natural accent.

In 1995, Tennant appeared at the Royal National Theatre, London, playing the role of Nicholas Beckett in Joe Orton's What the Butler Saw. The plot required Tennant to appear naked on stage.

In television, Tennant appeared in the first episode of Reeves and Mortimer's re-vamped Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) in 2000, playing an eccentric artist. This is one of his few TV roles in his native Scottish accent. During the Christmas season of 2002, he starred in a series of television commercials for Boots the Chemists.

Tennant began to appear on television more prominently in 2004 and 2005, when he appeared in a dramatisation of He Knew He Was Right (2004) Blackpool (2004), Casanova (2005) and The Quatermass Experiment (2005).

In film, he appeared in Stephen Fry's Bright Young Things (2003), and played Barty Crouch Jr. in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire.

Doctor Who (2005–2010)

Doctor Who returned to British screens in 2004, with Christopher Eccleston playing the role of the Ninth Doctor. After Eccleston's announcement on 31 March 2005 that he would not be returning for a second series, the BBC confirmed Tennant as his replacement in a press release on 16 April 2005. He made his first, brief appearance as the Tenth Doctor in the episode "The Parting of the Ways" (2005) at the end of the regeneration scene, and also appeared in a special shown as part of the 2005 Children in Need appeal, broadcast on 18 November 2005. He began filming the new series of Doctor Who in late July 2005. His first full-length outing as the Doctor was a 60-minute special, "The Christmas Invasion", first broadcast on Christmas Day 2005.

Tennant has expressed enthusiasm about fulfilling his childhood dream. He remarked to an interviewer for GWR FM, "Who wouldn't want to be the Doctor? I've even got my own TARDIS!" In 2006, readers of Doctor Who Magazine voted Tennant 'Best Doctor!', over perennial favourite Tom Baker. In 2007, Tennant's Doctor was voted the "coolest character" on UK television in a Radio Times survey. When Tennant was cast as Eccleston's successor, he had wanted to use his native Scottish accent and become 'the first kilted Doctor' according to an interview in the Daily Star, but writer Russell T Davies did not want the Doctor's accent 'touring the regions', so he used "estuary" English instead.

Tennant had previously had a small role in the BBC's animated Doctor Who webcast Scream of the Shalka. Not originally cast in the production, Tennant happened to be recording a radio play in a neighbouring studio, and when he discovered what was being recorded next door managed to convince the director to give him a small role. This personal enthusiasm for the series had also been expressed by his participation in several audio plays based on the Doctor Who television series which had been produced by Big Finish Productions, although he did not play the Doctor in any of these productions. His first such role was in the Seventh Doctor audio Colditz, where he played a Nazi lieutenant guard at Colditz Castle. In 2004 Tennant played a lead role in the Big Finish audio play series Dalek Empire III. He played the part of Galanar, a young man who is given an assignment to discover the secrets of the Daleks. In 2005, he starred in for Big Finish, recreating his role of Brimmicombe-Wood from a Doctor Who Unbound play, Sympathy for the Devil. He also played an unnamed Time Lord in another Doctor Who Unbound play Exile. UNIT: The Wasting, was recorded between Tennant getting the role of the Doctor and it being announced. He also played the title role in Big Finish's adaptation of Bryan Talbot's The Adventures of Luther Arkwright (2005). In 2006, he recorded abridged audio books of The Stone Rose by Jacqueline Rayner, The Feast of the Drowned by Stephen Cole and The Resurrection Casket by Justin Richards, for BBC Worldwide.

He made his directorial debut directing the Doctor Who Confidential episode that accompanies Steven Moffat's episode "Blink", entitled "Do You Remember The First Time?", which aired on 9 June 2007. In 2007, Tennant's Tenth Doctor appeared with Peter Davison's Fifth Doctor in a Doctor Who special for Children in Need, written by Steven Moffat and entitled "Time Crash". This was the first "multi-Doctor" story in the series since The Two Doctors in 1985 (Not counting the 1993 special Dimensions in Time). Tennant also later performed alongside Davison's daughter, Georgia Moffett, in the 2008 episode "The Doctor's Daughter" with her taking the titular role as Jenny.

Tennant also featured as the Doctor in an animated version of Doctor Who for Totally Doctor Who, The Infinite Quest, which aired on CBBC. He will also star as the Doctor in another animated six-part Doctor Who series, Dreamland. Tennant guest-starred as the Doctor in a two-part story in Doctor Who spin-off The Sarah Jane Adventures, broadcast in October 2009. Tennant continued to play the Tenth Doctor into the revived programme's fourth series in 2008. However, on 29 October 2008, Tennant announced that he would be stepping down from the role after three full series. He played the Doctor in four special episodes in 2009, before his final episode aired on the 1st of January 2010. The Daily Mirror reported that Tennant was forbidden from attending Doctor Who fan conventions while playing the role. This was done to avoid the chance that Tennant could accidentally let slip any plot points during filming of the series. He said at the Children in Need concert that his favourite Doctor Who story is Genesis of the Daleks from the Tom Baker era, while another interview included him mentioning that his favourite classic monsters were the Zygons; although he never appeared in a television story with the Zygons, his Doctor confronted them in the novel Sting of the Zygons.

Other television roles (2005–present)

While playing the Doctor, Tennant was also in the early December 2005 ITV drama Secret Smile. His performance as Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger at the Theatre Royal, Bath and Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh was recorded by the National Video Archive of Performance for the Victoria and Albert Museum Theatre Collection. He revived this performance for the anniversary of the Royal Court Theatre in a rehearsed reading. In January 2006, he took a one-day break from shooting Doctor Who to play Richard Hoggart in a dramatisation of the 1960 Lady Chatterley's Lover obscenity trial, The Chatterley Affair. The play was written by Andrew Davies and directed by Doctor Who's James Hawes for the digital television channel BBC Four. Hoggart's son Simon Hoggart praised Tennant's performance in The Guardian newspaper.

On 25 February 2007, Tennant starred in Recovery, a 90-minute BBC1 drama written by Tony Marchant. Tennant played Alan, a self-made building site manager who attempted to rebuild his life after suffering a debilitating brain injury. His co-star in the drama was friend Sarah Parish, with whom he had previously appeared in Blackpool and an episode of Doctor Who. She joked that "we're like George and Mildred - in 20 years' time we'll probably be doing a ropey old sitcom in a terraced house in Preston." Later in 2007 he starred in Learners, a BBC comedy drama written by and starring Jessica Hynes (another Doctor Who co-star, in the episodes "Human Nature", "The Family of Blood" and "The End of Time"), in which he played a Christian driving instructor who became the object of a student's affection. Learners was broadcast on BBC One on 11 November 2007. Tennant had a cameo appearance as the Doctor in the 2007 finale episode of the BBC/HBO comedy series Extras alongside Ricky Gervais. In November 2008 Tennant played Sir Arthur Eddington in the BBC and HBO biopic Einstein and Eddington, which was filmed in Cambridge and Hungary.

In 2009 he worked on a film version of the RSC's 2008 Hamlet for BBC2. From October 2009, he hosted the Masterpiece Contemporary programming strand on the American Public Broadcasting Service. In December 2009, he filmed the lead in an NBC pilot, Rex Is Not Your Lawyer, playing Rex, a Chicago lawyer who starts to coach clients to represent themselves when he starts suffering panic attacks. The pilot was not picked up and the project was shelved. In October 2010 he starred as Dave, a man struggling to raise five children after the death of his partner, in the British drama Single Father. In 2011 he will star in the BBC Two British TV film United, which tells the story of the Manchester United "Busby Babes" team and the 1958 Munich air disaster, playing coach and assistant manager Jimmy Murphy.

Other work (2007–present)

Tennant is the voice behind the 2007 advertising campaign for catalogue retailer Argos, although he uses an Estuary English accent as in his role as the Doctor and not his natural Scottish voice, but for adverts for The Proclaimers 2008 album and learndirect's in June 2008 he uses his own accent. More recently, Tennant's voice can be heard on Tesco Mobile and Nintendo Wii adverts.

Tennant appeared in Derren Brown's Trick or Treat. In the 26 April–2 May issue of TV & Satellite Week Brown is quoted as saying "One of the appeals of Doctor Who for David is time travel, so I wanted to give him that experience. He was open and up for it, and I got a good reaction. He's a real screamer!". The episode aired on Channel 4 on 16 May 2008, and showed Tennant apparently predicting future events correctly by using automatic writing. Tennant also returned for the final episode of the series with the rest of the participants from the other episodes in the series to take part in one final experiment.

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Tennant appeared in the 2008 episode "Holofile 703: Us and Phlegm" of the radio series Nebulous (a parody of Doctor Who) in the role of Doctor Beep, using his Lothian accent.

In 2008, Tennant voiced the character of Hamish the Hunter in the 2008 English language DVD re-release of the 2006 animated Norwegian film, Free Jimmy, alongside Woody Harrelson. The English language version of the film has dialogue written by Simon Pegg, who also starred in it as a main voice actor.

In early 2009 Tennant narrated the digital planetarium space dome film "We are Astronomers" commissioned by the UK's National Space Centre.

On 13 March 2009, Tennant presented Comic Relief with Davina McCall. He played guitar with band Franz Ferdinand on a special Comic Relief edition of Top of the Pops.

In Summer 2009, he filmed in which he plays the antagonist, Pomfrey. The film was released in December 2009.

At the October 2009 Spooky Empire convention, John Landis announced Tennant's casting in his movie Burke and Hare, starring alongside Simon Pegg. In January 2010 it was announced Tennant had dropped out of the film (replaced by Andy Serkis) due to scheduling problems.

In November 2009, Tennant co-hosted the Absolute Radio Breakfast Show with Christian O'Connell for three consecutive days. He returned to co-host the show for one day in October 2010.

Tennant also provides the narration and all the character voices for the audio book versions of the Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III stories by Cressida Cowell such as How to Train Your Dragon. In these audio books, Tennant employs his vocal skills to create a vast cast of recognisably distinct voices. Some of his most memorable characterisations include the Norfolk yokel of Norbert the Nutjob, the broad Glaswegian of Gobber the Belch, the hissing and whining of Toothless the Dragon and the sly insinuations of Alvin the Treacherous. He also played the role of Spitelout in the recent animated film adaption of said books. On 7 March 2010 he also appeared as George in a one-part BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Of Mice and Men in the Classic Serial strand.

Tennant will be appearing alongside former co-star Catherine Tate in the Shakespeare comedy Much Ado About Nothing at London's Wyndham's Theatre from 16 May to 3 September 2011.

Royal Shakespeare Company (2008–2009)

Despite his recent focus on television work, Tennant has described theatre work as his "default way of being". It was announced on 30 August 2007 that he would join the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), to play Hamlet (alongside Patrick Stewart) and Berowne (in Love's Labours Lost) during 2008. From August to November 2008 he appeared at the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon as Hamlet, playing that role in repertory with Berowne that October and November. Hamlet transferred to the Novello Theatre in London's West End in December 2008, but Tennant suffered a prolapsed disc during previews and was unable to perform from 8 December 2008 until 2 January 2009, during which time the role was played by his understudy Edward Bennett. He returned to his role in the production on 3 January 2009, and appeared until the run ended on 10 January.

Popularity

In December 2005, The Stage newspaper listed Tennant at No. 6 in its "Top Ten" listing of the most influential UK television artists of the year, citing his roles in Blackpool, Casanova, Secret Smile and Doctor Who. In January 2006, readers of the British gay and lesbian newspaper The Pink Paper voted Tennant the "Sexiest Man in the Universe" over David Beckham and Brad Pitt. A poll of over 10,000 women for the March 2006 issue of New Woman magazine ranked him 20th in their list of the "Top 100 Men". In October 2006, Tennant was named as "Scotland's most stylish male" in the Scottish Style Awards. He was named "Coolest Man on TV" of 2007 in a Radio Times survey. He also won the National Television Awards award for Most Popular Actor in 2006, 2007 and 2008. He was voted 16th Sexiest Man In The World by a 2008 Cosmopolitan survey.

He was ranked the 24th most influential person in the British media, in the 9 July 2007 MediaGuardian supplement of The Guardian. Tennant appeared in the paper's annual media rankings in 2006.

In December 2008 Tennant was named as one of the most influential people in show business by British theatre and entertainment magazine The Stage, making him the fifth actor to achieve a ranking in the top 20 (in a list typically dominated by producers and directors). One of the editors for The Stage said that Tennant placed highly on the list because he was "the biggest box office draw in recent memory".

The popularity of Tennant has led to impersonations of him on various social networking sites, leading the BBC to issue a statement making it clear that Tennant does not use any of these sites and any account or message purporting to be or from him is fake.

Personal life

Tennant has a brother, Blair, and a sister, Karen. His mother, Helen McDonald, died on 15 July 2007 of cancer. His father, Sandy McDonald, appeared in a cameo non-speaking role as a footman in the Doctor Who episode "The Unicorn and the Wasp". Tennant traced his family tree in an episode of BBC One's popular genealogy series Who Do You Think You Are?, broadcast on 27 September 2006. His episode explored both his Scottish ancestry and that from Northern Ireland, against the backdrop of the Troubles in the latter. Tennant's maternal great-great-grandfather, James Blair, was a prominent Ulster Unionist member of Derry City Council after the partition of Ireland. Tennant displayed discomfort after learning of his great-great-grandfather's membership in the Orange Order. The programme revealed that Archie McLeod, the husband of Nellie Blair who once played with Derry City, was Tennant's grandfather. Tennant is now a member of the club's Exiles Supporters Club.

In 2008 Tennant was voted "Greenest Star on the Planet" in an online vote held by Playhouse Disney as part of the Playing for the Planet Awards. Later that year he underwent surgery for a prolapsed disc.

Tennant is a supporter of the Labour Party and appeared in a party political broadcast for them in 2005. In 2010 he declared his support for then-UK prime minister, Gordon Brown and in April 2010 he lent his voice to a Labour Party election broadcast. He is a celebrity patron of the Association for International Cancer Research.

Tennant dated Sophia Myles in 2006.

On 4 January 2011, several news outlets reported that Tennant was engaged to actress Georgia Moffett, the daughter of Doctor Who actor Peter Davison. Tennant and Moffett have not confirmed the reports.

Filmography

Television

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9 |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="10%"| Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="20%"| Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="20%"| Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="50%"| Notes |- | 1987 || Anti-Smoking film |- | 1998 || Duck Patrol || Simon "Darwin" Brown || |- | 1999 || The Mrs Bradley Mysteries || Max Valentine || Series 2, Episode 1, "Death at the Opera". Appeared alongside Peter Davison, one of his predecessors in Doctor Who. Both would feature in a Children in Need special episode, "Time Crash" |- | 2000 || Randall & Hopkirk (Deceased) || Gordon Stylus || Series 1, Episode 1, "Drop Dead" |- | rowspan="3"|2001 || People Like Us || Rob Harker || Series 2, Episode 4, "The Actor" |- | High Stakes || Gaz Whitney || Series 2, Episode 1 "The Magic Word" |- | Only Human || Tyler || Pilot |- | rowspan="2"|2002 || Boot's Christmas Advert || Husband || |- | Foyle's War || Theo Howard || Series 1, Episode 3, "A Lesson in Murder" |- | rowspan="4"|2003 || Terri McIntyre || Greig Miller || Series 1 |- | Trust || Gavin MacEwan || Series 1, Episode 6 |- | Posh Nosh || Jose-Luis || Series 1, Episodes 3 and 8, "Paella" and "Comfort Food" |- | Spine Chillers || Dr. Krull || Series 1, Episode 1 |- | rowspan="5"|2004 || The Deputy || Christopher Williams || |- | He Knew He Was Right || Rev Gibson || |- | Traffic Warden || The Traffic Warden || |- | Old Street || Mr. Watson || |- | Blackpool || DI Carlisle || |- | rowspan="3"|2005 || The Quatermass Experiment || Dr Gordon Briscoe || |- | Casanova || Giacomo Casanova || |- | Doctor Who: A New Dimension || Narrator || |- | 2005–2010 || Doctor Who || The Doctor || |- | 2005 || Secret Smile || Brendan Block || |- | rowspan="4"|2006 || The Romantics || Jean-Jacques Rousseau || |- | The Chatterley Affair || Richard Hoggart || |- | Who Do You Think You Are? || Himself || Series 3, Episode 4 |- | What Makes Me Happy || Poetry reader || Series of short films that include poetry. Screened on Five in 2008. |- | rowspan="3"|2007 || Recovery || Alan Hamilton || |- | Comic Relief Sketch || Mr Logan/The Doctor || Appeared alongside Doctor Who co-star Catherine Tate |- | Dead Ringers || Regenerated Tony Blair || |- | 2007, 2008 || The Friday Night Project || Guest host || Series 4, Episode 1 and Series 6, Episode 2 |- | rowspan="3"|2007 || The Human Footprint || Narrator || |- | Learners || Chris || |- | Extras || Himself/The Doctor || |- | rowspan="2"|2008 || Einstein and Eddington || Sir Arthur Eddington || |- | Everest ER || Narrator || Appeared in Australia on ABC1 in January 2009 |- | rowspan="11"|2009 || Swarm: Nature's Incredible Invasions || Narrator || |- | Comic Relief 2009 || Presenter || |- | || Himself/ The Doctor || Played with John Barrowman and Tim Ingham. |- | Troubled Young Minds || Narrator || |- | The Sarah Jane Adventures || The Doctor || Series 3, episodes 5 and 6, The Wedding of Sarah Jane Smith || Panellist || Christmas Special, in which he came second |- | Never Mind the Buzzcocks || Guest Host || Series 23, Episode 12 |- | Rex Is Not Your Lawyer || Ghost of Christmas Present || Nan's Christmas Carol |- | Hamlet || Prince Hamlet || Reprising his role from the Royal Shakespeare Company production |- | rowspan="10"|2010 || Caught in the Web - A Newsround Special || Narrator || |- | Eddie Izzard: Marathon Man || Narrator || |- | My Life || Narrator || Narrated the 'Karate Kids' episode |- | Diet or My Husband Dies || Narrator || |- | Single Father || Dave Tiler || |- | Doctor Who: The Ultimate Guide || Himself || |- | Stealing Shakespeare || Narrator || |- | Ask Rhod Gilbert || Authenticator || Series 1, Episode 5 |- | Chris Moyles' Quiz Night || Himself || Has his own regular slot, "David Tennant's Celebrity Impressions" |- | Polar Bear: Spy on the Ice || Narrator || |- | 2011 || United |- | rowspan="2"| 2011 || | The Decoy Bride || James Aubrey || |- | Fright Night || Peter Vincent || |}

Radio and CD audio drama

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9 |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="10%"| Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="25%"| Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="25%"| Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="40%"| Radio Station / Production Company |- | 1996 || Paint Her Well || The Son || BBC Radio 4 |- |- | rowspan="3"|1998 || Hemlock and After || Eric Craddock || BBC Radio 4 |- | The Airmen Who Would Not Die || Captain Raymond "Hinch" Hinchliffe || BBC Radio 4 |- | The Golden Triangle || John Everett Millais || BBC Radio 4 |- | 1999 || Fire In The Heart || || BBC Radio 4 |- | rowspan="4"|2000 || Henry VI, Part 1 || Henry VI || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | Henry VI, Part 2 || Henry VI || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | Henry VI, Part 3 || Henry VI || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | The Sea || Willy Carson || BBC Radio 3 |- | rowspan="4"|2001 || Much Ado about Nothing || Benedick || BBC Radio 4 |- | Sunday Worship || Himself (Presenter) || BBC Radio 4 |- | Doctor Who: Colditz || Feldwebel Kurtz || Big Finish |- | Dr Finlay: Adventures of a Black Bag || Jackson || BBC Radio 4 |- | rowspan="2"|2002 || Dr Finlay: Further Adventures of a Black Bag || McKellor || BBC Radio 4 |- | Double Income, No Kids Yet || Daniel || BBC Radio 4 |- | rowspan="8"|2003 || Doctor Who: Sympathy For The Devil || Col. Brimmecombe-Wood || Big Finish |- | Doctor Who: Exile || Time Lord # 2/Pub Landlord || Big Finish |- | Caesar! - Peeling Figs for Julius || Caligula || BBC Radio 4 |- | Doctor Who: Scream of the Shalka || Caretaker || BBCi |- | The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents || Dangerous Beans || BBC Radio 4 |- | Pompeii || Narrator || BBC Radio 4 |- | The Rotters' Club || Bill Trotter || BBC Radio 4 |- | Strangers and Brothers || Donald Howerd || BBC Radio 4 |- | rowspan="6"|2004 || Dalek Empire III || Galanar || Big Finish |- | Doctor Who: Medicinal Purposes || Daft Jamie || Big Finish |- | Quite Ugly One Morning by Christopher Brookmyre || Narrator || Time Warner |- | The Merchant of Venice || Launcelot Gobbo || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | How to Train Your Dragon || Narrator || Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series |- | How to be a Pirate's Dragon || Narrator || Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series |- | rowspan="7"|2005 || || Col. Brimmecombe-Wood || Big Finish |- | Dixon of Dock Green || PC Andy Crawford || BBC Radio 4 |- | The Adventures of Luther Arkwright || Luther Arkwright || Big Finish |- | Macbeth || Porter || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | King Lear || Edgar || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | The Comedy of Errors || Antipholus of Syracuse || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | Romeo and Juliet || Mercutio || Arkangel Shakespeare |- | rowspan="5"|2006 || The Virgin Radio Christmas Panto || Buttons || Virgin Radio |- | The Stone Rose || Narrator || BBC Audio |- | The Resurrection Casket || Narrator|| BBC Audio |- | The Feast of the Drowned || Narrator|| BBC Audio |- | How to Speak Dragonese || Narrator || Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series |- | rowspan="2"|2007 || The Wooden Overcoat || Peter || BBC Radio 4 |- | How to Cheat a Dragon's Curse || Narrator || Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series |- | rowspan="2"|2008 || Dixon of Dock Green || Andy Crawford || BBC Radio 4 |- | Pest Control || Narrator || BBC Audio |- | rowspan="2"| 2009 || The Day of the Troll || Narrator || BBC Audio |- | How to Twist a Dragon's Tale || Narrator || Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series |- | rowspan="5"| 2010 || Of Mice and Men || George Milton || BBC Radio |- | Murder in Samarkand || Craig Murray || BBC Radio 4 |- | How to Ride a Dragon's Storm || Narrator || Part of the How to Train Your Dragon series |- | Dead Air || Narrator || BBC Audio |- | The Last Voyage || Narrator || BBC Audio |}

Theatre

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size: 90%;" border="2" cellpadding="4" background: #f9f9f9 |- bgcolor="#CCCCCC" align="center" ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="10%"| Year ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="35%"| Title ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="15%"| Role ! style="background:#B0C4DE;" width="40%"| Theatre / Notes |- | 1989 || The Ghost of Benjy O'Neil ||The Ghost ||Phantom Productions |- | 1990 ||Twelve Angry Men || ||Theatre Positive Scotland, Arches Theatre, dir Iain Reekie |- |1991 ||Mozart from A to Z||Mozart ||RSAMD |- | 1991 || The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui || || |- | 1991-2 || Shinda the Magic Ape || ||Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh |- | rowspan="4"|1992|| Jump the Life to Come |- | rowspan="2"|1994|| Long Day's Journey Into Night || Edmund || Dundee Repertory Theatre. |- | The Slab Boys Trilogy || Alan || Young Vic |- | rowspan="2"|1995 || What the Butler Saw || Nick|| Royal National Theatre |- | An Experienced Woman Gives Advice || Kenny || Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester |- | rowspan="5"|1996 || The Glass Menagerie || Tom || rowspan="2"|Dundee Repertory Theatre |- | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf || Nick |- | As You Like It || Touchstone|| rowspan="3"|Royal Shakespeare Company |- | The General From America || Hamilton |- | The Herbal Bed || Jack Lane |- | rowspan="3"|1997 || Hurly Burly || Mickey|| Old Vic/Queen's Theatre |- | Tamagotchi Heaven || Boyfriend || Did not appear on stage, only in a filmed segment |- | Blue, a monologue written by Derek Jarman || ||Moving Theatre, dir Corin Redgrave. Performed as part of a series of monologues under the name "Matters of Life and Death" at Chelsea Theatre on 16 Nov 1997. |- | rowspan="3"|1998 || The Real Inspector Hound || Moon || rowspan="2"|Comedy Theatre |- | Black Comedy || Brinsley Miller |- | For One Night Only || Performer || The Other Place. Performed as part of the Stratford-upon-Avon Fringe Festival on 19 July 1998. |- | rowspan="3"|1999 || Vassa — Scenes from Family Life || Pavel || Albery Theatre |- | Edward III || Edward, the Black Prince || Shakespeare's Globe (staged reading) |- | King Lear || Edgar || Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester |- | rowspan="4"|2000 || The Comedy of Errors || Antipholus of Syracuse || rowspan="3"|Royal Shakespeare Company |- | The Rivals || Jack |- | Romeo and Juliet || Romeo |- | Laughter in the Dark || Dawid Tenemann || The Other Place. Ran for 5 performances between 25/9 - 4/10 as part of late night performances. |- | rowspan="3"|2001 || A Midsummer Night's Dream || Lysander and Flute. || Royal Shakespeare Company at The Barbican |- | Comedians || Gethin Price || UK tour |- | Medea || Bodyguard || Royal National Theatre (staged reading 2001-2-2) |- | rowspan="2"|2002 || Push-Up || Robert|| Royal Court Theatre |- | Lobby Hero || Jeff || Donmar Warehouse/Ambassadors Theatre |- | rowspan="2"|2003 || The Pillowman || Katurian || National Theatre |- | London Concert for Peace || Performer 'Nevertheless' || Theatre Royal, Drury Lane (Charity gala, 2003-3-23) |- |2004 || The Fleer || Lord Piso|| Shakespeare's Globe (staged reading 2004-06-20, at the Globe Education Centre) |- | 2005 || Look Back in Anger || Jimmy Porter || Theatre Royal, Bath/ Royal Lyceum Theatre |- | 2006 || Look Back in Anger || Jimmy Porter || Royal Court Theatre (rehearsed reading) |- | rowspan="2"|2008 || Hamlet || Hamlet|| Royal Shakespeare Company/Novello Theatre London |- | Love's Labour's Lost || Berowne || Royal Shakespeare Company |- | 2010 || Celebrity Autobiography || Various characters || Leicester Square Theatre (guest starred in two performances) |- | 2011 || Much Ado About Nothing || Benedick || Wyndham's Theatre 2006 TV Quick and TV Choice Award, Best Actor: Doctor Who 2006 National Television Award, Best Actor: Doctor Who 2007 Welsh BAFTAs, Best Actor, Doctor Who 2007 The Constellation Awards, Best Male Performance in a 2006 Science Fiction Television Episode: Doctor Who: The Girl In The Fireplace 2007 TV Quick and TV Choice Award, Best Actor: Doctor Who 2007 National Television Awards, Most Popular Actor 2007 Glenfiddich Spirit of Scotland Award, screen award 2008 The Constellation Awards, Best Male Performance in a 2007 Science Fiction Television Episode: Doctor Who: Human Nature/The Family Of Blood 2008 TV Quick and TV Choice Award, Best Actor: Doctor Who 2008 National Television Award, Outstanding Drama Performance: Doctor Who 2009 Critics' Circle Award for Best Shakespearean Performance for his role as Hamlet. He will share the award with Sir Derek Jacobi for his performance as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. 2009 Theatregoers' Choice Awards, The AKA Theatre Event of the Year for his performance in Hamlet

2010 National Television Award, Outstanding Drama Performance: ''Doctor Who'

2010 The Constellation Awards, Best Male Performance in a 2009 Science Fiction Television Episode: Doctor Who: The Waters of Mars ;Nominations 1996 Theatre Management Association Best Actor Award: for The Glass Menagerie and An Experienced Woman Gives Advice. 2000 Ian Charleson Award (Best classical actor under 30): The Comedy of Errors. 2003 Olivier Award as Best Actor: Lobby Hero. 2006 Broadcasting Press Guild Best Actor award for Casanova, Secret Smile and Doctor Who. 2008 Best Actor in the Royal Television Society Programme Awards for Recovery and Doctor Who. 2008 Best Actor in a Drama Series for the role of the Doctor in Doctor Who at the Satellite Awards given by the International Press Academy. 2009 Broadcasting Press Guild Best Actor award for Einstein and Eddington and Doctor Who. 2009 Scottish BAFTA Acting in TV Male for Doctor Who. 2009 Standard Theatre awards, longlist, Best Actor for Hamlet. 2009 Saturn Award, Best Actor on Television, Doctor Who: The End of Time. 2010 Broadcasting Press Guild Best Actor award for Hamlet and Doctor Who.

See also

Andre Tchaikowsky#Skull

References

Further reading

Smallwood, Robert (editor) (2000). Players of Shakespeare 4: Further Essays in Shakespearean Performance by Players with the Royal Shakespeare Company, David Tennant on playing Touchstone in As You Like It, pp. 30–44. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-79416-1

Smallwood, Robert (editor) (2005). Players of Shakespeare 5: Further Essays in Shakespearean Performance by Players with the Royal Shakespeare Company, David Tennant on playing Romeo in Romeo and Juliet, pp. 113–130. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-67698-3

Goodall, Nigel (2008). David Tennant: A Life in Time and Space. London: John Blake Publishing Ltd. ISBN 1-84454-636-5

Mitchell, Molly (2009). David Tennant. London: Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 978-1-409-10469-8

External links

"David Tennant Conquers TV" - BBC News Article (16 April 2005)

Profile at the BBC website

Hamlet, (3:05:52), Great Performances, PBS, April 28, 2008 (video-only link)

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