I admire Claude Rains and regard him as the greatest actor I have ever seen. Most of all, I like that he regarded every role as important; there really were no small parts where he was concerned. Whatever he was playing, he gave it his all. He also played each character differently. He really became the character. As opposed to other actors like, oh, Jack Nicholson, who always acts like Jack Nicholson, whatever the role. Claude never seems to be playing just a different version of himself. On top of that, the way he snuck up from the cockney alleys of London to become the first actor ever to be paid $1 million dollars for a part just screams American dream! I admire his tenacity and shrewdness, the way he used them and his talent to make a good life for himself, his wife, and his daughter. I think the fact that two of the world's most highly respected actors came out of Claude's drama class at RADA (John Gielgud and Lawrence Olivier) says quite a lot for this cockney who never even finished second grade.
