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