Michael Rennie (25 August 1909 – 10 June 1971) was an English film, television, and stage actor, best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still.

Early years

Eric Alexander Rennie was born in Idle, a village near the West Riding of Yorkshire city of Bradford (subsequently a Bradford suburb) and educated at The Leys School, Cambridge. He attempted a number of professions, including periods as car salesman and manager of his uncle's rope factory, before deciding (at the time of his 26th birthday, in 1935) on a career as an actor. Retaining his surname but adopting the professional name Michael Rennie, the tall (6′4″) show business hopeful with chiseled cheekbones and features first appeared onscreen in an uncredited bit part in Alfred Hitchcock's Secret Agent, which had its London premiere in May 1936.