David Tennant
Actor David Tennant of the series "Gracepoint" attends the 2014 TCA Summer Press Tour at the Beverly Hilton hotel in Beverly Hills, California, July 20, 2014. REUTERS/David McNew

David Tennant is a “very bad Scotsman,” he said so himself. The former “Doctor Who” appeared on the U.S. program “Late Show with David Letterman” and admitted that he has been remiss in his patriotic duty.

Just a few moments after the 43-year-old actor entered the studio, Letterman immediately quizzed him about the recent Scotland independence referendum, in which majority votes showed that the country would stay part of the United Kingdom.

Tennant, whose real name is David John McDonald, said he didn’t get to vote since he doesn’t live there anymore.

“I don’t know. If you don’t live there, I think it’s hard to say because it’s hard to really know how it feels politically, how it feels even emotionally, and I left 20 years ago so I rightfully didn’t have a say,” he told Letterman when asked how he would have voted.

He has also remained vague and safe in answering Letterman’s queries. When he was given a choice between Irish or Scottish whiskey, he chose Jack Daniel’s, referring to the American whiskey. He refused to name which people drink more, the Irish or the Scottish.

“I have blood of both nations running through me,” Tennant said.

Much later, Letterman went back to the topic of Scotland, asking Tennant if he plays golf since the ancestral home of the game is Scotland.

“No. I don’t drink whiskey, I don’t play golf, I don’t even live in Scotland. I’m a very bad Scotsman. I’m very proud to be Scottish, but very bad at it.”

He was indeed proud of talking about all things Scotland, most particularly the country’s iconic delicacy, haggis. Describing the sheep pudding, Tennant tried to sell it to Letterman, saying, “It tastes great, honestly. Give it a try, just once ... It’s a delicacy of the gods.”

The conversation also turned to “Doctor Who,” which Letterman has admitted that he has little knowledge of.

As for the current Doctor, Peter Capaldi, Tennant said, “He’s fantastic! Another Scotsman.”

Tennant was in the show to promote his new series “Gracepoint,” a U.S. remake of the British crime drama “Broadchurch.” He stars in both shows in similar lead roles with different names. In “Broadchurch,” he plays Detective Inspector Alec Hardy, while in “Gracepoint,” he is Detective Emmett Carver. Both shows investigate the murder of a boy in a small coastal town.