Peter Lorre: The Man Behind The Eyes

Born László Löwenstein on June 26, 1904, in what is now Ružomberok, Slovakia, Peter Lorre came from a Jewish family that faced tragedy early. His mother died when he was four, and he had a rocky relationship with his stepmother. Though originally trained in business and banking, the lure of the theater proved too strong. By 17, he was on stage in Vienna and eventually collaborated with Bertolt Brecht, setting the tone for a lifetime of complicated, captivating characters.

Lorre’s breakout role came in 1931 when he portrayed the serial killer Hans Beckert in Fritz Lang’s M, a performance that would haunt audiences and typecast him for years. As a Jewish artist in Germany, he fled the Nazis in 1933 and worked his way through Paris and London—landing a role in Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much—before arriving in Hollywood.

In the United States, Lorre quickly became known for playing sinister figures and eccentric outsiders. He took on roles like Mr. Moto, Joel Cairo in The Maltese Falcon, and Ugarte in Casablanca. Though he was frequently cast as the villain or the comic sidekick, he never quite seemed to fit the Hollywood mold—and that might be why he’s so memorable. Lorre’s expressive face, nervous charm, and unmistakable voice turned him into a living caricature. Animators turned his likeness into Ren from Ren & Stimpy and even Kamek in the Super Mario Bros. franchise.

Off-screen, Lorre had a turbulent personal life. He was married three times and had one daughter, Catharine, who survived a close encounter with the Hillside Strangler before passing away in 1985. Professionally, he earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into the Grand Order of Water Rats, but never received an Academy Award nomination. Still, Charlie Chaplin once called him “the world’s greatest character actor,” a tribute more valuable than any statue.

Although he never publicly declared a favorite role, critics and fans alike still point to his performance in M as a masterclass in humanizing evil. While he often played the villain, he also brought unexpected pathos and complexity to his parts, never fully surrendering to stereotype. His legacy lives on in black-and-white film, animation, and the strange joy of discovering an actor who was always ahead of his time.