Originally known as Adolf Wohlbrück, he was descended from ten generations of actors. Walbrook studied with Max Reinhardt and built up a career in Austrian theatre and cinema. In 1936 he went to Hollywood and instead of returning to Austria, Walbrook, who was half-Jewish and homossexual, settled in England. He is best remembered for his roles in several Powell and Pressburger films. Died of a heart attack in Germany in 1967, his ashes were interred in London, as he had wished in his testament.