He had an imposing and menacing stage presence and came to be cast as the villain in many films, notably Professor Moriarty in dramatisations of the Sherlock Holmes stories.

In 1890 a chance meeting with a touring group on a train led to him standing in for a sick actor and his first professional engagement.

[2] He toured "the provinces" and eventually made his London debut at the Shakespeare Theatre, Clapham on 19 July 1897.

[3][4] His career spanned stage, silent screen, talkies and radio productions and he toured in the United States, Japan, India and Burma.

His last stage appearance was as Abu Hassan in Chu Chin Chow in the West End in 1941 when he was 74 years old.