Conrad Veidt
Acting
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.
Known for
Acting121
movieVito
2011
Self (archive)
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
2008
Jaffar (archival footage)
movieThe Many Faces of Dracula
2000
Self (archive footage)
movieUniversal Horror
1998
(archive footage)
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
1974
Self (archive footage)
movieAbove Suspicion
1943
Hassert Seidel
movieCasablanca
1943
Major Heinrich Strasser
movieNazi Agent
1942
Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner
movieAll Through the Night
1942
Franz Ebbing
movieThe Men in Her Life
1941
Stanislas Rosing
movieWhistling in the Dark
1941
Joseph Jones
movieA Woman's Face
1941
Torsten Barring
movieEscape
1940
General Kurt von Kolb
movieContraband
1940
Capt. Andersen
movieThe Spy in Black
1939
Captain Ernst Hardt
movieThe Chess Player
1938
Le baron de Kempelen
movieTempête sur l'Asie
1938
Erich Keith
movieDark Journey
1937
Baron Karl Von Marwitz
movieUnder the Red Robe
1937
Gil de Berault
movieKing of the Damned
1935
Convict 83
movieThe Passing of the Third Floor Back
1935
The Stranger
movieBella Donna
1934
Mahmoud Baroudi
movieJew Süss
1934
Josef 'Jew Süss' Oppenheimer
movieThe Wandering Jew
1933
Matathias / The Unknown Knight / Dr Matteos Battadios
movieI Was a Spy
1933
Commandant Oberaertz
movieF.P.1
1933
Maj. Ellissen
movieThe Only Girl
1933
Marquis de Pontignac
movieThe Black Hussar
1932
Captain Hansgeorg von Hochberg
movieRasputin, Demon of the Women
1932
Grigori Rasputin
movieThe Other Side
1931
Hauptmann Stanhope
movieCongress Dances
1931
Fürst Metternich
movieThe Night of the Decision
1931
General Gregori Platoff
movieThe Man Who Committed the Murder
1931
Oberst Marquis de Sévigné
movieThe Love Storm
1930
Kingsley
movieThe Great Passion
1930
Himself
movieThe Last Company
1930
Hauptmann Burk
movieThe Last Performance
1929
Erik the Great
movieDas Land ohne Frauen
1929
Dick Ashton
movieThe Man Who Laughs
1928
Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie
movieA Man's Past
1927
Paul La Roche
movieThe Beloved Rogue
1927
King Louis XI
movieNapoleon
1927
Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade
movieThe Flight in the Night
1926
Count di Nolli, Heinrich IV
movieThe Student of Prague
1926
Balduin, Student
movieShould We Be Silent?
1926
Paul Hartwig, Maler
Two Brothers
1926
Wenzel Schellenberg / Michael Schellenberg
movieImpetuous Youth
1926
Renées Vater
movieThe Wife's Crusade
1926
Der Staatsanwalt
movieLe Comte Kostia
1925
Comte Kostia
movieHusbands or Lovers
1924
Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter
movieWaxworks
1924
Ivan the Terrible
movieThe Hands of Orlac
1924
Paul Orlac
movieDon Carlos und Elisabeth
1924
Don Carlos
movieWilhelm Tell
1923
Hermann Gessler
moviePaganini
1923
Niccolo Paganini
movieLucrezia Borgia
1922
Cesare Borgia
movieThe Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur
1921
Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
movieThe Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi
1921
Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
movieLady Hamilton
1921
Lord Nelson
movieDanton
1921
Minor Role (rumored)
movieLandstraße und Großstadt
1921
Raphael, der Geiger
movieChristian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon
1921
Christian Wahnschaffe
movieDie Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore
1921
Hektor Dalmore
movieJourney into the Night
1921
Der Maler
moviePeople in Ecstasy
1921
Professor Munk
movieThe Count of Cagliostro
1920
Minister
movieChristian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand
1920
Christian Wahnschaffe
movieEvening – Night – Morning
1920
Brilburn - Maud's brother
movieMoriturus
1920
Wilmos, sanatorium director
movieThe Head of Janus
1920
Dr. Warren
Die Augen der Welt
1920
Johannes Kay
Patience
1920
Sir Percy Parker
movieThe Merry-Go-Round
1920
Petre Karvan
movieFigures of the Night
1920
The clown
movieEerie Tales
1919
Der Tod / Various Other Roles
Wahnsinn
1919
Bankier Lorenzen
moviePrinz Kuckuck
1919
Carl Kraker
movieProstitution II
1919
Alfred Werner
movieDifferent from the Others
1919
Paul Körner
movieAround the World in 80 Days
1919
Phineas Fogg
movieProstitution
1919
Alfred Werner
movieOpium
1919
Dr. Richard Armstrong Jr.
Nocturno der Liebe
1919
Frederic Chopin
The Mexican
1919
Dr. von Dossen
movieJettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby
1918
Doktor Köstling
movieThe Story of Dida Ibsen
1918
Erik Norrensen
movieColomba
1918
Henryk von Rhyn
movieJettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert
1918
Doktor Köstling
movieDiary of a Lost Woman
1918
Dr. Julius
movieDas Dreimäderlhaus
1918
Schober
movieFear
1917
Indian Priest
Der Spion
1917
Steinau
movieWenn Tote sprechen
1917
Richard von Worth
