- A Czechoslovakian citizen, born in Germany, who went on to become a British subject
- Best remembered for his role as the cynical analyst of schizophrenic ventriloquist Michael Redgrave in the classic thriller Dead of Night (1945).
- Played most of the Shakespearean leading roles and notable for his portrayal of Shylock in "The Merchant of Venice." His Othello has been deemed one of the most definitive--alongside Paul Robeson and Laurence Olivier, despite the fact that he spoke the lines with a thick Czechoslovakian accent.
- Ironically fled Nazism in 1930s Germany only to be stereotyped as fearless, imposing-eyed Kommandants in British war pictures; later played doctors, kings and cabinet ministers as well.
- Married with two young sons at the time of his death.
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