William Hartnell
William Henry Hartnell (8 January 1908 – 23 April 1975), also known as Billy Hartnell or Bill Hartnell, was an English actor. Hartnell played the first incarnation of the Doctor in Doctor Who, from 1963 to 1966. He was also known for his roles as Sergeant Grimshaw, the title character of the first Carry On film, Carry On Sergeant in 1958, and Company Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in the sitcom The Army Game from 1957 until 1958, and again in 1960. Hartnell entered the theatre in 1925 working under Frank Benson as a general stagehand. He appeared in numerous Shakespearian plays, including The Merchant of Venice (1926), Julius Caesar (1926), As You Like It (1926), Hamlet (1926), The Tempest (1926) and Macbeth (1926). He also appeared in She Stoops to Conquer (1926), School for Scandal (1926) and Good Morning, Bill (1927), before performing in Miss Elizabeth's Prisoner (1928). This play was written by Robert Neilson Stephens and E. Lyall Swete. It featured the actress Heather McIntyre, whom he married during the following year. His first of more than sixty film appearances was in Say It With Music (1932). Hartnell continued to play comic characters until he was cast in the robust role of Sergeant Ned Fletcher in The Way Ahead (1944). From then on his career was defined by playing mainly policemen, soldiers, and thugs. Hartnell's performance in This Sporting Life was noted by Verity Lambert, the producer who was setting up a new science-fiction television series for the BBC entitled Doctor Who; and, mainly on the strength of that performance, Lambert offered him the title role.
Carry On Sergeant
(Sergeant Grimshawe)
The Mouse That Roared
(Will Buckley)
Brighton Rock
(Dallow)
The Way Ahead
(Sgt. Ned Fletcher)
Escape
(Inspector Harris)
Double Confession
(Charlie Durham)
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
(The Doctor (voice))
Odd Man Out
(Fencie - the barman)
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
(Leading Seaman Leslie Frank)
Hell Drivers
(Cartley, Hawlett Manager)
That's Carry On!
(Sergeant Grimshawe)
This Sporting Life
('Dad' Johnson)
The Magic Box
(Recruiting Sergeant)
Private's Progress
(Sgt. Sutton)
Appointment with Crime
(Leo Martin)
Temptation Harbour
(Jim Brown)
Date with Disaster
(Tracey)
Headline
(Dell)
Murder Will Out
(Dick)
Now Barabbas
(Warder Jackson)
The Dark Tower
(Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell))
And the Same to You
(Walter 'Wally' Burton)
Piccadilly Third Stop
(Colonel)
Will Any Gentleman...?
(Detective Inspector Martin)
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
(Sgt. Bright)
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
(Stubbs)
The Perfect Flaw
(Vickers)
The Bells Go Down
(Brookes)
The Lost People
(Barnes)
Heavens Above!
(Major Fowler)
The World Ten Times Over
(Dad)
Talking Doctor Who
(Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage))
The Ringer
(Sam Hackett)
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
(The Doctor (voice))
Doublecross
(Herbert Whiteway)
The Desperate Man
(Smith)
Shake Hands with the Devil
(Sergeant Jenkins)
Strictly Confidential
To Have and to Hold
(Insp. Roberts)
The Hypnotist
(Inspector Ross)
The Agitator
(Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell))
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
(The Doctor (1) (archive footage))
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
(The Doctor)
The Crimson Circle
Follow the Lady
(Mike Martindale)
Suspected Person
(Saunders)
The Dark Man
(Superintendent of Police)
Jackpot
(Supt. Frawley)
They Flew Alone
(Scotty)
Farewell Again
(Minor Role)
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
(Dr. Who)
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
(The Doctor)
The Guv'nor
(Car Salesman)
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Rescue
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Romans
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Crusade
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Chase
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
(The Doctor/Abbot of Amboise)
Doctor Who: The Ark
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Savages
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The War Machines
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
(The Doctor)
Tons of Trouble
(Bert)
Freedom Radio
(Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited))
They Came by Night
(Undetermined Role)
Strawberry Roan
(Chris Lowe)
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
(The Doctor (1) (archive footage))
Footsteps in the Fog
(Herbert Moresby)
The Holly and the Ivy
(Company Sergeant Major)
Tomorrow at Ten
(Freddie Maddox)
The Goose Steps Out
(German Officer at Station)
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
(The Doctor (1))
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
(Dr. Who)
Doctor Who: The Daleks
(Dr. Who)
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
(The Doctor (1) (archive footage))
Murder in Reverse?
(Tom Masterick)
They Drive by Night
(Bus Conductor)
Creation of the Daleks
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Josephine and Men
(Detective Sgt. Parsons)
The Pickwick Papers
(Irate Cabman)
The Peterville Diamond
(Joseph (as Bill Hartnell))
Doctor Who: Earthshock
(The Doctor (1) (archive footage))
Sabotage at Sea
(Jacob Digby)
An Adventure in Space and Time
(The Doctor (1) (archive footage))
Masters of Sound
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
(The Doctor (archive footage))
The Sets of Marinus
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Vision On
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Don't Lose Your Head
(The Doctor (archive footage))
The Army Game
Ghost Squad
No Hiding Place
Doctor Who
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: Lost in Time
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who
(The Doctor (archive footage))
Tales of the Tardis
(The Doctor)
Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
(Self)