Conrad Veidt

Personal Info

Known For

Acting

Known Credits

121

Gender

Male

Birthday

1893-01-22

Day of death

1943-04-03 (50 years old)

Place of Birth

Berlin, Germany

Conrad Veidt

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.

Known For

  • Jew Süss

    Jew Süss

  • Napoleon

    Napoleon

  • Casablanca

    Casablanca

  • Lady Hamilton

    Lady Hamilton

  • The Japanese Woman

    The Japanese Woman

  • Schicksal

    Schicksal

  • Wilhelm Tell

    Wilhelm Tell

  • Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand

    Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand

  • Colomba

    Colomba

  • I Was a Spy

    I Was a Spy

  • The Ingmar Inheritance

    The Ingmar Inheritance

  • Künstlerlaunen

    Künstlerlaunen

  • Escape

    Escape

  • King of the Damned

    King of the Damned

  • The Mystery of Bangalore

    The Mystery of Bangalore

  • Eerie Tales

    Eerie Tales

  • Wilhelm Tell

    Wilhelm Tell

  • The Story of Dida Ibsen

    The Story of Dida Ibsen

  • The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

    The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari

  • Lucrezia Borgia

    Lucrezia Borgia

  • Rome Express

    Rome Express

  • Nocturno der Liebe

    Nocturno der Liebe

  • Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert

    Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert

  • Husbands or Lovers

    Husbands or Lovers

  • People in Ecstasy

    People in Ecstasy

  • The Chess Player

    The Chess Player

  • Paganini

    Paganini

  • Kurfürstendamm

    Kurfürstendamm

  • Bella Donna

    Bella Donna

  • The Hands of Orlac

    The Hands of Orlac

  • Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby

    Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby

  • The Thief of Bagdad

    The Thief of Bagdad

  • Danton

    Danton

  • The Last Company

    The Last Company

  • All Through the Night

    All Through the Night

  • The Man Who Laughs

    The Man Who Laughs

  • Glanz gegen Glück

    Glanz gegen Glück

  • Figures of the Night

    Figures of the Night

  • Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed!

    Laws of Love: Innocently Outlawed!

  • The Spy in Black

    The Spy in Black

  • Das Dreimäderlhaus

    Das Dreimäderlhaus

  • Nazi Agent

    Nazi Agent

  • Opium

    Opium

  • Wahnsinn

    Wahnsinn

  • A Woman's Face

    A Woman's Face

  • Above Suspicion

    Above Suspicion

  • The Other Side

    The Other Side

  • The Many Faces of Dracula

    The Many Faces of Dracula

  • The Night of the Decision

    The Night of the Decision

  • Moriturus

    Moriturus

  • Different from the Others

    Different from the Others

  • Prinz Kuckuck

    Prinz Kuckuck

  • Dark Journey

    Dark Journey

  • A Man's Past

    A Man's Past

  • The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute

    The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute

  • Waxworks

    Waxworks

  • Fear

    Fear

  • Universal Horror

    Universal Horror

  • The Movie City of Hollywood

    The Movie City of Hollywood

  • Whistling in the Dark

    Whistling in the Dark

  • Contraband

    Contraband

  • The Merry-Go-Round

    The Merry-Go-Round

  • Rasputin, Demon of the Women

    Rasputin, Demon of the Women

  • Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon

    Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon

  • The Man Who Committed the Murder

    The Man Who Committed the Murder

  • The Wandering Jew

    The Wandering Jew

  • The Great Passion

    The Great Passion

  • Journey into the Night

    Journey into the Night

  • Impetuous Youth

    Impetuous Youth

  • The Wife's Crusade

    The Wife's Crusade

  • Liebestaumel

    Liebestaumel

  • The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur

    The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur

  • Wenn Tote sprechen

    Wenn Tote sprechen

  • Diary of a Lost Woman

    Diary of a Lost Woman

  • Tempête sur l'Asie

    Tempête sur l'Asie

  • A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

    A New Romance of Celluloid: The Miracle of Sound

  • The Head of Janus

    The Head of Janus

  • The Congress Dances

    The Congress Dances

  • Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore

    Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore

  • The Last Performance

    The Last Performance

  • Prostitution II

    Prostitution II

  • Don Carlos und Elisabeth

    Don Carlos und Elisabeth

  • Die Nacht auf Goldenhall

    Die Nacht auf Goldenhall

  • The Beloved Rogue

    The Beloved Rogue

  • The Student of Prague

    The Student of Prague

  • Should We Be Silent?

    Should We Be Silent?

  • Under the Red Robe

    Under the Red Robe

  • The Film in the Film

    The Film in the Film

  • Der Spion

    Der Spion

  • Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft

    Der Leidensweg der Inge Krafft

  • Manolescu's Memoirs

    Manolescu's Memoirs

  • The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi

    The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi

  • The Only Girl

    The Only Girl

  • Das Geheimnis von Bombay

    Das Geheimnis von Bombay

  • Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad

    Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad

  • Evening – Night – Morning

    Evening – Night – Morning

  • The Love Storm

    The Love Storm

  • Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter

    Es werde Licht! 4. Teil: Sündige Mütter

  • Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer

    Desire: The Tragedy of a Dancer

  • Patience

    Patience

  • The Passing of the Third Floor Back

    The Passing of the Third Floor Back

  • The Black Hussar

    The Black Hussar

  • The Men in Her Life

    The Men in Her Life

  • The Mexican

    The Mexican

  • Two Brothers

    Two Brothers

  • Congress Dances

    Congress Dances

  • Landstraße und Großstadt

    Landstraße und Großstadt

  • The Flight in the Night

    The Flight in the Night

  • F.P.1

    F.P.1

  • Liebe macht blind

    Liebe macht blind

  • Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod

    Peer Gynt - 2. Teil: Peer Gynts Wanderjahre und Tod

  • Opfer der Gesellschaft

    Opfer der Gesellschaft

  • Das Land ohne Frauen

    Das Land ohne Frauen

  • Around the World in 80 Days

    Around the World in 80 Days

  • Die Okarina

    Die Okarina

  • Le Comte Kostia

    Le Comte Kostia

  • Not of the Woman Born

    Not of the Woman Born

  • The Count of Cagliostro

    The Count of Cagliostro

  • Prostitution

    Prostitution

  • Die Augen der Welt

    Die Augen der Welt

  • Der Weg des Todes

    Der Weg des Todes