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1[[quoteright:300:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/pt.jpg]]
2[[caption-width-right:300: [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The little fellow.]] ]]
3->''"I believed totally in the possibilities implied by [[Series/DoctorWho the series]]. I never thought of it as fantasy. Far from it."''
4
5Patrick George Troughton (25 March 1920 – 28 March 1987) was an English actor, best known for playing the [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor Second Doctor]] in the TV series ''Series/DoctorWho''. He was in the [[UsefulNotes/BritsWithBattleships Royal Navy]] during the [[UsefulNotes/WorldWarII Second World War]]. He was the first actor to play the folk hero Myth/RobinHood on television.
6
7Troughton was known largely for his comedic roles before playing the Doctor, and thus decided to play the character differently from Creator/WilliamHartnell: the stern but caring grandfather was replaced by a clownish eccentric. This established a major factor to the show's popularity: the idea that regeneration not only changed the Doctor's appearance, but elements of his personality as well, allowing each actor who played the Doctor to put their own mark on the character. Hartnell fully endorsed Troughton's casting, reportedly saying that "there is [[TakeUpMySword one man in Britain]] who can take over [the role of the Doctor] and that's Patrick Troughton."
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9Troughton left the role after three years alongside co-stars Creator/FrazerHines and Creator/WendyPadbury out of fear of being [[{{Typecasting}} typecast]] and from pressure from his wife.[[note]]Hines has claimed that, had Troughton not listened to his wife, he believes we would've have the Second Doctor, Jamie and Zoe as the TARDIS team for many, ''many'' more years. It should be noted, however, that there's record of Hines wanting to leave the series around the same time (even staying a little longer to leave at the same time as Troughton, resulting in the story that was supposed to feature Jamie's departure to be abandoned).[[/note]] It would be over [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E17E18TheEndOfTime 40]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS31E1TheEleventhHour years]] until the entire cast changed at once again. He retained a life-long affiliation with the programme, returning to play the Doctor three more times in various special episodes ([[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors "The Three Doctors"]], [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]] and [[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors "The Two Doctors"]]). By extent, he is also the actor who reprised his role for televised multi-Doctor specials most often, beating runner-up Creator/JonPertwee ("The Five Doctors" and [[Recap/DoctorWho30thASDimensionsInTime "Dimensions in Time"]] ) by one story[[note]]other returning actors only appeared once; the First Doctor's appearances in "The Five Doctors" and [[Recap/DoctorWho2017CSTwiceUponATime "Twice Upon A Time"]] were respectively [[TheOtherDarrin recast]] with Richard Hurndall and Creator/DavidBradley in the part on account of Hartnell's death in 1975, two years after his spot in "The Three Doctors"[[/note]]. Creator/MattSmith, the Eleventh Doctor, cites Troughton as an inspiration for his version of the character, and it shows, right down to the outfit. Troughton advised Creator/PeterDavison to limit his time to three seasons in order to avoid being typecast as the Doctor, and the rule has since been followed by Creator/DavidTennant, Creator/MattSmith, Creator/PeterCapaldi ''and'' Creator/JodieWhittaker[[note]]most of Davison's other successors left the role ''before'' three seasons for various reasons, mostly external circumstances; Creator/SylvesterMcCoy's tenure also lasted three seasons, but he would've gotten a fourth one to formally end his run had the show not been cancelled[[/note]]. He spoke out in favour of a female incarnation of the Doctor many decades before [[Creator/JodieWhittaker the Thirteenth Doctor]] was cast.
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11He died of a heart attack at the Magnum Opus Con II Science Fiction [[FanConvention convention]] in America, after ignoring the advice of his doctors who had told him not to go. He had two daughters, four sons, and two stepchildren across two marriages and a partnership. Many of his sons and grandsons have followed in his footsteps and become actors. His son Creator/DavidTroughton has made two significant ''Doctor Who'' appearances, as King Peladon in the Third Doctor story [[Recap/DoctorWhoS9E2TheCurseOfPeladon "The Curse of Peladon"]] and as Professor Hobbes in the Tenth Doctor episode [[Recap/DoctorWhoS30E10Midnight "Midnight"]] (in addition to minor roles elsewhere throughout the series, the [[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld first]] [[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames two]] of which were during his father's tenure). His other son Creator/MichaelTroughton appeared in [[Recap/DoctorWho2014CSLastChristmas the 2014 Christmas special]], and as of 2022 is the new official Second Doctor for Big Finish's ''Doctor Who'' audio dramas. David's son, Creator/SamTroughton, is best known as Much in the 2006 [[Series/RobinHood BBC Robin Hood series]]. The son of Patrick's daughter Joanna[[note]][[BerserkButton Don't bring up her father if you meet Jo]] as she had cut off all contact with him following his messy divorce from her mother -- his first wife -- and they were never reconciled[[/note]], Creator/HarryMelling, is best known as Dudley Dursley in the [[Franchise/HarryPotter Harry Potter films]]. (Alice Troughton, who directed two episodes of ''Doctor Who'' in 2008, is '''not''' a close relative of his.)
12
13!!Works this actor has appeared in:
14
15[[AC:Films]]
16* ''Film/{{Hamlet|1948}}'' (1948) -- Player King
17%%* ''Chance Of A Lifetime'' (1950) -- Kettle
18* ''Film/{{Treasure Island|1950}}'' (1950) -- Roach
19* ''Theatre/RichardIII'' (1955) -- Tyrell
20* ''[[Film/ThePhantomOfTheOpera1962 The Phantom of the Opera]]'' (1962) -- The Rat Catcher
21* ''Film/JasonAndTheArgonauts'' (1963) -- Phineas
22* ''Film/TheGorgon'' (1964) -- Inspector Kanof
23* ''Film/ScarsOfDracula'' (1970) -- Klove
24* ''Film/FrankensteinAndTheMonsterFromHell'' (1974) -- Bodysnatcher
25* ''Film/{{The Omen|1976}}'' (1976) -- Father Brennan
26* ''Film/SinbadAndTheEyeOfTheTiger'' (1977) -- Melanthius
27
28[[AC:Live-Action TV]]
29* ''Myth/RobinHood'': 6 episodes (1953) -- Robin Hood
30%%* ''The Adventures of Literature/{{the Scarlet Pimpernel}}'' (1955-56) -- Sir Andrew Ffoulkes
31* ''Series/DangerMan'' episodes:
32** "Bury the Dead" (1960) -- "Bart" Bartello
33** "The Lonely Chair" (1960) -- Brenner
34%%* ''Paul Of Tarsus'': 10 episodes (1960) -- Saul
35%%* ''The Old Curiosity Shop'': 13 episodes (1962-63) -- Daniel Quilp
36%%* ''Doctor Finlays Casebook'':
37%%** episode "Snap Diagnosis" (1962) -- Alex Dean
38%%** 5 episodes (1964-66) -- Mr. Miller
39%%** episode "Dust" (1970) -- Jack Baird
40* ''Series/TheSaint'' episodes:
41** "The Romantic Matron" (1963) -- Police Inspector
42** "Interlude in Venice" (1966) -- Inspector Guido Gambetti
43* ''Series/ZCars'' episodes:
44** "Inside Job" (1964) -- Jack Carter
45** "Pressure of Work" (1973) -- Bob Parker
46** 2 episodes[[labelnote:show list]]"Squatters", "Eviction"[[/labelnote]] (1975) -- Councillor Barwell
47* ''Series/DoctorWho'':
48** 125 episodes / 24 stories[[labelnote:show list]]"[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E3ThePowerOfTheDaleks The Power of the Daleks]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E4TheHighlanders The Highlanders]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E5TheUnderwaterMenace The Underwater Menace]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E6TheMoonbase The Moonbase]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E7TheMacraTerror The Macra Terror]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E8TheFacelessOnes The Faceless Ones]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS4E9TheEvilOfTheDaleks The Evil of the Daleks]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E1TheTombOfTheCybermen The Tomb of the Cybermen]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E2TheAbominableSnowmen The Abominable Snowmen]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E3TheIceWarriors The Ice Warriors]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld The Enemy of the World]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E5TheWebOfFear The Web of Fear]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E6FuryFromTheDeep Fury from the Deep]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E7TheWheelInSpace The Wheel in Space]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E1TheDominators The Dominators]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E2TheMindRobber The Mind Robber]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E3TheInvasion The Invasion]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E4TheKrotons The Krotons]]". "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E5TheSeedsOfDeath The Seeds of Death]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E6TheSpacePirates The Space Pirates]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS6E7TheWarGames The War Games]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors The Three Doctors]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors The Five Doctors]]", "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS22E4TheTwoDoctors The Two Doctors]]"[[/labelnote]] (1966-69, 1972-73, 1983, 1985) -- [[Characters/DoctorWhoSecondDoctor The Second Doctor]]
49** 6-episode story "[[Recap/DoctorWhoS5E4TheEnemyOfTheWorld The Enemy of the World]]" (1967-68) -- Ramon Salamander
50* ''Series/TheSixWivesOfHenryVIII'': 5 episodes (1970) -- Duke of Norfolk
51* ''Series/{{Doomwatch}}'': episode "In the Dark" (1971) -- Lyon [=McArthur=] / Alan [=McArthur=]
52* ''Series/OnTheHouse'': 2 episodes[[labelnote:show list]]"The Secret Life of Charlie Cattermole", "Take Me to Your Leader"[[/labelnote]] (1971) -- Dr. Stanley
53* ''Series/OutOfTheUnknown'': episode "The Chopper" (1971) -- Jimmy Reed
54* ''Series/ThePersuaders'': episode "The Old, the New, and the Deadly" (1971) -- Count Marceau
55* ''Series/JasonKing'' : episode "That Isn't Me, It's Somebody Else" (1972) -- Bennett
56* ''Series/CoronationStreet'': 4 episodes (1974) -- George Barton
57* ''Series/TheSweeney'': episode "Hit and Run" (1975) -- Reg Crofts
58* ''Series/{{Survivors}}'': episode "Parasites" (1976) -- John Millen
59* ''Series/TheFeatheredSerpent'': 12 episodes (1976-78) -- Nasca
60* ''Series/{{All Creatures Great And Small|1978}}'': episode "Hair of the Dog" (1980) -- Roddy
61* ''Series/TheBoxOfDelights'': 3 episodes (1984) -- Cole Hawlings
62* ''Series/InspectorMorse'': episode "The Dead of Jericho" (1987) -- George Jackson
63
64[[AC:Radio]]
65* ''Literature/NineteenEightyFour'' (1965 radio adaptation): He played TheProtagonist Winston Smith.
66
67!!Tropes associated with this actor's work include:
68* FollowTheLeader: Creator/PeterDavison, Creator/ColinBaker, Creator/SylvesterMcCoy, Creator/DavidTennant, Creator/MattSmith and Creator/PeterCapaldi are [[LongList all]] big fans of the Second Doctor, and even Creator/TomBaker has admitted that his performance as the Fourth Doctor was partially inspired by Troughton's; the Doctor's affinity for jelly babies, while codified by Baker's Fourth Doctor, actually first began with the Second Doctor. Troughton also chose to reinvent the Doctor rather than portray him as Hartnell did, something which all subsequent actors who took the role of the Doctor have done as well.
69* MoneyDearBoy: At first, he was reluctant to take over from Creator/WilliamHartnell as the Doctor, but he had a large family and the prospect of long-term work was too good to pass up.
70* ThrowItIn: Troughton loved to improvise and improve the script on the fly. This ended up leading to a number of clashes with Creator/JonPertwee, who preferred to stick to his scripts, during the making of [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors "The Three Doctors"]], to the point where Creator/TerranceDicks intentionally limited the pair's shared screentime in [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors "The Five Doctors"]] to mitigate the possibility of this happening again.
71* TropeMaker: For TheNthDoctor. His decision to play his incarnation of the Doctor very differently from William Hartnell's (mostly out of worry that this whole "regeneration" business wouldn't work) helped to bring about the idea that a change of actor allows the Doctor to be played in a new way.
72* VitriolicBestBuds:
73** Had this dynamic with Creator/JonPertwee: While filming [[Recap/DoctorWhoS10E1TheThreeDoctors ''The Three Doctors'']] their two approaches to acting clashed (Pertwee was incredibly "by the book", Troughton enjoyed ad-libbing) and they got on each other's nerves. After that they grew to become close friends but kept bickering during public appearances as they enjoyed this effect. They were disappointed about their lack of shared screentime in [[Recap/DoctorWho20thASTheFiveDoctors the twentieth anniversary special]]. It also helped that Troughton had an interest in religious history, and Pertwee, a descendant of French Hugenots (the original family name was Pertuis) reluctantly at first, helped Troughton to get a better understanding of Hugenots history.
74** Same with Creator/ColinBaker, who Troughton called "[[Series/TheMuppetShow Miss Piggy]]" in reference to his [[BigFun weight]] in an [[https://youtu.be/cLcXvmOdwpE?t=58s interview]], yet Colin still thinks of Troughton as the definite incarnation [[https://youtu.be/13qs2mPkfpI?t=1m21s of the Doctor]].
75* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
76** Troughton could've appeared on ''Doctor Who'' much earlier; he was initially offered the role of Johnny Ringo in [[Recap/DoctorWhoS3E8TheGunfighters "The Gunfighters"]], but turned it down.
77** His initial idea for the Second Doctor would've been to dress up as a mix between a pirate and a genie in {{blackface}}, mostly to disguise his visage so that people wouldn't see him on the street and say "''that's'' the man who killed ''Doctor Who!''" The idea fell through very quickly, ultimately leading to the "mop top hobo" appearance shown on-screen. Ironically, the idea of a pirate-themed persona for the Doctor was considered by Creator/StevenMoffat for the Eleventh Doctor, before Creator/MattSmith (who watched the Second Doctor's tenure for inspiration for the role) came up with the bowtie-wearing persona his Doctor would end up adopting.
78** He was considered for the role of Dr. Hans Reinhardt in the 1979 Disney film ''Film/TheBlackHole''. Maximilian Schell was cast in the role.
79** When BBC controller Michael Grade contacted ''Series/DoctorWho'' creator Creator/SydneyNewman asking for ideas for {{retool}}ing the show, Newman came up with a scenario where Troughton would've returned to the role of the Doctor [[note]]where he would have regenerated from Colin Baker's Sixth Doctor, making Troughton the Seventh Doctor[[/note]] for Season 24 before regenerating into a woman at the end of it. However, negotiations between Newman and BBC head of drama Jonathan Powell fell apart due to CreativeDifferences, and even if they didn't, Troughton's death in March of 1987 would've nixed the idea of him returning as the Seventh Doctor. 35 years later, the overall concept itself would be RefittedForSequel with Creator/DavidTennant returning for a short stint as a new incarnation (the Fourteenth Doctor), before being replaced by Creator/NcutiGatwa at the end of a set of specials created for the show's 60th anniversary. Ironically enough, Tennant’s new incarnation is succeeding [[Creator/JodieWhittaker the first female Doctor]].
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