George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985), 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. Welless 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. Wellss 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 AFIs 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.
Charles Foster Kane
Film 1941
Cardinal Wolsey
Film 1966
Narrator (voice)
Film 1942
Falstaff
Film 1965
Harry Lime
Film 1949
Police Captain Hank Quinlan
Film 1958
Narrator
Film 1981
Albert Hastler
Film 1962
Markan
Film 1969
Unicron (voice)
Film 1986
Father Mapple
Film 1956
Brigadier General Dreedle
Film 1970
Michael O'Hara
Film 1947
Konsul Nordling
Film 1966
Prof. Charles Rankin
Film 1946
Leschenhaut
Film 1968
Colonel Haki
Film 1943
Long John Silver
Film 1972
Russ Brewer
Film 2007
Self - Narrator (voice)
Film 1965
Edward Rochester
Film 1943
Self
Film 1992
Film 1999
Self (archive footage)
Film 1990
Self
Film 1997
Le Chiffre
Film 1967
Louis XVIII
Film 1970
Orson Welles (uncredited)
Film 1944
Četnik
Film 1969
Narrator / Nag / Chuchundra (voice)
Film 1975
Macbeth
Film 1948
Judge Rauch
Film 1982
Will Varner
Film 1958
Jonathan Wilk
Film 1959
Mr. Cato
Film 1972
Himself (Archive footage)
Film 2022
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Film 1958
Self
Film 1973
Sir Hudson Lowe
Film 1955
Max Buda
Film 1963
Self (archive footage)
Film 2022
Bayan
Film 1950
Cesare Borgia
Film 1949
Falstaff
Film 2023
Gregory Arkadin
Film 1955
John Andrew MacDonald
Film 1946
Lord Mountdrago ("Lord Mountdrago" segment)
Film 1955
Bresnavitch
Film 1970
Self (archive footage)
Film 2014
Cassavius
Film 1971
Othello
Film 1951
Presenter / Narrator (voice)
Film 1981
Benjamin Franklin
Film 1954
Self (archive footage)
Film 1995
Narratore
Film 1978
Self (archive footage)
Film 2003
Colonel Cascorro
Film 1969
J.P. Morgan
Film 1980
Aliens' Father (voice)
Film 1982
Parklawn Mortuary (voice)
Film 1977
Sigsbee Manderson
Film 1952
Théo Van Horn
Film 1971
Charles Clay
Film 1968
(archive footage)
Film 2019
Self
Film 1978
King Saul
Film 1960
José Estedes
Film 1976
Joseph Balsamo aka Count Cagliostro
Film 1949
Self
Film 1993
Captain Hart
Film 1959
The 'Director' (segment "La ricotta")
Film 1963
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Film 2021
Narrator
Film 1972
the narrator
Film 1958
Himself (archive footage)
Film 1977
Narrator (voice)
Film 1937
Mr. Cato
Film 1983
Akerman, Marco's Teacher
Film 1965
Henry F. Potter
Film 1977
Host
Film 1978
Narrator
Film 1978
Sanin Cejador y Mengues
Film 1954
Klingsor
Film 1984
Self (archive footage)
Film 1997
Narrator
Film 1953
Self (archive footage)
Film 2021
Self
Film 1984
Keystone Kop
Film 2013
Burundai
Film 1961
Narrator
Film 1970
Sheriff Paisley
Film 1983
Captain Perella, the Beast
Film 1953
Danny's Friend
Film 1987
Justinian
Film 1968
Host
Film 1982
Narrator
Film 1973
King Lear
Film 1953
Film 1971
Narrator
Film 1979
Self (Archive footage)
Film 2000
Narrator
Film 1977
Self
Film 2021
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Film 1983
Ele Mesmo (Imagem de Arquivo)
Film 2024
Self (archive footage)
Film 2006
Louis de Mozambique
Film 1967
Marcus Kleek
Film 1985
Himself
Film 2011
Cy Sedgewick
Film 1958
Hagolin / Lamerciere
Film 1960
Narrator (voice)
Film 1969
Himself
Film 1966
Virgil Renchler
Film 1957
(archive footage)
Film 2012
Self (archive footage)
Film 1996
Self (archive footage)
Film 1986
General Zaroff (voice)
Film 2023
Narrator
Film 1967
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Film 2014
Self (voiceover)
Film 2023
Narrator
Film 1971
Journalist (uncredited)
Film 2018
Self (Archive footage)
Film 2001
Narrator
Film 1965
himself
Film 1984
Self (archive footage)
Film 2022
Michelangelo (voice)
Film 1970
Himself - Host
Film 1978
Self
Film 2015
Death
Film 1934
Self (archive footage)
Film 2013
Self (archive footage)
Film 2022
Narrator
Film 1933
Self (archive footage)
Film 2012
Himself
Film 1968
(archive footage 1982)
Film 2009
Narrator (Archive Sound)
Film 2024
Opening Narrator
Film 1940
Shylock
Film 1969
Narrator
Film 2019
Orson Welles
Film 1988
Host
Film 1975
Self (archive footage)
Film 2024
Radio Host (voice) (archival footage)
Film 2024
English Narrator
Film 1980
Narrator
Film 1984
Captain Ahab / Starbuck / Ishmael (archive footage)
Film 2000
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Film 1974
Self
Film 1985
Benjamin Franklin
Film 1962
Self
Film 1981
Narrator (voice)
Film 1964
Self
Film 1968
Narrator (voice)
Film 1971
Self (archive footage)
Film 1990
Tiresias
Film 1968
The Narrator
Film 1970
Narrator (voice)
Film 1969
Justinian
Film 1969
Narrator
Film 1971
Self (archive footage)
Film 1990
Winston Churchill / George Bernard Shaw
Film 1971
Film 1970
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Film 2001
Film 2005
Narrator
Film 1977
Self (archive footage)
Film 2002
Self
Film 1943
Self (archive footage)
Film 1975
Narrator
Film 2001
Narrator (voice) (uncredited)
Film 1946
(archive footage)
Film 2003
Narrator
Film 1970
Self
Film 1979
Self
Film 1950
Narrator (voice)
Film 1980
Self (archive footage)
Film 2018
Narrator
Film 1982
Himself (Archive Footage)
Film 1993
Self (archive footage)
Film 2005
Narrator (voice)
Film 1975
Pippo
Film 1981
Self (archive footage)
Film 2000
Self - Filmmaker / Various Roles (archive footage)
Film 2018
Ronald Adams
Film 2004
Winston Churchill
Film 1973
Himself (Archive Footage)
Film 2022
Narrator
Film 1959
Himself
Film 2010
Self - Narrator
Film 1968
Self (archive footage)
Film 1993
Narrator
Film 1946
Himself
Film 1983
Self (archive footage)
Film 2005
Self
Film 2020
Narrator
Film 1973
Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
Film 2018
Narrator
Film 1974
Self - Roaster (archive footage)
Film 1998
Film 1993
Film
Narrator (voice)
Film 1982
Self - Host
Film 1958
Self - Host
Film 1955
Self - Narrator
Film 1983
Narrator
Film 1983
Self - Narrator
Film 1982
Self
Film 1982
Film 1984
Self (archive footage)
Film 2020
Self
Film 1982
Self - Special Guest
Film 1982
Self - Narrator
Film 1956
Self
Film 1979
Film 1974
Self
Film 1975
Robert Fulton
Film 1960
Self
Film 1967
Film 2017
Self (archive footage)
Film 2018
Professor Richard Pierson / Self (voice) (archive sound)
Film 2016
Narrator/Bob (helpful taxi passenger)
Film 1944
Narrator (voice)
Film 1958
Storyteller
Film 1960
Narrator
Film 1945
Narrator (English)
Film 1962
Narrator
Film 1958
Himself (archive footage)
Film 1986
Sheridan Whiteside
Film 1972
Himself
Film 1984
Narrator
Film 1975
Himself
Film 1973
Richard Wagner (voice)
Film 1982
Narrator
Film 1977
Narrator (voice)
Film 1979
Narrator (voice)
Film 1981
Narrator
Film 1979
Narrator
Film 1980
Narrator
Film 1985
Narrator
Film 1979
Himself (host)
Film 1981
Narrator
Film 1970
Narrator
Film 1981
Narrator
Film 1973
Self / Narrator
Film 1976
Film 1972
Self (archive footage)
Film 1981
Genghis Khan / Bayan (archive footage)
Film 2010
Himself
Film 1978
Himself
Film 1955
Self (archive footage)
Film 2021
Narrator
Film 1967
Self (archive footage)
Film 1997
Self
Film 1982
Film 2012
Self
Film 2024
Robin Masters (uncredited) (voice)
Tv 1980
King Lear
Tv 1952
Self
Tv 1962
Self
Tv 1948
Sheridan Whiteside
Tv 1951
Self
Tv 1967
Self - Host
Tv 1973
Self
Tv 1956
Tv 1985
Self
Tv 1973
Self
Tv 1975
Self (archive footage)
Tv 2013
Host: Orson Welles
Tv 1955
Tv 1978
Self
Tv 1962
Himself
Tv 1964
Self (Host)
Tv 1955
Self
Tv 1973
Narrator (voice)
Tv 1978
Self
Tv 1971
Himself - Host
Tv 1955
Narrator
Tv 1965
Self (archive footage)
Tv 1990
Self
Tv 1956
Self (archive footage)
Tv 1963
Self - Guest
Tv 1968
Self - Guest Host
Tv 1962
Robin Masters (voice)
Tv 1980
Self - Panelist
Tv 1950
Self
Tv 1974
Self - Presenter
Tv 1967
Tv 1961
Tv 1970
Tv 1958
Oscar Jaffe
Tv 1955
Narrator
Tv 1968
Narrator
Tv 1961
Narrator
Tv 1981
Tv 1968
Tv 1971
Self
Tv 1954
Tv 1966