Boyer, Charles (1899–1978)

French film actor. He made his name in Hollywood in the 1930s as the ‘great lover’ in such films as The Garden of Allah (1936), Conquest/Maria Walewska (1937), in which he played Napoleon, and Algiers (1938).

Known for his suave sophistication and whispered declarations of love, he was a matinee idol during the 1930s, but earned a wider range of leading roles in later films, such as Love Affair (1939), Gaslight (1942), and The Earrings of Madame de ... (1953). He continued as a leading man into the 1950s.