Biography
Sydney Hughes Greenstreet (27 December 1879 – 18 January 1954) was an English character actor. He began his stage career in 1902 with a role in a production of Sherlock Holmes and appeared in numerous plays in Britain and the United States, including work with the Theatre Guild. He became an American citizen in 1925.
Greenstreet made his film debut at the age of 61 as Kasper Gutman in The Maltese Falcon (1941). He appeared in 24 films over the next eight years, often in Warner Bros. productions alongside Humphrey Bogart and Peter Lorre. His roles included Signor Ferrari in Casablanca (1942), Dr Lorenz in Across the Pacific (1942), Major Duval in Passage to Marseille (1944) and Sheriff Titus Semple in Flamingo Road (1949). He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for The Maltese Falcon.
