Acting
Conrad Veidt
EN, FR, DE, SV cinema · 121 credits
Born
22 January 1893
Died
3 April 1943 (aged 50)
Birthplace
Berlin, Germany
Also known as Hans Walter Conrad Veidt
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
Filmography
Vito
as Self (archive footage)
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
2008
Visual Effects: The Thief of Bagdad
as Jaffar (archival footage)
The Many Faces of Dracula
as Self (archive footage)
Universal Horror
as (archive footage)
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
1974
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
as Self (archive footage)
Casablanca
as Major Heinrich Strasser
Above Suspicion
as Hassert Seidel
All Through the Night
as Franz Ebbing
Nazi Agent
as Otto Becker / Baron Hugo von Detner
A Woman's Face
as Torsten Barring
Whistling in the Dark
as Joseph Jones
The Men in Her Life
as Stanislas Rosing
The Thief of Bagdad
as Jaffar
Contraband
as Capt. Andersen
Escape
as General Kurt von Kolb
The Spy in Black
as Captain Ernst Hardt
The Chess Player
as Le baron de Kempelen
Tempête sur l'Asie
as Erich Keith
Dark Journey
as Baron Karl Von Marwitz
Under the Red Robe
as Gil de Berault
The Passing of the Third Floor Back
as The Stranger
King of the Damned
as Convict 83
Jew Süss
as Josef 'Jew Süss' Oppenheimer
Wilhelm Tell
1934
William Tell
as Gessler
Bella Donna
as Mahmoud Baroudi
The Wandering Jew
as Matathias / The Unknown Knight / Dr Matteos Battadios
I Was a Spy
as Commandant Oberaertz
The Only Girl
as Marquis de Pontignac
F.P.1
as Maj. Ellissen
Rome Express
as Zurta
The Black Hussar
as Captain Hansgeorg von Hochberg
Rasputin, Demon of the Women
as Grigori Rasputin
The Night of the Decision
as General Gregori Platoff
Congress Dances
as Fürst Metternich
The Man Who Committed the Murder
as Oberst Marquis de Sévigné
The Other Side
as Hauptmann Stanhope
The Love Storm
as Kingsley
The Great Desire
as Himself
The Last Company
as Hauptmann Burk
The Last Performance
as Erik the Great
Das Land ohne Frauen
as Dick Ashton
The Man Who Laughs
as Gwynplaine / Lord Clancharlie
The Beloved Rogue
as King Louis XI
Napoleon
as Donatien Alphonse François, Marquis de Sade
A Man's Past
as Paul La Roche
The Student of Prague
as Balduin, Student
The Flight in the Night
as Count di Nolli, Heinrich IV
Should We Be Silent?
as Paul Hartwig, Maler
The Wife's Crusade
as Der Staatsanwalt
Die Brüder Schellenberg
1926
Two Brothers
as Wenzel Schellenberg / Michael Schellenberg
Impetuous Youth
as Renées Vater
The Ingmar Inheritance
as Hellgum
Le Comte Kostia
as Comte Kostia
The Hands of Orlac
as Paul Orlac
Waxworks
as Ivan the Terrible
Husbands or Lovers
as Der Liebhaber, ein Dichter
Don Carlos und Elisabeth
as Don Carlos
William Tell
as Hermann Gessler
Paganini
as Niccolo Paganini
Lucrezia Borgia
as Cesare Borgia
The Indian Tomb, Part I: The Mission of the Yoghi
as Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
The Indian Tomb, Part II: The Tiger of Eschnapur
as Ayan, Majarajah of Eschnapur
Journey into the Night
as Der Maler
People in Ecstasy
as Professor Munk
Landstraße und Großstadt
as Raphael, der Geiger
Lady Hamilton
as Lord Nelson
Christian Wahnschaffe II: Escape from the Golden Dungeon
as Christian Wahnschaffe
Liebestaumel
1921
Liebestaumel
as Jalenko
Die Liebschaften des Hektor Dalmore
as Hektor Dalmore
Danton
as Minor Role (rumored)
The Head of Janus
as Dr. Warren
Die Karten des Todes
1920
Patience
as Sir Percy Parker
The Merry-Go-Round
as Petre Karvan
Figures of the Night
as The clown
Kurfürstendamm
1920
Kurfürstendamm
as The devil
Christian Wahnschaffe I: Weltbrand
as Christian Wahnschaffe
The Count of Cagliostro
as Minister
Moriturus
as Wilmos, sanatorium director
Evening – Night – Morning
as Brilburn - Maud's brother
Die Augen der Welt
1920
The Eyes of the World
as Johannes Kay
Die Nacht auf Goldenhall
1920
Die Nacht auf Goldenhall
Actor, Director, Producer
Wahnsinn
1919
Wahnsinn
as Bankier Lorenzen, Director
Eerie Tales
as Der Tod / Various Other Roles
Different from the Others
as Paul Körner
Prostitution
as Alfred Werner
Nocturno der Liebe
1919
Nocturno der Liebe
as Frederic Chopin
Die Mexikanerin
1919
The Mexican
as Dr. von Dossen
Prostitution II
as Alfred Werner
Around the World in 80 Days
as Phineas Fogg
Opium
as Dr. Richard Armstrong Jr.
Prinz Kuckuck
as Carl Kraker
Diary of a Lost Woman
as Dr. Julius
The Story of Dida Ibsen
as Erik Norrensen
Colomba
as Henryk von Rhyn
Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 1. Jettchen Gebert
as Doktor Köstling
Jettchen Geberts Geschichte. 2. Henriette Jacoby
as Doktor Köstling
Das Dreimäderlhaus
as Schober
Wenn Tote sprechen
as Richard von Worth
Fear
as Indian Priest
Der Spion
1917
Der Spion
as Steinau
