Dignified, suave leading man of German romantic melodramas of the 1930's and 40's, the son of a staff doctor and initially trained as a physician. He served as a field doctor with an artillery regiment on the western front in World War I. Wounded and invalided out of service in 1918. Took acting classes under Eduard von Winterstein in Freiburg, 1920. Ensemble member of the Hamburg Kammerspielen, 1928 to 1934. Subsequent film career, adept at playing aristocrats, senior officers or professional men of considerable stature (surgeons, concert violinists, etc). Fell out of favour with the Nazi regime in 1940 after refusing to play the title role in "Jud Süss". Resumed his career after the war as a character player, occasional stage director and translator of original French plays into German.
