Born in Arnoldsdorf, West Prussia, in 1874 and died in 1948, Paul Wegener was an actor with Max Reinhardt's theatre company who became one of the first actors to take cinema seriously. He starred in and co-directed The Student of Prague (1913), a story of the doppelgänger, and The Golem films, the last of which, The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920), has sets by Hans Poelzig and photography by Karl Freund. These fantasy films helped shape German Expressionism and later influenced Hollywood horror. He continued to act through the Nazi era and until his death.
Filmography
- The Student of Prague (1913)
- The Golem (1915)
- The Golem: How He Came into the World (1920)