Acting
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.
Filmography
Doctor Who: The Savages
Film · 2025
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
Film · 2025
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
Film · 2024
Doctor Who at the Proms
Film · 2024
Talking Doctor Who
Film · 2023
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
Film · 2023
Tales of the Tardis
Series · 2023
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Film · 2021
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Series · 2021
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
Film · 2017
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
Film · 2015
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
Film · 2013
An Adventure in Space and Time
Film · 2013
Doctor Who at the Proms
Film · 2013
Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
Series · 2013
Vision On
Film · 2012
Don't Lose Your Head: The Making of 'The Reign of Terror'
Film · 2012
The Sets of Marinus
Film · 2009
Mounting the Rescue
Film · 2009
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
Film · 2008
The Ties That Bind Us
Film · 2008
Creation of the Daleks
Film · 2006
Masters of Sound
Film · 2006
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
Film · 2006
Doctor Who: Origins
Film · 2006
Future Memories: Making 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'
Film · 2003
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
Film · 2002
What's a Carry On?
Film · 1998
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
Film · 1984
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
Film · 1983
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
Film · 1983
Doctor Who: Earthshock
Film · 1982
That's Carry On!
Film · 1977
Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius
Film · 1976
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
Film · 1973
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
Film · 1972
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Ark
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Savages
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The War Machines
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
Film · 1966
Doctor Who: The Rescue
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Romans
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Crusade
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Chase
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
Film · 1965
Doctor Who: Lost in Time
Series · 1965
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
Film · 1964
Doctor Who: The Daleks
Film · 1964
This Sporting Life
Film · 1963
Heavens Above!
Film · 1963
The World Ten Times Over
Film · 1963
To Have and to Hold
Film · 1963
Tomorrow at Ten
Film · 1963
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
Film · 1963
Doctor Who
Series · 1963
Ghost Squad
Series · 1961
And the Same to You
Film · 1960
Piccadilly Third Stop
Film · 1960
Jackpot
Film · 1960
The Mouse That Roared
Film · 1959
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
Film · 1959
The Desperate Man
Film · 1959
Shake Hands with the Devil
Film · 1959
Strictly Confidential
Film · 1959
No Hiding Place
Series · 1959
Carry On Sergeant
Film · 1958
Date with Disaster
Film · 1958
On the Run
Film · 1958
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
Film · 1957
Hell Drivers
Film · 1957
The Hypnotist
Film · 1957
The Army Game
Series · 1957
Private's Progress
Film · 1956
Doublecross
Film · 1956
Tons of Trouble
Film · 1956
Footsteps in the Fog
Film · 1955
Josephine and Men
Film · 1955
Will Any Gentleman...?
Film · 1953
The Magic Box
Film · 1952
The Ringer
Film · 1952
The Holly and the Ivy
Film · 1952
The Pickwick Papers
Film · 1952
The Dark Man
Film · 1951
Double Confession
Film · 1950
Now Barabbas
Film · 1949
The Lost People
Film · 1949
Brighton Rock
Film · 1948
Escape
Film · 1948
Odd Man Out
Film · 1947
Temptation Harbour
Film · 1947
Appointment with Crime
Film · 1946
A Defeated People
Film · 1946
The Agitator
Film · 1945
Murder in Reverse
Film · 1945
The Way Ahead
Film · 1944
Strawberry Roan
Film · 1944
Headline
Film · 1943
The Dark Tower
Film · 1943
The Bells Go Down
Film · 1943
The Peterville Diamond
Film · 1943
Suspected Person
Film · 1942
They Flew Alone
Film · 1942
The Goose Steps Out
Film · 1942
Sabotage at Sea
Film · 1942
Freedom Radio
Film · 1941
They Came by Night
Film · 1940
Murder Will Out
Film · 1939
They Drive by Night
Film · 1938
Farewell Again
Film · 1937
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
Film · 1936
The Crimson Circle
Film · 1936
Parisian Life
Film · 1936
The Guv'nor
Film · 1935
The Perfect Flaw
Film · 1934
Follow the Lady
Film · 1933
The Lure
Film · 1933