[1] He studied for the stage under Theodore Komisarjevsky and began work as an actor with the Theatre Guild in He Who Gets Slapped when he was 20 and later that year was on Broadway in their production of The Lucky One by A.

"[2] In New York in the 1930s, Brent created the role of the Rev Phosphor Hammingtrap in Shaw's The Simpleton of the Unexpected Isles, which he also directed.

Among other films, he appeared in East Meets West (1936), Under the Red Robe (1937), Dinner at the Ritz (1937), The Middle Watch (1940) and Adventures of Don Juan (1949).

[3] In 1946, Brent directed and appeared (as Caius) in another touring Shakespeare play produced by the Theatre Guild, The Merry Wives of Windsor.

He portrayed the French detective Maigret in an episode of Studio One, and Dr. Armstrong in a 1959 NBC TV film of Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians.