- Because of his unusual appearance was often cast as exotic Middle Eastern characters and Native Americans. His roles ranged from kindly, but strict, priests to sinister villains. His only Shakespearean role on film was that of the Soothsayer who warns "Beware the Ides of March!" in Julius Caesar (1953).
- Appeared in five films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: All the King's Men (1949), Julius Caesar (1953) Friendly Persuasion (1956), Ben-Hur (1959) and To Kill a Mockingbird (1962). Of those, All the King's Men (1949) and Ben-Hur (1959) are winners in the category.
- Attended Columbia University on a music scholarship, graduating in 1914.
- On stage from 1921 with Minnie Maddern Fiske's theatrical troupe.
- Before appearing in films, he was a stage actor and opera singer.
- Along with Felix Locher, Judith Anderson, Morgan Farley, Anthony Jochim, Celia Lovsky, Leonard Mudie, Charles Seel, Bill Borzage, Abraham Sofaer and Ian Wolfe, he is one of only eleven "Star Trek" actors to have been born in the 19th Century. He played Goro in The Paradise Syndrome (1968).
- His first wife was the niece of Isadora Duncan.
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