Biography

Prolific German character actor, trained by Albrecht Schoenhals. On stage in Hamburg from 1932, in films from 1937. Usually played fair-minded authority figures or debonair men-of-the-world. Post-war, he was much in demand as a voice over artist for stars like David Niven, Cary Grant and Errol Flynn.

His popularity increased again in the 60's with his appearance in some Edgar Wallace movies and other successful productions.

After World War II, Nielsen performed in a Kabarett group, Die Außenseiter ("The Outsider") and played in revues by cabaret artist Günter Neumann.

In addition to his own film roles, in 1948, Nielsen began working as a voice actor, dubbing films into German, including Fred Astaire (Funny Face and Daddy Long Legs); Gary Cooper (Cloak and Dagger, among others); Errol Flynn (The Adventures of Robin Hood, Adventures of Don Juan, among others); Cary Grant (Crisis); Rex Harrison (Cleopatra); Phil Silvers (Cover Girl); David Niven (The King's Thief, among others), Tyrone Power (The Mark of Zorro and Prince of Foxes, among others); James Stewart (in The Philadelphia Story and Anatomy of a Murder, among others); Robert Taylor (Quo Vadis), Spencer Tracy (Malaya); Orson Welles (Citizen Kane) and Trevor Howard (The Third Man).

He first got an education in business, but afterward, began taking private acting lessons from Albrecht Schoenhals and Erich Ziegel. He made his stage debut in Hamburg in 1932, after which he worked in Augsburg, Kiel, Leipzig, Berlin, Munich and Düsseldorf.