How Every Doctor Who Got Cast

15. William Hartnell

William Hartnell had been acting for over 30 years by the time he was offered the role of the First Doctor. A role in the 1944 war movie The Way Ahead secured him a fairly consistent career playing tough men, from army generals to hard-boiled detectives and sinister crooks.

In 1957, Hartnell was cast as Sergeant Major Percy Bullimore in sitcom The Army Game, and became a household name. When The Army Game ended in 1961, Hartnell fell back into guest spots in other TV shows, and a movie role that would change his life.

Lindsay Anderson – a key figure in the British New Wave of cinema – cast Hartnell as the elderly rugby scout "Dad" Johnson in 1963's This Sporting Life. Hartnell gives an astonishing performance here, displaying a tender interest in Richard Harris' Frank which appears to go beyond rugby.

It was Hartnell's performance as Johnson that caught the attention of Doctor Who's first producer, Verity Lambert. The First Doctor was imagined as an older man, and Hartnell's ability to play tough characters with a soft centre made him perfect for the role.