
Charles Laughton
Biography
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."
Filmografi
Spartacus1960 · Sempronius Gracchus
Witness for the Prosecution1957 · Sir Wilfrid
Blue Bottles1928 · Burglar
The Hunchback of Notre Dame1939 · The Hunchback Quasimodo
Mutiny on the Bounty1935 · Captaine Bligh
The Tonic1928 · Father of the Family
Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid1982 · (in "The Bribe") (archive footage)
Charmed Lives: A Family Romance2028 · Self (archive footage)
The Old Dark House1932 · Sir William Porterhouse
Advise & Consent1962 · Senator Seabright Cooley
Jamaica Inn1939 · Sir Humphrey Pengallan
I, Claudius1937 · Claudius
The Sign of the Cross1932 · Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar
Under Ten Flags1960 · Admiral Russell
The Paradine Case1947 · Judge Lord Thomas Horfield
Hobson's Choice1954 · Henry Horatio Hobson
Island of Lost Souls1932 · Dr. Moreau
Vessel of Wrath1938 · Ginger Ted
O. Henry's Full House1952 · Soapy (segment "The Cop and the Anthem")
The Clerk1933 · Phineas V. Lambert
Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau2014 · Self (archive footage)
The Big Clock1948 · Earl Janoth
Abbott and Costello Meet Captain Kidd1952 · Capt. William Kidd
The Private Life of Henry VIII1933 · Henry VIII
Elsa Lanchester
Ian Wolfe
Kenner G. Kemp
Lionel Belmore
Harry Cording
Norbert Schiller
Paul Kruger
Kay Stewart
Gil Perkins
Scott Seaton
Etienne Girardot
Tony Curtis