Actor Akim Tamiroff, the first person of Armenian descent to be nominated for an Oscar, was born into an Armenian family in Tiflis in 1899. From his youth he was drawn to the theatre, studied at the studio school of the Moscow Art Theatre under Konstantin Stanislavski, and later performed on its stage.
In 1923, during the Moscow Art Theatre's tour of the United States, Tamiroff decided to remain in America. He did not speak English and began his career with Nikita Balieff's company The Chauve-Souris, gradually adapting to the new linguistic environment.
By the early 1930s, Tamiroff had made his way to Hollywood. Thanks to his appearance, he was often cast as charismatic villains, generals and foreigners. For his role in The General Died at Dawn (1936), he received the first-ever Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.
His second Oscar nomination and a Golden Globe award came for the role of the guerrilla Pablo in the 1943 film adaptation of Ernest Hemingway's novel For Whom the Bell Tolls. The actor was valued by director Orson Welles, who considered him one of the greatest of his era and cast him in his films, among them Touch of Evil and The Trial.
Over his career in the United States and Europe, Akim Tamiroff appeared in more than 140 films.
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