"Often we'd secretly like to do the very things we discipline ourselves against. Isn't that true? Well, here in the movies I can be as mean, as wicked as I want to -- and all without hurting anybody. Look at that lovely girl I've just shot!"
British actor (1889-1967). He was born in
London and had worked on the stage since he was a child. He fought in
World War I and was injured in a
gas attack, costing him most of the
vision in one eye. After he moved to
America in 1914, he worked on a number of productions by the
New York Theatre Guild. He wasn't the most attractive actor, but he had a lot of
stage presence and a very
distinctive voice -- in fact, it was his
voice that won him his first role in
Hollywood. He enjoyed a colossal screen
debut in "
The Invisible Man" in 1933 -- he had
top billing, but he didn't appear
onscreen until the movie's final moments.
Though
Universal Studios tried to turn him into a
leading man, he seemed to prefer playing
character parts, which usually had the most interesting roles. Rains was very good in almost every role he played, and unlike many other
character actors, he was well-known enough to be considered a
star. He appeared in everything from action movies, like "
The Adventures of Robin Hood," "
The Sea Hawk," and "
The Lost World," to upscale
dramas, like "
Now, Voyager," "
The Greatest Story Ever Told," and "
Lawrence of Arabia," to monster movies, like "
The Wolf Man" and "
The Phantom of the Opera." He received four
Best Supporting Actor nominations, for "
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "
Casablanca," "
Mr. Skeffington," and "
Notorious."
Rains was married six times (
divorced four times,
widowed twice) and had one
daughter, Jessica, who followed him into acting. He died in
Laconia, New Hampshire, of an
intestinal hemorrhage, in 1967.
Much research from the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com)