Conrad Veidt Photo

Conrad Veidt

Acting

1.1 Popularity Jan 22, 1893 (50 years old) Berlin, Germany

Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the ...

Biography

Hans Walter Conrad Veidt (22 January 1893 – 3 April 1943) was a German actor best remembered for his roles in films such as Different from the Others (1919), The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), and The Man Who Laughs (1928). After a successful career in German silent film, where he was one of the best-paid stars of Ufa, he was forced to leave Germany in 1933 with his new Jewish wife after the Nazis came to power. They settled in Britain, where he participated in a number of films, including The Thief of Bagdad (1940), before emigrating to the United States around 1941, which lead to him having a supporting role in Casablanca (1942).

From 1916 until his death, Veidt appeared in more than 100 films. One of his earliest performances was as the murderous somnambulist Cesare in director Robert Wiene's The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920), a classic of German Expressionist cinema, with Werner Krauss and Lil Dagover. His starring role in The Man Who Laughs (1928), as a disfigured circus performer whose face is cut into a permanent grin, provided the (visual) inspiration for the Batman villain the Joker, created in 1940 by Bill Finger. Veidt also starred in other silent horror films such as The Hands of Orlac (1924), another film directed by Robert Wiene, The Student of Prague (1926) and Waxworks (1924) where he played Ivan the Terrible.

Veidt also appeared in Magnus Hirschfeld's film Anders als die Andern (Different from the Others, 1919), one of the first films to sympathetically portray homosexuality, although the characters in it do not end up happily. He had a leading role in Germany's first talking picture, Das Land ohne Frauen (Land Without Women, 1929).

He moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s and made a few films, but the advent of talking pictures and his difficulty with speaking English led him to return to Germany. During this period he lent his expertise to tutoring aspiring performers, one of whom was the later American character actress Lisa Golm.

Filmography 123

2008
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad Movie

as Jaffar (archival footage)

2000
The Many Faces of Dracula Movie

as Self (archive footage)

1998
Universal Horror Movie

as (archive footage)

1974
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute Movie

as Self (archive footage)

1943
Above Suspicion Movie

as Hassert Seidel

1943
Casablanca Movie

as Major Heinrich Strasser

1942
Nazi Agent Movie

as Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner

1942
All Through the Night Movie

as Franz Ebbing

1941
The Men in Her Life Movie

as Stanislas Rosing

1941
Whistling in the Dark Movie

as Joseph Jones

1941
A Woman's Face Movie

as Torsten Barring

1940
Escape Movie

as General Kurt von Kolb

1940
Contraband Movie

as Capt. Andersen

1940
The Thief of Bagdad Movie

as Jaffar

1939
The Spy in Black Movie

as Captain Ernst Hardt

1938
The Chess Player Movie

as Le baron de Kempelen

1938
Tempête sur l'Asie Movie

as Erich Keith

1937
Dark Journey Movie

as Baron Karl Von Marwitz

1937
Under the Red Robe Movie

as Gil de Berault

Photos 5

Conrad Veidt Photo
Conrad Veidt Photo
Conrad Veidt Photo
Conrad Veidt Photo
Conrad Veidt Photo

Personal Details

Known For Acting
Gender Male
Birthday January 22, 1893 (50 years old)
Died April 03, 1943
Place of Birth Berlin, Germany
Also Known As Veidt, Hans Walter Conrad Veidt, Конрад Файдт
Years Active 1917 - 2008
Popularity 1.1
Career Stats
123 Total Credits
120 Movie Roles
5 Photos