He was later awarded an acting scholarship at the Leighton Rallius Studios at the John Drew Memorial Theatre on Long Island, New York, in the United States.

During the passage across the North Atlantic Ocean, the ship carrying him struck a sea mine off the coast of Britain, from which he escaped in a lifeboat as the vessel foundered.

On arrival back in England, whilst waiting to join the Armed Forces, he briefly worked with the Tonbridge Repertory Company.

[4] He was deployed on East Coast Convoy duty from February to August 1941, and then with Coastal Forces' Motor Gun Boats based at Great Yarmouth from November 1942 to 1945, operating in the North Sea and English Channel.

[6] Troughton's other notable film and television roles included Kettle in Chance of a Lifetime (1950), Sir Andrew Ffoulkes in The Scarlet Pimpernel (1955), Vickers in the episode entitled "Strange Partners" in The Invisible Man (1958, the series also featured one of his future Doctor Who co-stars, Deborah Watling, as Sally), Phineus in Jason and the Argonauts (1963),[2] Paul of Tarsus (BBC 1960, title role), Dr. Finlay's Casebook (BBC 1962, semi-regular), and Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop (1962–63).

Prior to Doctor Who he appeared in numerous TV shows, including The Count of Monte Cristo, Ivanhoe, Dial 999, Danger Man, Maigret, Compact, The Third Man, Crane, Detective, Sherlock Holmes, No Hiding Place, The Saint, Armchair Theatre, The Wednesday Play, Z-Cars, Adam Adamant Lives!

The continued survival of the show depended on audiences accepting another actor in the role, despite the bold decision that the replacement would not be a Hartnell lookalike or soundalike.

Troughton's early thoughts about how he might play the Doctor included a "tough sea captain", and a piratical figure in blackface and turban.

[16] Years later, he told another interviewer that his greatest concern was that too much publicity would limit his opportunities as a character actor after he left the role.

[17] In a rare interview with Ernest Thompson from Radio Times, Troughton revealed that he "always liked dressing up, and would have been happy as a school teacher as children keep one young".

In 1983, Troughton overcame some reluctance to reprise his role and agreed to appear in the 20th-anniversary special "The Five Doctors" at the request of series producer John Nathan-Turner.

Troughton appears as a character in the production, called An Adventure in Space and Time, portrayed by actor Reece Shearsmith.

[22] In 2014's "Robot of Sherwood", a still image of Troughton from 1953 appears among the future depictions of Robin Hood displayed by the Twelfth Doctor to the outlaw.

Film roles included Clove in Scars of Dracula (1970),[8] a bodysnatcher in Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973), Father Brennan in The Omen (1976) and Melanthius in Sinbad and the Eye of the Tiger (1977).

He also portrayed Cole Hawlings in a BBC Television dramatisation of the John Masefield children's book The Box of Delights (1984).

Troughton also appeared in the first episode of Central Independent Television's Inspector Morse, entitled "The Dead of Jericho",[8] which was originally transmitted on ITV on 6 January 1987.

[38] Although he had been warned by his doctors before leaving the United Kingdom not to exert himself because of his heart condition, he appeared to be in good spirits and participated vigorously in the day's panels,[39] and was looking forward to a belated birthday celebration which was planned for that evening, as well as screenings of all of his surviving complete Doctor Who stories, including The Dominators, which he was particularly eager to see again.

His widow, Shelagh, later scattered them beneath a newly planted tree in Bushy Park, a favourite place of Troughton's near to his family home in Teddington.