Claude Rains

British actor (1889–1967)

Person · Open Library

Born: 1889
Died: 1967
Works: 2

Top works

The invisible man
Night of the auk

via Open Library + Wikidata

Film & TV

Acting · Clapham, London, England, UK

Claude Rains 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…

Known for

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
Halloween Monster Bash — Maximus (archive footage)

Article

William Claude Rains (10 November 1889 – 30 May 1967) was a British and American character actor whose career spanned almost seven decades. He was the recipient of numerous accolades, including four Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actor, and is considered one of the screen's great character stars who played cultured villains during the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The son of a stage actor, Rains began acting onstage in his native London in the 1900s. He became a leading thespian on the West End, and an acting teacher at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. He moved to the United States in the late 1920s and became a successful Broadway star, before making his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933). He went on to play prominent roles in such big-screen productions as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca (1942), Kings Row (1942), Phantom of the Opera (1943) and Notorious (1946).