Sci-Fi Storm

This will be a trivia question that will trip even some experts up: What science fiction series did David Tennant receive an Emmy nomination for?

Doctor Who‘s 10th Doctor, David Tennant, who will return to that role in the upcoming 50th Anniversary special episode, is now an Emmy nominee – but not for his well known role, or probably one that you’d expect at all…but for a guest stint he did on the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars!

Tennant twice voiced the role of Huyang, a droid who is also a master lightsaber builder – in fact, he seems something of a cross between a droid and Ollivander from the Harry Potter franchise, where he guides some young padawans on the art of constructing a lightsaber.

Sam Witwer, currently starring in Syfy’s Being Human, also received a nomination for his voicing of the revived Darth Maul. When we talked to Sam last December, he said of playing in the Star Wars universe:

“It’s every bit as cool as you’d think – it turns you into a bigger fan that you were before. I was already a huge Star Wars fan, and really knew my stuff, but just sort of working for these guys…it can be all consuming. It’s really, really fun. I dreamed of working on a Star Wars project since I was a kid. So to actually contribute to that mythology in my own small way is a tremendous privilege and an honor, and a great responsibility as well, because you don’t want to get it wrong. It’s a wonderful mythology. The Clone Wars have gotten so good at telling stories in that world, it’s fascinating. It’s really fascinating. Especially to be Darth Maul, to bring this really, really dark element to the show is challenging, to keep it within the confines of Star Wars, but at the same time make it psychologically messed up, interesting like that. And I’ll tell you, if people think they’ve seen dark, they haven’t yet. It gets horrifically dark in upcoming episodes this season. People will see why the first several episodes of this season, that there are lighter episodes, because they are trying to balance out some very, very dramatic stuff that happens when the dark comes.”

In addition to Tennant and Witwer being up for the Emmy for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program, Jim Cummings also received a nomination for his role of Hondo Ohnaka.

Clone Wars also received nominations for Outstanding Directing in an Animated Program (Supervising Director Dave Filoni and Kyle Dunlevy, Brian Kalin O’Connell, Steward Lee,and Bosco Ng), Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Animation (David Acord and Cameron Davis), Outstanding Achievement in Music Direction and Composition (Kevin Kiner) and Outstanding Special Class Animated Program.

As an animated program, Star Wars: The Clone Wars is part of the Daytime Emmy Awards, which will be presented June 16th.