Orson Welles
Directing
🎂 1915-05-06
George Orson Welles, best known as Orson Welles, 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 international fame as the director and narrator of a 1938 radio adaptation of H. G. Wells's novel The War of the Worlds performed for the radio drama anthology series Mercury Theatre on the Air. It was reported to have caused widespread panic when listeners thought that an invasion by extraterrestrial beings was occurring. Although these reports of panic were mostly false and overstated, they rocketed Welles to instant notoriety. Citizen Kane (1941), his first film with RKO, in which he starred in the role of Charles Foster Kane, is often considered the greatest film ever made. Several of his other films, including The Magnificent Ambersons (1942), The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Touch of Evil (1958), Chimes at Midnight (1965), and F for Fake (1974), are also widely considered to be masterpieces. In 2002, he was voted the greatest film director of all time in two separate British Film Institute polls among directors and critics, and a wide survey of critical consensus, best-of lists, and historical retrospectives calls him the most acclaimed director of all time. Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. Well known for his baritone voice, Welles was also an extremely well regarded actor and was voted number 16 in AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars list of the greatest American film actors of all time. He was also a celebrated Shakespearean stage actor and an accomplished magician, starring in troop variety shows in the war years.
Cast credits(316)
Self
1962
Self - Guest Host
1962
Robin Masters (voice)
1980
Self (archive footage)
1988
Self - Presenter
1967
Orson Welles
1985
Orson Welles
1951
Narrator
1970
King Lear
1952
Narrator
1968
Self
1968
Self
1948
Self - Panelist
1950
Self
1962
Self
1974
Self - Guest
1968
Le Chiffre
1967
Narrator
1980
Self
1956
Self
1956
Self (archive footage)
2002
Self
1973
Self (archive footage)
2013
Harry Lime
1949
Brigadier General Dreedle
1970
Charles Foster Kane
1941
Jonathan Wilk
1959
Unicron (voice)
1986
Self
1971
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1961
Narrator
1981
Police Captain Hank Quinlan
1958
Self
1973
1978
Father Mapple
1956
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1958
Edward Rochester
1943
Cardinal Wolsey
1966
Lew Lord
1979
An Actor Manager /Father Mapple /Ahab
1955
Louis XVIII
1970
Konsul Nordling
1966
Colonel Haki
1943
Will Varner
1958
Voice on Tape
1974
Self (archive footage)
2018
2021
Self
1954
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
1946
Albert Hastler
1962
Prof. Charles Rankin
1946
(archive footage)
2012
Self - Host
1973
Narrator
1965
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2013
Gregory Arkadin
1955
Benjamin Franklin
1954
Self
1982
Self
1993
Sheridan Whiteside
1951
Self - Narrator
1982
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1974
Self (archive footage)
2021
The Narrator
1970
Narrator (voice)
1942
Self (archive footage)
2002
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
2014
Self (archive footage)
2022
Long John Silver
1972
Michael O'Hara
1947
Self (archive footage)
1975
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2021
Judge Rauch
1982
Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
1975
Justinian
1968
Self
1997
Narrator (voice)
1978
Journalist (uncredited)
2018
Opening Narrator
1940
Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
2010
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
1983
Falstaff
1965
Robert Fulton
1960
Othello
1951
King Saul
1960
Mr. Cato
1972
Pippo
1981
ÄŒetnik
1969
Macbeth
1948
Self
1973
José Estedes
1976
Orson Welles (uncredited)
1944
The Magician
1971
Russ Brewer
2007
King Lear
1953
Self - Professor in War of the Worlds Broadcast (archive sound)
1991
Captain Hart
1959
Benjamin Franklin
1962
Cy Sedgewick
1958
Self
1992
Self
1950
Presenter / Narrator (voice)
1981
Cassavius
1971
Self (archive footage)
2000
Self (archive footage)
2020
Self (archive footage)
2018
Self (archive footage)
2005
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
2001
Markan
1969
Self
1961
Self (archive footage)
1997
Himself
2010
Self - Roaster (archive footage)
1998
Sir Hudson Lowe
1955
Narrator
1967
Max Buda
1963
Self (archive footage)
2021
Narrator (voice)
1971
Plankett
1969
Hagolin / Lamerciere
1960
Narrator
1976
Self
1979
Virgil Renchler
1957
Self (Archive footage)
2000
Winston Churchill
1973
Justinian
1969
Colonel Cascorro
1969
Bayan
1950
Self (archive footage)
1995
Himself
1968
Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
1949
Oscar Jaffe
1955
Self
2020
Henry F. Potter
1977
Narrator
1958
Jonathan Lute
1967
Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
1955
Burundai
1961
Narrator (voice)
1981
Host
1978
Aliens' Father (voice)
1982
Self (archive footage)
1990
Klingsor
1984
Bresnavitch
1970
The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
1963
Narrator
1970
Narrator
1971
1993
Mr. Cato
1983
Self
2024
Self (archive footage)
1996
Narrator
1974
Tiresias
1968
Cesare Borgia
1949
Orson Welles
1988
the narrator
1958
Self
1982
Self (archive footage)
2005
Himself
1984
Louis de Mozambique
1967
J.P. Morgan
1980
Sheridan Whiteside
1972
Self (archive footage)
2022
Théo Van Horn
1971
Danny's Friend
1987
Keystone Kop
2013
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
2018
John Andrew MacDonald
1946
Self (archive footage)
1993
Self (archive footage)
2022
Self
1967
Host: Orson Welles
1955
Self (Host)
1955
Narratore
1978
Himself
1964
Akerman, Marco's Teacher
1965
Self
1968
Host
1982
1985
Self
1943
Mr. Delasandro
1972
Captain Perella, the Beast
1953
2005
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
2018
Self (archive footage)
2005
Self
1975
Charles Clay
1968
Self (archive footage)
1963
Narrator
1975
Self (archive footage)
1981
Narrator
1961
Narrator
1953
Narrator
1973
Self (archive footage)
1986
Narrator
1981
Sheriff Paisley
1983
(archive footage 1982)
2009
(Self)
2005
Himself
2011
Self - Host
1958
Narrator
1965
Self - Narrator
1968
Leschenhaut
1968
Narrator (English)
1962
1968
Self
1985
Self
1978
1999
Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw
1971
Narrator (voice)
1982
Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
2016
Self (archive footage)
2024
Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
1977
Narrator
1979
Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
2000
1958
Self (archive footage)
1990
Narrator
1985
Self
1984
Narrator (voice)
1969
Himself - Host
1955
Narrator (voice)
1969
Self (archive sound)
2004
Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
1944
Host
1975
1970
Narrator
1959
Himself (archive footage)
1986
Narrator
1972
Narrator
1933
1971
Michelangelo (voice)
1970
Self (archive footage)
1990
Sigsbee Manderson
1952
Self - Narrator (voice)
1965
Marcus Kleek
1985
Narrator (voice)
1975
Self - Special Guest
1982
Narrator (voice)
1937
Self (archive footage)
2012
Self
2015
Death
1934
Self
1979
Himself (Archive Footage)
2022
Self (archive footage)
1997
Sanin Cejador y Mengues
1954
Himself - Host
1978
Himself
1978
1999
Narrator (voice)
1964
Narrator
1945
Narrator
1970
Narrator
1973
Self (archive footage)
2003
(archive footage)
2019
1965
English Narrator
1980
Narrator
1981
Narrator (voice)
1958
Shylock
1969
Narrator
Storyteller
1960
Narrator
1967
1971
Himself (archive footage)
1977
Narrator
1979
General Zaroff (voice)
2023
Himself (Archive Footage)
1993
Narrator "The Scorpion and the Frog" (archive footage)
2025
Self
1981
Narrator
1977
Self
1982
Self
2021
Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
2024
Narrator
2001
Narrator
1973
Himself (Archive footage)
2022
Narrator
1971
Himself
1966
himself
1984
Self (archive footage)
2014
Self
1975
Narrator (voice)
1980
Narrator
1983
Narrator- Self
1965
Self
1982
Himself
1955
Narrator
1977
2012
1984
Narrator
1977
Self - Host
1955
Narrator
1978
1974
Himself
1983
Self (voiceover)
2023
Narrator
1982
Self / Narrator
1976
Self (Archive footage)
2001
Narrator
1970
Self - Narrator
1956
Narrator (voice)
1979
Self
1972
Narrator
1984
Himself (host)
1981
Richard Wagner (voice)
1982
Self - Narrator
1983
Ronald Adams
2004
2017
Narrator
1979
Himself
1973
Falstaff
2023
Narrator (archive footage)
2025
Narrator
1946
Narrator
1980
Crew (22)
Sound (10)
Directing (47)
Director
1941
Director
1958
Director
1955
Director
1962
Director
1946
Director
1973
Director
1955
Director
1993
Director
1942
Director
1947
Director
2018
Director
1965
Director
1951
Director
1948
Director
1973
Director
2007
Director
1992
Director
1961
Director
1968
Director
2020
Director
1978
Director
1958
Director
2013
Director
1955
Director
1964
Director
1968
Director
2005
Director
1958
Director
1968
Director
1985
Director
1971
Director
2000
Director
1958
Director
1955
Director
1970
Director
1933
Director
1985
Director
1934
Director
1979
Director
1960
Director
2003
Director
1969
Director
1981
Director
1986
Director
1984
Director
1955
Director
1955
Production (20)
Writing (54)
Screenplay
1941
Screenplay
1958
Scenario Writer
1966
Writer
1955
Screenplay
1943
Screenplay
1962
Co-Writer
1946
Screenplay
1973
Screenplay
1955
Story
1955
Screenplay
1942
Story
1947
Writer
1972
Screenplay
1947
Screenplay
2018
Screenplay
1965
Screenplay
1951
Writer
1999
Screenplay
1948
Writer
1973
Screenplay
2007
Screenplay
1992
Writer
1961
Screenplay
2002
Writer
1968
Writer
1998
Characters
2014
Writer
1978
Writer
1958
Screenplay
2013
Writer
1955
Screenplay
1968
Writer
1958
Screenplay
1968
Writer
1985
Writer
1971
Theatre Play
2000
Screenplay
1958
Original Concept
2007
Writer
1955
Writer
1949
Writer
1970
Adaptation
1933
Writer
1985
Writer
1934
Writer
1979
Screenplay
1969
Writer
1986
Original Story
2024
Writer
1997
Writer
1976
Original Concept
2008
Original Concept
Original Concept
1997
