Lukas was born Pál Lukács in Budapest into a Hungarian-Jewish family,[1][2] the son of Adolf Munkácsi and Mária Schneckendorf.

He followed William Powell and Basil Rathbone, portraying the series detective Philo Vance, a cosmopolitan New Yorker, once in The Casino Murder Case (1935).

[6] His portrayal of Kurt Mueller, a German émigré with an American wife, played by Bette Davis, was universally lauded by critics.

Brooks Atkinson of the New York Times, wrote: "As the enemy of fascism, Mr. Lukas' haggard, loving, resourceful determination becomes heroic by virtue of his sincerity and his superior abilities as an actor.

[10] In the 1940s, Lukas was a charter member of the Motion Picture Alliance for the Preservation of American Ideals, a conservative lobbying group opposed to possible Communist influence in Hollywood.