Stroud's mother and stepfather owned and operated the popular Embers Steak House and nightclub where Ann performed nightly. In 1960, at the age of 17, he placed fourth in the Duke Kahanamoku World Surfing Championship at Makaha, Hawaii. He also earned a black belt in the Hawaiian martial art of Kajukenbo Self Defense.
Stroud co-starred with Clint Eastwood in two films, Coogan's Bluff (1968) and Joe Kidd (1972). He also appeared in several episodes of CBS's Hawaii Five-O: season 3, ep. 9 "The Late John Louisiana" and in the Barry Sullivan NBC western series The Road West.
On September 16, 1970, during a low-level sequence flying a two-seat SV4C Stampe biplane across Lake Weston, a large bird flew through the propeller’s arc, striking Garrison in the face, knocking him unconscious. The aircraft flew into five powerlines, snap rolled and plunged into the lake inverted. Garrison and Stroud were rescued some time later. Stroud was unhurt. Garrison required 60 Stitches to close a head wound.
Don Stroud starred as real-life jewel thief Jack Murphy in the movie Murph the Surf (1975). He also starred in the horror/thriller Death Weekend (1976) and had a supporting role in the cult horror film The Amityville Horror (1979), as well as the miniseries Mrs. Columbo from that same year which starred Kate Mulgrew (Stroud played Lt. Varrick).
Stroud co-starred in The Buddy Holly Story (1978) as the late musician's Drummer (in which he actually played the drums), and played a James Bond villain in the film Licence to Kill (1989). He played Captain Pat Chambers in the television series Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer and The New Mike Hammer, with Stacy Keach, with whom he co-starred in the film The Killer Inside Me (1976). He starred in four television series, notably The New Gidget (1986) where he was a natural to play the "Kahuna", Nash Bridges (1996–2001), and Pensacola: Wings of Gold (1996–2000).
His elder brother Duke, is also an actor, notably as the furious air-traffic controller in 1986's Top Gun. He made a brief appearance in the new Hawaii Five-0 on October 10, 2011. In the second season's fourth episode, entitled "Mea Makamae", which means 'Treasure' in Hawaiian, Stroud played a bartender.
Stroud co-starred in Roger Corman’s film Von Richthofen and Brown (1971). Stroud played Roy Brown opposite John Phillip Law's Baron von Richthofen. Corman used Lynn Garrison's Irish aviation facility. Garrison taught Stroud the rudiments of flying so that he could manage to take off and land the aircraft, making some of the footage more realistic.
