Claude Rains
Claude Rains
Claude Rains (10 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".
Known For Acting
Most Rating 9.997
Birthday 1889-11-09
Place of Birth Clapham, London, England, UK
Also Known As William Claude Rains, کلود رینس,
Casablanca
1943

Casablanca

Notorious
1946

Notorious

Lawrence of Arabia
1962

Lawrence of Arabia

The Wolf Man
1966

The Wolf Man

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
1939

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

The Greatest Story Ever Told
1965

The Greatest Story Ever Told

The Lost World
1960

The Lost World

The Adventures of Robin Hood
1938

The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Invisible Man
1933

The Invisible Man

Where Danger Lives
1950

Where Danger Lives

Caesar and Cleopatra
1945

Caesar and Cleopatra

Angel on My Shoulder
1946

Angel on My Shoulder

Battle of the Worlds
1961

Battle of the Worlds

Deception
1946

Deception

They Made Me a Criminal
1939

They Made Me a Criminal

Now, Voyager
1942

Now, Voyager

The Sea Hawk
1940

The Sea Hawk

The Horror Show
1979

The Horror Show

Crime Without Passion
1934

Crime Without Passion

The Wolf Man
1941

The Wolf Man

The Unsuspected
1947

The Unsuspected

The Making of a Great Motion Picture
1936

The Making of a Great Motion Picture

Moontide
1942

Moontide

The Prince and the Pauper
1937

The Prince and the Pauper

Mr. Skeffington
1944

Mr. Skeffington

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
1952

The Man Who Watched Trains Go By

Forever and a Day
1943

Forever and a Day

Rope of Sand
1949

Rope of Sand

Anthony Adverse
1936

Anthony Adverse

Phantom of the Opera
1943

Phantom of the Opera

Build Thy House
1920

Build Thy House

The Clairvoyant
1935

The Clairvoyant

Here Comes Mr. Jordan
1941

Here Comes Mr. Jordan

Four Daughters
1938

Four Daughters

Passage to Marseille
1944

Passage to Marseille

They Won't Forget
1937

They Won't Forget

The Passionate Friends
1949

The Passionate Friends

Breakdowns of 1941
1941

Breakdowns of 1941

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983

Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage

Kings Row
1942

Kings Row

The Mystery of Edwin Drood
1935

The Mystery of Edwin Drood

The White Tower
1950

The White Tower

The Last Outpost
1935

The Last Outpost

Juarez
1939

Juarez

Lady with Red Hair
1940

Lady with Red Hair

White Banners
1938

White Banners

Four Wives
1939

Four Wives

Strange Holiday
1945

Strange Holiday

This Earth Is Mine
1959

This Earth Is Mine

Daughters Courageous
1939

Daughters Courageous

Four Mothers
1941

Four Mothers

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
1934

The Man Who Reclaimed His Head

The Pied Piper of Hamelin
1957

The Pied Piper of Hamelin

Saturday's Children
1940

Saturday's Children

Twilight of Honor
1963

Twilight of Honor

Hearts Divided
1936

Hearts Divided

Stolen Holiday
1937

Stolen Holiday

Sealed Cargo
1951

Sealed Cargo

This Love of Ours
1945

This Love of Ours

Gold Is Where You Find It
1938

Gold Is Where You Find It

Lisbon
1956

Lisbon

Sons of Liberty
1939

Sons of Liberty

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
2013

Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored

The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
2000

The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked

Song of Surrender
1949

Song of Surrender

Breakdowns of 1936
1936

Breakdowns of 1936

Breakdowns of 1937
1937

Breakdowns of 1937

Breakdowns of 1938
1938

Breakdowns of 1938

Blow-Ups of 1946
1946

Blow-Ups of 1946

Ingrid Bergman Remembered
1996

Ingrid Bergman Remembered

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
1988

James Stewart: A Wonderful Life

Scrooge
1935

Scrooge

On Borrowed Time
1957

On Borrowed Time

Breakdowns of 1942
1942

Breakdowns of 1942

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
2007

Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999

Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'

Judgment at Nuremberg
1959

Judgment at Nuremberg