William Hartnell
Age: N/A | From: Saint Pancras, London, England, UK
Person Details
Birthday:
Aliases: Billy Hartnell , Bill Hartnell , Уильям Хартнелл , William Henry Hartnell
Gender: Male
Place of birth: Saint Pancras, London, England, UK
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 100
TV Involvements: 4
Most Famous Work
Biography
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.
Most Famous Work
Doctor Who
(1963) The Doctor
Doctor Who: The Doctors Revisited
(2013) Self
Doctor Who: Lost in Time
(1965) The Doctor
Tales of the Tardis
(2023) The Doctor
Doctor Who: Wish World & The Reality War
(2025) Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited)
Doctor Who: The Day of the Doctor
(2013) The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
An Adventure in Space and Time
(2013) The Doctor (1) (archive footage)
Doctor Who: The Next Doctor
(2008) The Doctor (1) (archive footage)Acting
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Dr. Who (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| The Doctor (voice) | ||
| 2024 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | |
| The Doctor (voice) | ||
| 2023 | The Doctor (archive footage) | |
| The Doctor | ||
| Self / The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | ||
| 2021 | The Doctor (voice) | |
| 2017 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | |
| 2015 | The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited) | |
| 2013 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | |
| The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | ||
| Self | ||
| 2012 | The Doctor (archive footage) | |
| The Doctor (archive footage) | ||
| 2009 | The Doctor (archive footage) | |
| 2008 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | |
| The First Doctor (archive footage) | ||
| 2006 | The Doctor (archive footage) | |
| The Doctor (archive footage) | ||
| The Doctor (archive footage) | ||
| 2002 | The Doctor (archive footage) | |
| 1984 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) (uncredited) | |
| 1983 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | |
| The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | ||
| 1982 | The Doctor (1) (archive footage) | |
| 1977 | Sergeant Grimshawe | |
| 1976 | The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited) | |
| 1973 | The Doctor | |
| 1972 | The Doctor (1) (picture) (uncredited) | |
| 1966 | The Doctor in the mirror (uncredited) | |
| The Doctor (1) | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor / Abbot of Amboise | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| 1965 | The Doctor | |
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| 1964 | The Doctor | |
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| The Doctor | ||
| Dr. Who | ||
| Dr. Who | ||
| 1963 | The Doctor | |
| Dr. Who | ||
| Dad | ||
| Insp. Roberts | ||
| Freddie Maddox | ||
| Major Fowler | ||
| 'Dad' Johnson | ||
| 1961 | N/A | |
| 1960 | Colonel | |
| Walter 'Wally' Burton | ||
| Supt. Frawley | ||
| 1959 | Smith | |
| Sgt. Bright | ||
| N/A | ||
| Will Buckley | ||
| Sergeant Jenkins | ||
| Grimshaw | ||
| 1958 | Sergeant Grimshawe | |
| Tracey | ||
| 1957 | Inspector Ross | |
| Cartley, Hawlett Manager | ||
| N/A | ||
| Leading Seaman Leslie Frank | ||
| 1956 | Bert | |
| Sgt. Sutton | ||
| Herbert Whiteway | ||
| 1955 | Detective Sgt. Parsons | |
| Herbert Moresby | ||
| 1953 | Detective Inspector Martin | |
| 1952 | Company Sergeant Major | |
| Sam Hackett | ||
| Irate Cabman | ||
| Recruiting Sergeant | ||
| 1951 | Superintendent of Police | |
| 1950 | Charlie Durham | |
| 1949 | Barnes | |
| Warder Jackson | ||
| 1948 | Inspector Harris | |
| Dallow | ||
| 1947 | Jim Brown | |
| Fencie - the barman | ||
| 1946 | Leo Martin | |
| 1945 | Tom Masterick | |
| Peter Pettinger (as Billy Hartnell) | ||
| 1944 | Chris Lowe | |
| Sgt. Ned Fletcher | ||
| 1943 | Dell | |
| Jim Towers (as Bill Hartnell) | ||
| Brookes | ||
| Joseph (as Bill Hartnell) | ||
| 1942 | Jacob Digby | |
| German Officer at Station | ||
| Scotty | ||
| Detective Saunders | ||
| 1941 | Radio Location Aerial Operator (uncredited) | |
| 1940 | Undetermined Role | |
| 1939 | Dick | |
| 1938 | Bus Conductor | |
| 1937 | Minor Role | |
| 1936 | Stubbs | |
| N/A | ||
| N/A | ||
| 1935 | Car Salesman | |
| 1934 | Vickers | |
| 1933 | Billy | |
| Mike Martindale | ||
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
