Continued from part one Although James Mason enjoyed some success in British cinemas in the mid-forties, he was anything but fond of the British film …
James Mason From Architect to Actor (1.)
When young James Mason began studying classical philology, who would have expected that he would one day become one of the most accomplished British character …
Louis de Funès: A Comedian on his Way to the Cinema (2.)
Continued from part one The comedian had a hard time leaving the theater stage behind: The theater had one great advantage. At every performance, a …
Louis de Funès: A Comedian is Born (1.)
He began his career not as an actor but as a pianist in various Parisian establishments: originally, de Funès was descended from Spanish immigrants who …
Omar Sharif: The Exotic Actor
Director David Lean reportedly had a hard time casting the role of Sherif Ali in Lawrence of Arabia (1962): Just before the shooting started, no …
Buster Keaton: Born on the Stage
Orson Welles once said that he was the greatest clown in the history of film: Buster Keaton is said to have disliked reading books himself, …
Charlton Heston: The Monumental Actor
No other Hollywood actor could portray biblical roles with such conviction as Charlton Heston: Heston’s role of Moses in The Ten Commandments (1956), directed by …
Kirk Douglas: A Hollywood Titan
He embodied the genre of the Western like hardly any other actor: whether in the role of Doc Holliday or a sheriff, Douglas mastered a …
Leonard Nimoy: Mind-melted with Spock
Although he became known largely through a single role, he is considered a character actor. He was trained, among others, by the acting teacher Jeff …
Christopher Lee: The Cultivated Killer (2.)
Continued from part one In the early fifties, Christopher Lee realised that he did not live up to the image of the typical British gentleman …