Casablanca is widely considered one of the greatest films in history, and its impact was such that it boosted the careers of most of its cast. Based on the play Everybody Comes to Rick’s, by Murray Burnett and Joan Alison, Casablanca was directed by Michael Curtiz and released in 1942. Casablanca takes viewers back to 1941 and to the city of Casablanca, which at the time, was controlled by the French, to meet American expatriate and nightclub owner Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) and Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman), Rick’s former lover who is now married to victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid), a Czechoslovak resistance leader.
Casablanca sees Rick having to choose between his love for Ilsa and helping Victor escape the city to continue his fight against the Germans. The performances of Casablanca’s main cast, its music, and its many iconic dialogues have contributed to the movie becoming a classic and “must-watch”, as well as to being considered one of the greatest movies ever made. Casablanca’s cast is formed by some of the most iconic and famous names in film history, and the movie’s success and legacy impacted their careers in the best way. Here’s what happened to the cast of Casablanca after the movie.
9 Humphrey Bogart
Humphrey Bogart was already a big name in the film industry by the time he starred in Casablanca, thanks to High Sierra and The Maltese Falcon, both released in 1941. After starring in Casablanca, which gave him his first Academy Award nomination for Best Actor, Bogart’s popularity grew as he starred with Lauren Bacall (whom he later married) in the movies To Have and Have Not, The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo. Some of Bogart’s best performances after Casablanca were in the Western film The Treasure of the Sierra Madre and the film noir In a Lonely Place, and he won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1951 for The African Queen. Bogart’s final role was in the movie The Harder They Fall, in 1956, and he passed away in 1957.
8 Ingrid Bergman
Ingrid Bergman’s big break happened in 1939 with the English-language remake of Intermezzo, as it was the movie that introduced her to the U.S. audience. Following Casablanca, Bergman’s acting career continued to grow, starring in the epic war film For Whom the Bell Tolls, which gave her her first Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Bergman went on to star in Gaslight, The Bells of St. Mary’s, and Joan of Arc, and made three films with Alfred Hitchcock: Spellbound, Notorious, and Under Capricorn.
Bergman won three Academy Awards – two for Best Actress (Gaslight, Anastasia) and one for Best Supporting Actress (Murder on the Orient Express) – becoming one of four actresses who have received at least three Oscars. Bergman’s final movie was Autumn Sonata, in 1978, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress, and she passed away in 1982.
7 Paul Henreid
Paul Henreid was no newcomer when he was cast in Casablanca, having starred in Now, Voyager opposite Bette Davis, but Casablanca gave his career a push. After Casablanca, Henreid starred in the romantic drama In Our Time, the fantasy drama Between Two Worlds, and the spy thriller The Conspirators. Henreid claimed in his 1984 autobiography that he was semi-blacklisted for five years after attending a protest against the excesses of the House Committee on Un-American Activities, and in the late 1940s, he became a producer. In the 1950s, Henreid became a director and continued acting, though in small roles, with his final acting credit being Exorcist II: The Heretic, where he played The Cardinal. Paul Henreid passed away in 1992.
6 Claude Rains
Before his role as Captain Louis Renault in Casablanca, Claude Rains was already known for playing Dr. Jack Griffin/The Invisible Man in the 1933 sci-fi horror movie The Invisible Man. After Casablanca, Rains returned to the horror genre and played Erique Claudin/The Phantom of the Opera in the 1943 film Phantom of the Opera. Rains later played Julius Caesar in Caesar and Cleopatra (becoming the first actor to receive a million-dollar salary), Alexander Sebastian in Alfred Hitchcock’s Notorious, Professor George Edward Challenger in The Lost World, and Mr. Dryden in Lawrence of Arabia.
His performance in the 1957 TV musical version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin was a massive success, and it was his only singing and dancing role. Claude Rains’ final movie was The Greatest Story Ever Told, in 1965, and he passed away in 1967.
5 Peter Lorre
Peter Lorre was already a well-established actor before being cast in Casablanca, as he starred in M, Alfred Hitchcock’s The Man Who Knew Too Much, and The Maltese Falcon. Lorre reunited with some of his Casablanca co-stars in various subsequent projects, such as Passage to Marseille and The Conspirators, and in 1954, he appeared in Disney’s 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. Lorre is the first actor to play a James Bond villain, as he played Le Chiffre in the 1954 TV version of Casino Royale. Among Lorre’s final films are Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Tales of Terror, The Raven, and The Patsy. Peter Lorre passed away in 1964.
4 Sydney Greenstreet
Sydney Greenstreet made his big screen debut alongside Bogart in The Maltese Falcon, and after playing Signor Ferrari in Casablanca, he reunited with Bogart, Rains, Henreid, and Lorre a couple more times. Greenstreet’s post-Casablanca works include Passage to Marseille, The Conspirators, Conflict, Three Strangers, Devotion, and Flamingo Road. Greenstreet’s final movie was Malaya, in 1949, and he passed away in 1954.
3 Conrad Veidt
Conrad Veidt is best remembered for his role as Major Strasser in Casablanca, but he had other notable roles in his career. Veidt appeared in Robert Wiene’s The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari and starred in 1928’s The Man Who Laughs. Conrad Veidt’s acting roles include the movies Escape, A Woman’s Face, and Nazi Agent, and Casablanca was his last film to be released during his lifetime, with his final movie, Above Suspicion, released posthumously. Conrad Veidt passed away in 1943.
2 Dooley Wilson
Dooley Wilson led his own band in the 1920s, and he started his acting career in the 1930s. After playing Sam in Casablanca, Wilson was cast in Stormy Weather, Higher and Higher, Seven Days Ashore, and Racing Luck. His final film role was in Passage West, with the TV series Beulah being his final acting role. Dooley Wilson passed away in 1953.
1 S.Z. Sakall
S.Z. Sakall joined the cast of Casablanca three weeks after filming started, and though he initially turned it down, he agreed to take the role if he was given four weeks of work (which ended up being three). Sakall’s post-Casablanca films include Christmas in Connecticut, Embraceable You, Romance on the High Seas, Tea for Two, Lullaby of Broadway, and It’s a Big Country. S. Z. Sakall’s final movie was The Student Price, in 1954, and he passed away in 1955.
