William Hartnell
Acting
Born January 8, 1908 · Saint Pancras, London, England, UK
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.
Films (124)
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
2025
Doctor Who: The Savages
2025
Doctor Who at the Proms
2024
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
2024
Doctor Who: The Daleks in Colour
2023
Talking Doctor Who
2023
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
2021
Doctor Who: Twice Upon a Time
2017
Doctor Who: The Husbands of River Song
2015
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
2013
An Adventure in Space and Time
2013
Don't Lose Your Head: The Making of 'The Reign of Terror'
2012
Vision On
2012
The Sets of Marinus
2009
Mounting the Rescue
2009
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
2008
The Ties That Bind Us
2008
Creation of the Daleks
2006
Masters of Sound
2006
Inside the Spaceship: The Story of the TARDIS
2006
Doctor Who: Origins
2006
Future Memories: Making 'The Dalek Invasion of Earth'
2003
Remembering 'The Aztecs'
2002
What's a Carry On?
1998
Doctor Who: Resurrection of the Daleks
1984
Doctor Who: The Five Doctors
1983
Doctor Who: Mawdryn Undead
1983
Doctor Who: Earthshock
1982
That's Carry On!
1977
Doctor Who: The Brain of Morbius
1976
Doctor Who: The Three Doctors
1973
Doctor Who: Day of the Daleks
1972
Doctor Who: The Power of the Daleks
1966
Doctor Who: The Tenth Planet
1966
Doctor Who: The Smugglers
1966
Doctor Who: The War Machines
1966
Doctor Who: The Savages
1966
Doctor Who: The Gunfighters
1966
Doctor Who: The Celestial Toymaker
1966
Doctor Who: The Ark
1966
Doctor Who: The Massacre of St Bartholomew's Eve
1966
Doctor Who: The Daleks' Master Plan
1966
Doctor Who: The Myth Makers
1965
Doctor Who: Galaxy 4
1965
Doctor Who: The Time Meddler
1965
Doctor Who: The Chase
1965
Doctor Who: The Space Museum
1965
Doctor Who: The Crusade
1965
Doctor Who: The Web Planet
1965
Doctor Who: The Romans
1965
Doctor Who: The Rescue
1965
Doctor Who: The Dalek Invasion of Earth
1964
Doctor Who: Planet of Giants
1964
Doctor Who: The Reign of Terror
1964
Doctor Who: The Sensorites
1964
Doctor Who: The Aztecs
1964
Doctor Who: The Keys of Marinus
1964
Doctor Who: Marco Polo
1964
Doctor Who: The Edge of Destruction
1964
Doctor Who: The Daleks
1964
Doctor Who: An Unearthly Child
1963
The World Ten Times Over
1963
To Have and to Hold
1963
Tomorrow at Ten
1963
Heavens Above!
1963
This Sporting Life
1963
Piccadilly Third Stop
1960
And the Same to You
1960
Jackpot
1960
The Desperate Man
1959
The Night We Dropped a Clanger
1959
The Mouse That Roared
1959
Shake Hands with the Devil
1959
Strictly Confidential
1959
Carry On Sergeant
1958
On the Run
1958
Date with Disaster
1958
The Hypnotist
1957
Hell Drivers
1957
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst
1957
Tons of Trouble
1956
Private's Progress
1956
Doublecross
1956
Josephine and Men
1955
Footsteps in the Fog
1955
Will Any Gentleman...?
1953
The Holly and the Ivy
1952
The Ringer
1952
The Pickwick Papers
1952
The Magic Box
1952
The Dark Man
1951
Double Confession
1950
The Lost People
1949
Now Barabbas
1949
Escape
1948
Brighton Rock
1948
Temptation Harbour
1947
Odd Man Out
1947
Appointment with Crime
1946
A Defeated People
1946
Murder in Reverse?
1945
The Agitator
1945
Strawberry Roan
1944
The Way Ahead
1944
Headline
1943
The Dark Tower
1943
The Bells Go Down
1943
The Peterville Diamond
1943
Sabotage at Sea
1942
The Goose Steps Out
1942
They Flew Alone
1942
Suspected Person
1942
Freedom Radio
1941
They Came by Night
1940
Murder Will Out
1939
They Drive by Night
1938
Farewell Again
1937
Midnight at Madame Tussaud's
1936
The Crimson Circle
1936
Parisian Life
1936
The Guv'nor
1935
The Perfect Flaw
1934
The Lure
1933
Follow the Lady
1933