Career: Mason remained in the theatre until he began securing minor roles in films. He became popular in the 1940s for playing brooding anti-heroes in a number of Gainsborough melodramas, including The Man in Grey (1943) and The Wicked Lady (1945). His big break came when he landed the lead role in box-office smash The Seventh Veil (1945). This opened the door to Hollywood and he went on to star in a number of popular films, including Julius Caesar (1953), The Desert Fox: The Story of Rommel (1951), A Star is Born (1954), 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), North by Northwest (1959), Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1959), Lolita (1962), and Georgy Girl (1966). His role in The Verdict (1982) earned him his third and final Academy Award nomination - the other two were for Georgy Girl and A Star is Born. He died on July 27, 1984, in Switzerland, a country he had called home since 1963.