Director

Charles Laughton

Acting

Career Snapshot

Explained

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Directed credits

Emerging

Beginning to build directing work.

TMDB popularity

1.5

Low visibility

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Directed movies: 0Directed series: 0All crew credits: 5

TMDB ID: 10921

IMDb ID: nm0001452

Known for: Acting

Born: June 30, 1899

Died: December 15, 1962

Age: 63

Place of birth: Scarborough, North Riding of Yorkshire, England, UK

Gender: Male

Adult content flag: No

Career span: 1928 - 2014

Years active: 87

Average TMDB rating: 6.68

Wikidata: Q55264

Also known as

Чарльз Лотон • 찰스 로턴 • 찰스 로튼 • Чарльз Лаутон • 查尔斯·劳顿

Frequent jobs

Producer (3)Screenplay (1)Writer (1)

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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."