Michael Rennie(1909-1971)
- Actor
- Producer
- Additional Crew
The British actor Michael Rennie worked as a car salesman and factory
manager before he turned to acting. A meeting with a Gaumont-British
Studios casting director led to Rennie's first acting job - that of
stand-in for Robert Young in
Secret Agent (1936) directed by
Alfred Hitchcock. He put his
film career on hold for a few years to get some acting experience on
the stage, working in repertory in York and Windsor. Afterwards, he
returned to films and achieved star status in
I'll Be Your Sweetheart (1945).
Brought to Hollywood in 1950 and signed to a contract by studio head
Darryl F. Zanuck, Rennie was cast in
arguably his most popular role as Klaatu in
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951),
when director Robert Wise's first
choice, Claude Rains, was unavailable.
After that he worked as a supporting actor for eight years until his
return to England in 1959. At that time, he took the lead role of Harry
Lime in the television series
The Third Man (1959).
Throughout his career, he made numerous guest appearances on
television, particularly on American programs.
