1889-11-09 Clapham, London, England, UK
Claude Rains (9 November 1889 – 30 May 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, perhaps his most famous performance, 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". 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".
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The Dark Universe | El hombre invisible (archivo de imagen) | 2023-03-10 |
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Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored | Self (archive footage) | 2013-01-29 |
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Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman | Self (archive footage) | 2007-05-16 |
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The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked | Erique Claudin (archive footage) | 2000-01-01 |
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Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' | Self (archive footage) | 1999-01-01 |
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Ingrid Bergman Remembered | Self (archive footage) | 1996-04-06 |
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James Stewart: A Wonderful Life | Self (archive footage) | 1987-03-13 |
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Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1983-02-25 |
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The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979-02-06 |
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The Greatest Story Ever Told | King Herod | 1965-04-09 |
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Twilight of Honor | Art Harper | 1963-11-13 |
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Lawrence of Arabia | Mr. Dryden | 1962-12-11 |
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Il pianeta degli uomini spenti | Professor Benson | 1961-10-30 |
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The Lost World | Prof. George Edward Challenger | 1960-07-13 |
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Judgment at Nuremberg | Judge Dan Haywood | 1959-04-16 |
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This Earth Is Mine | Philippe Rambeau | 1959-07-08 |
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The Pied Piper of Hamelin | Mayor of Hamelin | 1957-11-26 |
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On Borrowed Time | Mr. Brink | 1957-11-17 |
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Lisbon | Aristides Mavros | 1956-08-17 |
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The Man Who Watched Trains Go By | Kees Popinga | 1952-12-01 |
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Sealed Cargo | Capt. Henrik Skalder | 1951-05-19 |
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The White Tower | Paul Delambre | 1950-06-24 |
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Where Danger Lives | Mr. Lannington | 1950-11-16 |
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Song of Surrender | Elisha Hunt | 1949-10-27 |
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Rope of Sand | Arthur 'Fred' Martingale | 1949-08-03 |
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The Passionate Friends | Howard Justin | 1949-01-26 |
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The Unsuspected | Victor Grandison | 1947-10-11 |
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Blow-Ups of 1946 | Self | 1946-12-31 |
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Deception | Alexander Hollenius | 1946-10-26 |
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Notorious | Alexander Sebastian | 1946-08-21 |
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Angel on My Shoulder | "Nick" | 1946-09-20 |
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Caesar and Cleopatra | Julius Caesar | 1945-12-11 |
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This Love of Ours | Joseph Targel | 1945-11-02 |
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Strange Holiday | John Stevenson | 1945-10-19 |
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Passage to Marseille | Captain Freycinet | 1944-03-11 |
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Mr. Skeffington | Job Skeffington | 1944-05-25 |
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Phantom of the Opera | Erique Claudin | 1943-08-12 |
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Casablanca | Captain Louis Renault | 1943-01-15 |
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Forever and a Day | Ambrose Pomfret | 1943-01-21 |
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Breakdowns of 1942 | Self | 1942-12-31 |
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Kings Row | Alexander Tower | 1942-02-02 |
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Now, Voyager | Dr. Jaquith | 1942-10-22 |
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Moontide | Nutsy | 1942-05-29 |
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The Wolf Man | Sir John Talbot | 1941-12-12 |
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Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Mr. Jordan | 1941-08-07 |
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Breakdowns of 1941 | Self (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1941-11-14 |
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Four Mothers | Adam Lemp | 1941-01-04 |
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Lady with Red Hair | David Belasco | 1940-11-30 |
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The Sea Hawk | Don José Alvarez de Cordoba | 1940-08-10 |
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Saturday's Children | Mr. Henry Halevy | 1940-05-04 |
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Daughters Courageous | Jim Masters | 1939-06-23 |
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Juarez | Emperor Louis Napoleon III | 1939-06-10 |
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Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Joseph Paine | 1939-10-19 |
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Sons of Liberty | Haym Salomon | 1939-05-20 |
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They Made Me a Criminal | Det. Monty Phelan | 1939-01-21 |
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Four Wives | Adam Lemp | 1939-12-22 |
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Breakdowns of 1938 | Claude Rains (archive footage) (uncredited) | 1938-12-31 |
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The Adventures of Robin Hood | Prince John | 1938-05-13 |
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Gold Is Where You Find It | Colonel Ferris | 1938-02-12 |
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Four Daughters | Adam Lemp | 1938-08-09 |
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White Banners | Paul Ward | 1938-06-23 |
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Breakdowns of 1937 | Self | 1937-12-31 |
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The Prince and the Pauper | Earl of Hertford | 1937-04-30 |
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Stolen Holiday | Stefan Orloff | 1937-02-06 |
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They Won't Forget | District Attorney Andrew J. Griffin | 1937-07-14 |
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Hearts Divided | Napoleon Bonaparte | 1936-06-20 |
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The Making of a Great Motion Picture | 1936-04-15 | |
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Anthony Adverse | Marquis Don Luis | 1936-08-26 |
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Breakdowns of 1936 | Self | 1936-12-30 |
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The Mystery of Edwin Drood | John Jasper | 1935-02-04 |
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The Last Outpost | John Stevenson | 1935-10-11 |
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The Clairvoyant | Maximus | 1935-06-07 |
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Scrooge | Jacob Marley (voice) (uncredited) | 1935-11-26 |
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Crime Without Passion | Lee Gentry | 1934-08-30 |
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The Man Who Reclaimed His Head | Paul Verin | 1934-12-24 |
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The Invisible Man | Dr. Jack Griffin | 1933-11-03 |
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Build Thy House | Clarkis | 1920-10-01 |
