Born at Victoria Hotel, Scarborough, Yorkshire, Englad. Following in his hotelman father's footsteps, he started out as a hotel clerk, but after returning from WWI service, found himself drawn to the stage and joined an amateur group. He later enrolled at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and as a gold-medal-winning student he appeared in several of the school's productions in 1925. The following year he made his professional debut on London's West End. In the cast of one of his first plays was a young actress, Elsa Lanchester, who was also appearing in a series of two-reel comedy films. He teamed with her in two of these in 1928, and in the following year they married. It was also in 1929 that he made his debut in feature films. His parallel stage career brought Laughton (and Lanchester) to New York in 1931 with the play Payment Deferred. The following year he launched his lengthy and remarkable career as a Hollywood character star. Although Laughton gave some of his finest performances in British films, notably in THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII (1933), for which he won an Academy Award, and REMBRANDT (1936), the bulk of his films were made in the United States, and in 1950 he became an American citizen. Rotund and boisterous, Laughton was a brilliant performer with an astonishing range. He played sadists and kind men, butlers and rulers of state, murderers and jurists, artists and gray, prosaic men with the same convincing strength and insatiable relish. At times, when his roles were thankless or the films unimportant, he tended to "ham it up," frivolously carrying a part to its ludicrous extreme; but audiences rarely minded and seemed to savor the feast along with him. One of the most productive years of his career was 1935, when he played three of his most memorable roles: Ruggles in RUGGLES OF RED GAP (1935), Javert in LES MISERABLES (1935), and Captain Bligh in MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935). Other memorable film appearances were in THE HUNCHBACK OF NOTRE DAME (1939) (as Quasimodo), THE CANTERVILLE GHOST (1944), THE BIG CLOCK (1948), WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957), and his last, ADVISE AND CONSENT (1962), the last two of which garnered him BAFTA nominations for Best Foreign Actor. In 1955 Laughton directed THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955), a visually striking and dramatically gripping production that showed much promise for a new career as a filmmaker. But he never made another. Instead, he spent much of his later years touring with highly acclaimed readings of Shaw's Don Juan in Hell, Stephen Vincent Benét's John Brown's Body, and selections from the Bible. He also appeared frequently on radio and TV. Many delectable morsels of his remarkable career are contained in Elsa Lanchester's book, Charles Laughton and I. Some memorable Laughton quotes: · "They can't censor the gleam in my eye." · "I have a face like the behind of an elephant." · "It's got so that every time I walk into a restaurant I get not only soup but an impersonation of Captain Bligh." · "Method actors give you a photograph. Real actors give you an oil painting."  Actor 1932-33: THE PRIVATE LIFE OF HENRY VIII  Nominated for Actor 1935: MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY  Nominated for Actor 1957: WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION 3 nominations, 1 Award