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Claude Rains
Actor

Claude Rains

10 Nov 1889Born
30 May 1967Died
77Age at death
73Credits

Biography

Claude Rains (November 10, 1889 – May 30, 1967) was an English stage and film actor whose career spanned 47 years; he later held American citizenship. He was known for many roles in Hollywood films, among them the title role in The Invisible Man (1933), a corrupt senator in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), and Captain Renault in Casablanca (1942).

Rains was born William Claude Rains in Camberwell, London on November 10, 1889. He grew up, according to his daughter, with "a very serious cockney accent and a speech impediment".

Read the full biography

His father was British stage actor Frederick Rains, and the young Rains made his stage debut at 11 in Nell of Old Drury.

His acting talents were recognised by Sir Herbert Beerbohm Tree, founder of The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Tree paid for the elocution lessons Rains needed in order to succeed as an actor. Later, Rains taught at the institution, teaching John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier, among others.

Rains served in the First World War in the London Scottish Regiment, with fellow actors Basil Rathbone, Ronald Colman and Herbert Marshall. Rains was involved in a gas attack that left him nearly blind in one eye for the rest of his life. However, the war did aid his social advancement and, by its end, he had risen from the rank of Private to Captain.

Rains began his career in the London theatre, having a success in the title role of John Drinkwater's play Ulysses S. Grant, the follow-up to the playwright's major hit Abraham Lincoln, and traveled to Broadway in the late 1920s to act in leading roles in such plays as Shaw's The Apple Cart and in the dramatizations of The Constant Nymph, and Pearl S. Buck's novel The Good Earth, as a Chinese farmer.

Rains came relatively late to film acting and his first screen test was a failure, but his distinctive voice won him the title role in James Whale's The Invisible Man (1933) when someone accidentally overheard his screen test being played in the next room. Rains later credited director Michael Curtiz with teaching him the more understated requirements of film acting, or "what not to do in front of a camera".

Known for

Filmography

  1. 2000The Opera Ghost: A Phantom UnmaskedFilm: Erique Claudin (archive footage)
  2. 1991Halloween Monster BashFilm: Maximus (archive footage)
  3. 1979The Horror ShowFilm: (archive footage)
  4. 1965The Greatest Story Ever ToldFilm: King Herod
  5. 1963Twilight of HonorFilm: Art Harper
  6. 1962Lawrence of ArabiaFilm: Mr. Dryden
  7. 1962Sam BenedictSeries (1 episode)
  8. 1961Battle of the WorldsFilm: Professor Benson
  9. 1961Dr. KildareSeries: Edward Fredericks (1 episode)
  10. 1960The Lost WorldFilm: Prof. George Edward Challenger
  11. 1959This Earth Is MineFilm: Philippe Rambeau
  12. 1959Judgment at NurembergFilm: Judge Dan Haywood
  13. 1959RawhideSeries: Alexander Longford (1 episode)
  14. 1958Naked CitySeries: John Winfield Weston (1 episode)
  15. 1957The Pied Piper of HamelinFilm: Mayor of Hamelin
  16. 1957On Borrowed TimeFilm: Mr. Brink
  17. 1956Playhouse 90Series: Judge Dan Haywood (1 episode)
  18. 1956LisbonFilm: Aristides Mavros
  19. 1955Alfred Hitchcock PresentsSeries: John Fabian, Charles Gresham, Andrew Thurgood, Father Amion, Leonard Eldridge (1 episode)
  20. 1952The Man Who Watched Trains Go ByFilm: Kees Popinga
  21. 1951Hallmark Hall of FameSeries: Mr. Brink, The High Lama (1 episode)
  22. 1951Sealed CargoFilm: Capt. Henrik Skalder
  23. 1950Where Danger LivesFilm: Mr. Lannington
  24. 1950The White TowerFilm: Paul Delambre
  25. 1949Song of SurrenderFilm: Elisha Hunt
  26. 1949Rope of SandFilm: Arthur 'Fred' Martingale
  27. 1949The Passionate FriendsFilm: Howard Justin
  28. 1947The UnsuspectedFilm: Victor Grandison
  29. 1946DeceptionFilm: Alexander Hollenius
  30. 1946Angel on My ShoulderFilm: "Nick"
  31. 1946NotoriousFilm: Alexander Sebastian
  32. 1945Caesar and CleopatraFilm: Julius Caesar
  33. 1945This Love of OursFilm: Joseph Targel
  34. 1945Strange HolidayFilm: John Stevenson
  35. 1944Mr. SkeffingtonFilm: Job Skeffington
  36. 1944Passage to MarseilleFilm: Capt. Freycinet
  37. 1943Phantom of the OperaFilm: Erique Claudin
  38. 1943Forever and a DayFilm: Ambrose Pomfret
  39. 1943CasablancaFilm: Captain Louis Renault
  40. 1942Now, VoyagerFilm: Dr. Jaquith
  41. 1942MoontideFilm: Nutsy
  42. 1942Kings RowFilm: Alexander Tower
  43. 1941The Wolf ManFilm: Sir John Talbot
  44. 1941Here Comes Mr. JordanFilm: Mr. Jordan
  45. 1941Four MothersFilm: Adam Lemp
  46. 1940Lady with Red HairFilm: David Belasco
  47. 1940The Sea HawkFilm: Don José Alvarez de Cordoba
  48. 1940Saturday's ChildrenFilm: Mr. Henry Halevy
  49. 1939Four WivesFilm: Adam Lemp
  50. 1939Mr. Smith Goes to WashingtonFilm: Joseph Paine
  51. 1939Daughters CourageousFilm: Jim Masters
  52. 1939JuarezFilm: Emperor Louis Napoleon III
  53. 1939Sons of LibertyFilm: Haym Salomon
  54. 1939They Made Me a CriminalFilm: Det. Monty Phelan
  55. 1938Breakdowns of 1938Film: Claude Rains (archive footage) (uncredited)
  56. 1938Four DaughtersFilm: Adam Lemp
  57. 1938White BannersFilm: Paul Ward
  58. 1938The Adventures of Robin HoodFilm: Prince John
  59. 1938Gold Is Where You Find ItFilm: Colonel Ferris
  60. 1937They Won't ForgetFilm: District Attorney Andrew J. Griffin
  61. 1937The Prince and the PauperFilm: Earl of Hertford
  62. 1937Stolen HolidayFilm: Stefan Orloff
  63. 1936Anthony AdverseFilm: Marquis Don Luis
  64. 1936Hearts DividedFilm: Napoleon Bonaparte
  65. 1936The Making of a Great Motion PictureFilm
  66. 1935ScroogeFilm: Jacob Marley (voice) (uncredited)
  67. 1935The Last OutpostFilm: John Stevenson
  68. 1935The ClairvoyantFilm: Maximus
  69. 1935The Mystery of Edwin DroodFilm: John Jasper
  70. 1934The Man Who Reclaimed His HeadFilm: Paul Verin
  71. 1934Crime Without PassionFilm: Lee Gentry
  72. 1933The Invisible ManFilm: Dr. Jack Griffin
  73. 1920Build Thy HouseFilm: Clarkis

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.