Orson Welles

Biography

George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American film director, actor, theatre director, screenwriter, and producer, who worked extensively in film, theatre, television and radio. Noted for his innovative dramatic productions as well as his distinctive voice and personality, Welles is widely acknowledged as one of the most accomplished dramatic artists of the twentieth century, especially for his significant and influential early work—despite his notoriously contentious relationship with Hollywood. His distinctive directorial style featured layered, nonlinear narrative forms, innovative uses of lighting such as chiaroscuro, unique camera angles, sound techniques borrowed from radio, deep focus shots, and long takes. Welles's long career in film is noted for his struggle for artistic control in the face of pressure from studios. Many of his films were heavily edited and others left unreleased. He has been praised as a major creative force and as "the ultimate auteur." After directing a number of high-profile theatrical productions in his early twenties, including an innovative adaptation of Macbeth and The Cradle Will Rock, Welles found national and internationa…

Directed

1. Citizen Kane (1941) — Director
2. Touch of Evil (1958) — Director
3. The Lady from Shanghai (1947) — Director
4. The Stranger (1946) — Director
5. The Trial (1962) — Director
6. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) — Director
7. F for Fake (1973) — Director
8. Chimes at Midnight (1965) — Director
9. The Other Side of the Wind (2018) — Director
10. Othello (1951) — Director
11. Mr. Arkadin (1955) — Director
12. Macbeth (1948) — Director
13. The Immortal Story (1968) — Director
14. The Hearts of Age (1934) — Director
15. Don Quixote (1992) — Director
16. Too Much Johnson (2013) — Director
17. It's All True (1993) — Director
18. The Fountain of Youth (1958) — Director
19. Orson Welles: The One-Man Band (1995) — Director
20. Filming Othello (1979) — Director
21. The Spirit of Charles Lindbergh (1984) — Director
22. Vienna (1968) — Director
23. Around the World with Orson Welles (1955) — Director
24. Filming 'The Trial' (1981) — Director
25. In the Land of Don Quixote (1964) — Director
26. Orson Welles at Large: Portrait of Gina (1958) — Director
27. The Merchant of Venice (1969) — Director
28. Orson Welles' Magic Show (1985) — Director
29. Hopper/Welles (2020) — Director
30. Orson Welles' Great Mysteries (1973) — Director
31. The Dreamers (1985) — Director
32. The Orson Welles Show (1979) — Director
33. Orson Welles' Sketch Book (1955) — Director
34. The Deep (2007) — Director
35. Moby Dick (2000) — Director
36. Twelfth Night (1933) — Director
37. An Evening with Orson Welles: The Golden Honeymoon (1970) — Director
38. Moby Dick—Rehearsed (1955) — Director
39. The Merchant of Venice (Rushes) (1970) — Director
40. Orson Welles and People: Camille, the Naked Lady and the Musketeers (1956) — Director

Also appeared in

1. Citizen Kane (1941) — Charles Foster Kane
2. The Third Man (1949) — Harry Lime
3. Touch of Evil (1958) — Police Captain Hank Quinlan
4. History of the World: Part I (1981) — Narrator (voice)
5. Casino Royale (1967) — Le Chiffre
6. Jodorowsky's Dune (2013) — Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
7. The Lady from Shanghai (1947) — Michael O'Hara
8. The Muppet Movie (1979) — Lew Lord
9. The Stranger (1946) — Prof. Charles Rankin
10. The Transformers: The Movie (1986) — Unicron (voice)
11. The Trial (1962) — Albert Hastler
12. A Man for All Seasons (1966) — Cardinal Wolsey
13. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) — Narrator (voice)
14. Moby Dick (1956) — Father Mapple
15. Magnum, P.I. (1980) — Robin Masters (voice)
16. Moonlighting (1985) — Orson Welles
17. The Vikings (1958) — Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
18. F for Fake (1973) — Self
19. Catch-22 (1970) — Brigadier General Dreedle
20. I Love Lucy (1951) — Orson Welles
21. La Classe américaine (1993) — Self (archive footage)
22. Chimes at Midnight (1965) — Falstaff
23. Shōgun (1980) — Narrator
24. King of Kings (1961) — Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
25. Lost in La Mancha (2002) — Self (archive footage)
26. The Other Side of the Wind (2018) — Journalist (uncredited)
27. Waterloo (1970) — Louis XVIII
28. The Long, Hot Summer (1958) — Will Varner
29. Is Paris Burning? (1966) — Konsul Nordling
30. Othello (1951) — Othello
31. Mr. Arkadin (1955) — Gregory Arkadin
32. Duel in the Sun (1946) — Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
33. Macbeth (1948) — Macbeth
34. Compulsion (1959) — Jonathan Wilk
35. Jane Eyre (1943) — Edward Rochester
36. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018) — Self (archive footage)
37. Ro.Go.Pa.G. (1963) — The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
38. And Then There Were None (1974) — Voice on Tape
39. Night Gallery (1970) — Narrator
40. Journey into Fear (1943) — Colonel Haki