[1] Tate made his film debut in 1934 in Whispering Tongues, and later in the decade also began to appear in the newer medium of television.

[1] He also continued to act during the war, and performed small roles in the well-known films The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)[5] and The Way Ahead (1944).

[6] He also had a top supporting role as the intelligence officer, Major Richards, in another classic British war movie, The Next of Kin (1942).

[2] Cartier was impressed with Tate's performance, and later that year offered him the lead role in The Quatermass Experiment, a science-fiction serial he was directing, written by BBC staff scriptwriter Nigel Kneale.

Tate was the second choice for the part of Professor Bernard Quatermass; Cartier had previously offered it to his co-star It Is Midnight, Dr Schweitzer, André Morell, who declined the role.

[10] He also began to spend much of his spare time teaching acting classes at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), feeling that he had experience which might be useful to younger actors.