Paul Lukas, born Pál Lukács in Budapest, was a Hungarian-born American actor. Following a successful early career in European theatre and film, he moved to Hollywood in the late 1920s, where his accent and bearing often led him to be cast as elegant villains or foreign gentlemen. His career peaked with the film *Watch on the Rhine* (1943), in which he delivered an intense performance as the anti-fascist German engineer Kurt Muller. For this performance, Lukas earned the industry's highest accolades, winning the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1944, a Golden Globe Award, and the New York Film Critics Circle Award. His other notable roles include Dr. Hartz in Alfred Hitchcock's *The Lady Vanishes* (1938) and Professor Aronnax in the Disney classic *20,000 Leagues Under the Sea* (1954). He continued to work steadily in film, television, and theatre until his death, solidifying his reputation as a versatile and accomplished actor.