Acting · Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK · Born June 30, 1899
Charles Laughton (1 July 1899 – 15 December 1962) was an English-American stage and film actor, director, producer and screenwriter. Laughton was trained in London at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and first appeared professionally on the stage in 1926. In 1927, he was cast in a play with his future wife Elsa Lanchester, with whom he lived and worked until his death. He played a wide range of classical and modern parts, making an impact in Shakespeare at the Old Vic. His film career took him to Broadway and then Hollywood, but he also collaborated with Alexander Korda on notable British films of the era, including The Private Life of Henry VIII, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the title character. He portrayed everything from monsters and misfits to kings. Among Laughton's biggest film hits were The Barretts of Wimpole Street, Mutiny on the Bounty, Ruggles of Red Gap, Jamaica Inn, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, and The Big Clock. In his later career, he took up stage directing, notably in The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial, and George Bernard Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, in which he also starred. He directed one film, the thriller The Night of the Hunter. Daniel Day-Lewis cited Laughton as one of his inspirations, saying: "He was probably the greatest film actor who came from that period of time. He had something quite remarkable. His generosity as an actor, he fed himself into that work. As an actor, you cannot take your eyes off him."
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance
2028
as Self (archive footage)
MovieLost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
2014
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMonster Madness: The Golden Age of the Horror Film
2014
as Dr. Moreau (archive footage)
Movie1939: Hollywood's Greatest Year
2009
as Self (archive footage)
MovieMonster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man'
1999
as Self (archive footage)
MovieAbbott and Costello Meet Jerry Seinfeld
1994
as Self (archive footage)
MoviePreminger: Anatomy of a Filmmaker
1991
as actor 'Advise and 'Consent' (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieHollywood Scandals and Tragedies
1988
as (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieHollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage
1983
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieDead Men Don't Wear Plaid
1982
as (in "The Bribe") (archive footage)
MovieOops, Those Hollywood Bloopers!
1982
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Horror Show
1979
as (archive footage)
MovieHollywood: The Dream Factory
1972
as Self (archive footage)
MovieThe Epic That Never Was
1969
as Tiberius Claudius (archive footage)
MovieAdvise & Consent
1962
as Senator Seabright Cooley
MovieSpartacus
1960
as Sempronius Gracchus
MovieUnder Ten Flags
1960
as Admiral Russell
MovieIn the Presence of Mine Enemies
1960
as Rabbi Adam Heller
TVStartime
1959
as Self – Co-Host
MovieWitness for the Prosecution
1957
as Sir Wilfrid
The Lux Show
1957
as Self
TVThe Dinah Shore Chevy Show
1956
as Self
TVThe Steve Allen Show
1956
as Self - Guest
TVMGM Parade
1955
as Self
The Jimmy Durante Show
1954
as Self
The George Gobel Show
1954
as Self
MovieHobson's Choice
1954
as Henry Horatio Hobson
MovieYoung Bess
1953
as King Henry VIII
MovieSalome
1953
as King Herod
TVGeneral Electric Theater
1953
as Edwin Kensington
MovieAbbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd
1952
as Capt. William Kidd
MovieO. Henry's Full House
1952
as Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")
MovieThe Strange Door
1951
as Sire Alain de Maletroit
MovieThe Blue Veil
1951
as Fred K. Begley
TVThe Colgate Comedy Hour
1950
as Self
TVWhat's My Line?
1950
as Self
MovieThe Man on the Eiffel Tower
1949
as Inspector Jules Maigret
MovieThe Art Director
1949
as Self - from 'The Big Clock' (archive footage) (uncredited)
MovieThe Bribe
1949
as J.J. Bealer
MovieThe Girl from Manhattan
1948
as The Bishop
TVThe Ed Sullivan Show
1948
as Self
MovieThe Big Clock
1948
as Earl Janoth
MovieArch of Triumph
1948
as Ivon Haake
MovieOn Our Merry Way
1948
as Reverend
MovieThe Paradine Case
1947
as Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
MovieLeben des Galilei
1947
as Galileo Galilei
MovieBecause of Him
1946
as John Sheridan
MovieCaptain Kidd
1945
as Captain Kidd
MovieThe Suspect
1945
as Philip Marshall
MovieThe Canterville Ghost
1944
as Sir Simon de Canterville / The Ghost
MovieThe Man from Down Under
1943
as Jocko Wilson
MovieThis Land Is Mine
1943
as Albert Lory
MovieForever and a Day
1943
as Bellamy
MovieStand by for Action
1942
as Rear Admiral Stephen Thomas
MovieTales of Manhattan
1942
as Charles Smith
MovieThe Tuttles of Tahiti
1942
as Jonas
MovieIt Started with Eve
1941
as Jonathan Reynolds
MovieThey Knew What They Wanted
1940
as Tony Patucci
MovieCavalcade of the Academy Awards
1940
as Self
MovieThe Hunchback of Notre Dame
1939
as The Hunchback Quasimodo
MovieJamaica Inn
1939
as Sir Humphrey Pengallan
MovieSt. Martin's Lane
1938
as Charles Staggers
MovieVessel of Wrath
1938
as Ginger Ted
MovieI, Claudius
1937
as Claudius
MovieRembrandt
1936
as Rembrandt van Rijn
MovieMutiny on the Bounty
1935
as Captaine Bligh
MovieLes Misérables
1935
as Inspector Emile Javert
MovieRuggles of Red Gap
1935
as Marmaduke Ruggles
MovieThe Barretts of Wimpole Street
1934
as Edward Moulton-Barrett
MovieWhite Woman
1933
as Horace H. Prin
MovieThe Private Life of Henry VIII
1933
as Henry VIII
MovieThe Clerk
1933
as Phineas V. Lambert
MovieThe Sign of the Cross
1932
as Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
MovieIsland of Lost Souls
1932
as Dr. Moreau
MovieIf I Had a Million
1932
as Phineas V. Lambert
MoviePayment Deferred
1932
as William Marble
MovieThe Old Dark House
1932
as Sir William Porterhouse
MovieDevil and the Deep
1932
as Cmdr. Charles Sturm
MovieDown River
1931
as Captain Grossman
MovieComets
1930
as Himself
MovieWolves
1930
as Captain Job
MoviePiccadilly
1929
as A Continental Visitor
MovieBlue Bottles
1928
as Burglar
MovieDaydreams
1928
as Lecherous Boarder / Ram Das in Dream Sequence
MovieThe Tonic
1928
as Father of the Family
