Charles Bryant

Biography

Charles Bryant (born in Hartford, Cheshire, 1879; died in Mount Kisco, New York, 1948) was a British actor and film director whose career unfolded largely in the United States, mainly during the silent era. He is today best remembered for his partnership with Alla Nazimova, with whom he shared the screen and, for a time, production projects.

Bryant left school at fourteen to become a stage actor in England. Some years later he moved to the United States to work on Broadway. His film work included A Train of Incidents (1914) and War Brides (1916), the latter the film debut of Nazimova. In 1918 the pair signed with Metro Pictures and appeared together in films such as Revelation and Billions.

That same year Nazimova founded her own company, Nazimova Productions, where Bryant began to direct. Together they made Salome (1923), an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play. The film was a box-office failure, the company went bankrupt, and Bryant did not return to film, going back to Broadway instead. Their marriage, which was reportedly one of convenience, ended in divorce shortly afterwards. Bryant remarried in 1925 and died in Mount Kisco in 1948, aged 69.

Key films

• Revelation (1918), a Metro release with Bryant alongside Nazimova.
• Billions (1920), one of their collaborations during the Metro period.
• A Doll's House (1922), directed by Bryant from Ibsen's play.
• Salome (1923), his best-known directing credit, an adaptation of Oscar Wilde's play.