Claude Rains
Born
November 9, 1889
Died
May 30, 1967 (77 years old)
Known For
Acting
Place of Birth
Clapham, London, England, UK
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
The dark Universe
El hombre invisible (archivo de imagen)
2023
Classic Movie Bloopers: Uncensored
Self (archive footage)
2013
Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman
Self (archive footage)
2007
The Opera Ghost: A Phantom Unmasked
Erique Claudin (archive footage)
2000
Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
Self (archive footage)
1999
Ingrid Bergman Remembered
Self (archive footage)
1996
Svengoolie
Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man · (1 episode)
1995
James Stewart: A Wonderful Life
Self (archive footage)
1987
Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
The Horror Show
(archive footage)
1979
The Greatest Story Ever Told
King Herod
1965
Twilight of Honor
Art Harper
1963
Lawrence of Arabia
Mr. Dryden
1962
Sam Benedict
(1 episode)
1962
Battle of the Worlds
Professor Benson
1961
Dr. Kildare
Edward Fredericks · (1 episode)
1961
The Lost World
Prof. George Edward Challenger
1960
This Earth Is Mine
Philippe Rambeau
1959
Judgment at Nuremberg
Judge Dan Haywood
1959
Rawhide
Alexander Longford · (1 episode)
1959
Naked City
John Winfield Weston · (1 episode)
1958
The Pied Piper of Hamelin
Mayor of Hamelin
1957
On Borrowed Time
Mr. Brink
1957
Playhouse 90
Judge Dan Haywood · (1 episode)
1956
Lisbon
Aristides Mavros
1956
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
John Fabian · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Charles Gresham · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Andrew Thurgood · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Father Amion · (1 episode)
1955
Alfred Hitchcock Presents
Leonard Eldridge · (1 episode)
1955
The Man Who Watched Trains Go By
Kees Popinga
1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Mr. Brink · (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
The High Lama · (1 episode)
1951
Sealed Cargo
Capt. Henrik Skalder
1951
Where Danger Lives
Frederick Lannington
1950
The White Tower
Paul Delambre
1950
Song of Surrender
Elisha Hunt
1949
Rope of Sand
Arthur 'Fred' Martingale
1949
The Passionate Friends
Howard Justin
1949
The Ed Sullivan Show
Self · (1 episode)
1948
The Unsuspected
Victor Grandison
1947
Blow-Ups of 1946
Self
1946
Deception
Alexander Hollenius
1946
Angel on My Shoulder
Nick
1946
Notorious
Alexander Sebastian
1946
Caesar and Cleopatra
Julius Caesar
1945
This Love of Ours
Joseph Targel
1945
Strange Holiday
John Stevenson
1945
Mr. Skeffington
Job Skeffington
1944
Passage to Marseille
Captain Freycinet
1944
Phantom of the Opera
Erique Claudin
1943
Forever and a Day
Ambrose Pomfret
1943
Casablanca
Captain Louis Renault
1943
Breakdowns of 1942
Self
1942
Now, Voyager
Dr. Jaquith
1942
Moontide
Nutsy
1942
Kings Row
Alexander Tower
1942
The Wolf Man
Sir John Talbot
1941
Breakdowns of 1941
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1941
Here Comes Mr. Jordan
Mr. Jordan
1941
Four Mothers
Adam Lemp
1941
Lady with Red Hair
David Belasco
1940
The Sea Hawk
Don José Alvarez de Cordoba
1940
Saturday's Children
Mr. Henry Halevy
1940
Four Wives
Adam Lemp
1939
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
Joseph Paine
1939
Daughters Courageous
Jim Masters
1939
Juarez
Emperor Louis Napoleon III
1939
Sons of Liberty
Haym Salomon
1939
They Made Me a Criminal
Det. Monty Phelan
1939
Breakdowns of 1938
Claude Rains (archive footage) (uncredited)
1938
Four Daughters
Adam Lemp
1938
White Banners
Paul Ward
1938
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Prince John
1938
Gold Is Where You Find It
Colonel Ferris
1938
Breakdowns of 1937
Self
1937
They Won't Forget
District Attorney Andrew J. Griffin
1937
The Prince and the Pauper
Earl of Hertford
1937
Stolen Holiday
Stefan Orloff
1937
Breakdowns of 1936
Self
1936
Anthony Adverse
Marquis Don Luis
1936
Hearts Divided
Napoleon Bonaparte
1936
The Making of a Great Motion Picture
1936
Scrooge
Jacob Marley (voice) (uncredited)
1935
The Last Outpost
John Stevenson
1935
The Clairvoyant
Maximus
1935
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
John Jasper
1935
The Man Who Reclaimed His Head
Paul Verin
1934
Crime Without Passion
Lee Gentry
1934
The Invisible Man
Dr. Jack Griffin
1933
Build Thy House
Clarkis
1920