Austrian actor who lived and worked in Great Britain from 1937. He specialized in roles of noble foreigners.

Walbrook's ancestors were circus performers. He studied stagecraft under Max Reinhardt. He made his film debut in 1922. In the 1930s he gained a reputation as a heartthrob thanks to roles in German films "Viktor and Viktoria" (1933) with Renate Müller and "Viennese Masquerade" (1934) with Olga Chekhova.

In 1936 he accepted an invitation to come to Hollywood for additional filming of material for the earlier picture "Michael Strogoff," which was planned to be adapted for an American audience. Being homosexual, he decided not to return to Nazi Germany. He was invited for roles of foreigners — Prince Albert in two films of 1936 and 1937, a criminal husband in the first version of "Gaslight" (1939).

In the 1940s Walbrook became a regular participant in the film projects of "The Archers" — Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. Among his best roles are the German officer Theo in "The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp" (1943) and the ballet impresario Lermontov in "The Red Shoes" (1948); he played the lead role in the British adaptation of Pushkin's "The Queen of Spades" (1949).