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James Neville Mason (15 May 1909 – 27 July 1984) was a three-time Academy Award-nominated British actor who attained stardom in both British and American films.

Biography

Early life

Mason was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, to John and Mabel Mason; his father was a wealthy merchant. Mason had no formal training as an actor and initially embarked upon it as a lark. He was educated at Marlborough College, and then studied architecture at Peterhouse, Cambridge, where he gained a first degree, but became involved in stock theatre companies in his spare time, before joining the Old Vic theatre in London under the guidance of Tyrone Guthrie and Alexander Korda, who gave Mason a small film role in 1933 but fired him a few days into shooting.