Discover
William Claude Rains was a British-American film and stage actor whose career spanned six decades. After his American film debut as Dr. Jack Griffin in The Invisible Man (1933) he appeared in classic films such as The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Wolf Man (1941), Casablanca and Kings Row, Notorious (1946), The Pied Piper of Hamelin (1957), and Lawrence of Arabia (1962).
Birth Name
William Claude Rains
Born
Sunday, 10 November 1889
Died
Tuesday, 30 May 1967
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock | Self | 2023 |
| The Movies | Self | 2019 |
| Sunset Over Mulholland Drive | Captain Louis Renault | 2019 |
| Highland Park | Senator Paine | 2013 |
| Elementary | The Invisible Man | 2012 |
| Hollywood contra Franco | Captain Louis Renault | 2009 |
| Cinemassacre's Monster Madness | Sir John Talbot / Dr. Jack Griffin / The Invisible Man | 2007 |
| Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman | Self (archive footage) | 2007 |
| Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' | (archive footage) / Archive Footage | 1999 |
| Universal Horror | (archive footage) | 1998 |
Actor Filmography
| Title | Character | Year |
|---|
| My Name Is Alfred Hitchcock | Self | 2023 |
| The Movies | Self | 2019 |
| Sunset Over Mulholland Drive | Captain Louis Renault | 2019 |
| Highland Park | Senator Paine | 2013 |
| Elementary | The Invisible Man | 2012 |
| Hollywood contra Franco | Captain Louis Renault | 2009 |
| Cinemassacre's Monster Madness | Sir John Talbot / Dr. Jack Griffin / The Invisible Man | 2007 |
| Famous Monster: Forrest J Ackerman | Self (archive footage) | 2007 |
| Monster by Moonlight! The Immortal Saga of 'The Wolf Man' | (archive footage) / Archive Footage | 1999 |
| Universal Horror | (archive footage) | 1998 |
| Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American Dream | Self | 1998 |
| Ingrid Bergman Remembered | Alexander Sebastian (clip from Notorious (1946)) / Self (archive footage) | 1996 |
| E! True Hollywood Story | Alexander Sebastian | 1996 |
| 100 Years at the Movies | Self | 1994 |
| Classic Movie Bloopers | Self | 1990 |
| When Harry Met Sally... | Captain Louis Renault | 1989 |
| Friday the 13th: The Series | Sir John Talbot | 1987 |
| Best of British | (archive footage) | 1987 |
| Bloopermania | Self | 1987 |
| American Masters | Self | 1986 |
| Hollywood Out-takes and Rare Footage | Self | 1983 |
| Coming Soon | edited from 'The Wolfman' | 1982 |
| The Horror Show | (archive footage) | 1979 |
| Play It Again, Sam | Captain Louis Renault | 1972 |
| The Greatest Story Ever Told | King Herod | 1965 |
| The Reporter | John Vance | 1964 |
| Twilight of Honor | Art Harper | 1963 |
| Hollywood and the Stars | Self | 1963 |
| Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre | Valentin / Mr. Fare | 1963 |
| Lawrence of Arabia | Mr. Dryden | 1962 |
| Sam Benedict | Thonis Jundelin | 1962 |
| Dr. Kildare | Edward Fredericks | 1961 |
| The DuPont Show of the Week | Baron van der Zost / Colonel | 1961 |
| Battle of the Worlds | Professor Benson / Prof. Benson | 1961 |
| The Lost World | Prof. George Edward Challenger | 1960 |
| This Earth Is Mine | Philippe Rambeau | 1959 |
| Rawhide | Alexander Longford | 1959 |
| Naked City | John Winfield Weston | 1958 |
| The Pied Piper of Hamelin | Mayor of Hamelin | 1957 |
| Wagon Train | Judge Daniel Clay | 1957 |
| Playhouse 90 | Judge Dan Haywood | 1956 |
| Lisbon | Aristides Mavros | 1956 |
| The Kaiser Aluminum Hour | Creon | 1956 |
| The Alcoa Hour | Paul Westman | 1955 |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Andrew Thurgood / Charles Gresham / Father Amion / John Fabian / Leonard Eldridge | 1955 |
| The Paris Express | Kees Popinga | 1952 |
| Omnibus | Father (segment "The Confidential Clerk") / Self (segment "The Bentons at Home") | 1952 |
| Sealed Cargo | Capt. Skalder / Capt. Henrik Skalder | 1951 |
| Where Danger Lives | Mr. Lannington / Frederick Lannington | 1950 |
| The White Tower | Paul Delambre | 1950 |
| Robert Montgomery Presents | Self - Guest Host | 1950 |
| Song of Surrender | Elisha Hunt | 1949 |
| Rope of Sand | Arthur Martingale / Arthur 'Fred' Martingale | 1949 |
| The Passionate Friends | Howard Justin | 1949 |
| The Ed Sullivan Show | Self | 1948 |
| The Unsuspected | Victor Grandison | 1947 |
| Kraft Theatre | Narrator | 1947 |
| Deception | Alexander Hollenius | 1946 |
| Angel on My Shoulder | Nick | 1946 |
| Caesar and Cleopatra | Caesar / Julius Caesar | 1946 |
| Notorious | Alexander Sebastian | 1946 |
| This Love of Ours | Joseph Targel | 1945 |
| Strange Holiday | John Stevenson | 1945 |
| Mr. Skeffington | Job Skeffington | 1944 |
| Passage to Marseille | Capt. Freycinet / Captain Freycinet | 1944 |
| Phantom of the Opera | Erique Claudin | 1943 |
| Forever and a Day | Ambrose Pomfret | 1943 |
| Casablanca | Captain Louis Renault | 1943 |
| Now, Voyager | Dr. Jaquith | 1942 |
| Moontide | Nutsy | 1942 |
| Kings Row | Dr. Alexander Tower / Alexander Tower | 1942 |
| Breakdowns of 1942 | Self | 1942 |
| The Wolf Man | Sir John Talbot | 1941 |
| Breakdowns of 1941 | Self | 1941 |
| Here Comes Mr. Jordan | Mr. Jordan | 1941 |
| Four Mothers | Adam Lemp | 1941 |
| Lady with Red Hair | David Belasco | 1940 |
| The Sea Hawk | Don José Alvarez de Cordoba | 1940 |
| Saturday's Children | Henry Halevy / Mr. Henry Halevy | 1940 |
| Four Wives | Adam Lemp | 1939 |
| Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | Senator Joseph Paine / Joseph Paine | 1939 |
| Daughters Courageous | Jim Masters | 1939 |
| Juarez | Napoléon III / Emperor Louis Napoleon III | 1939 |
| Sons of Liberty | Haym Salomon | 1939 |
| They Made Me a Criminal | Detective Monty Phelan / Det. Monty Phelan | 1939 |
| Land of Liberty | (archive footage) | 1939 |
| Breakdowns of 1938 | Self (White Banners outtakes) | 1938 |
| Four Daughters | Adam Lemp | 1938 |
| The Adventures of Robin Hood | Prince John | 1938 |
| Gold Is Where You Find It | Colonel Ferris | 1938 |
| White Banners | Paul Ward | 1938 |
| They Won't Forget | Andy Griffin / District Attorney Andrew J. Griffin | 1937 |
| The Prince and the Pauper | Earl of Hertford | 1937 |
| Stolen Holiday | Stefan Orloff | 1937 |
| Breakdowns of 1937 | Himself / Self | 1937 |
| Breakdowns of 1936 | Himself / Self | 1936 |
| Anthony Adverse | Don Luis / Marquis Don Luis | 1936 |
| Hearts Divided | Napoleon Bonaparte | 1936 |
| Scrooge | Jacob Marley | 1935 |
| The Last Outpost | John Stevenson | 1935 |
| The Clairvoyant | Maximus | 1935 |
| Mystery of Edwin Drood | John Jasper | 1935 |
| The Man Who Reclaimed His Head | Paul Verin | 1934 |
| Crime Without Passion | Lee Gentry | 1934 |
| The Invisible Man | Dr. Jack Griffin aka The Invisible Man / Jack "The Invisible Man" Griffin | 1933 |
| Build Thy House | Clarkis | 1920 |
| Year | Type | Category | Won |
|---|
| 1947 | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 1945 | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 1944 | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
| 1940 | Oscar | Best Actor in a Supporting Role | Nominated |
