Paul Rhys of famous brothers, Paul then played Sydney Chaplin opposite Robert Downey, Jr.'s Charlie Chaplin in Richard Attenborough's "Chaplin". He went on to play "Massis" in Alan Bennett's "102 Boulevard Hausmann", after which he played opposite Peter O'Toole in "Rebecca's Daughters". A series of films then followed including "From Hell", "Food of Love", "Love Lies Bleeding" and "". Running parallel to Rhys's film work has been a diverse and notable television career, working in leading roles with directors such as Mike Hodges, Stephen Frears, Sir Richard Eyre, Philip Martin, Christopher Morahan, Tom Vaughan, Edward Hall, Harry Bradbeer in productions including "Tumbledown",
Charlie Chaplin an actor and filmmaker. Simon Louvish writes that the company was his "training ground", and it was here that Chaplin learned to vary the pace of his comedy. The concept of mixing pathos with slapstick was learnt from Karno, who also used elements of absurdity that became familiar in Chaplin's gags. From the film industry, Chaplin drew upon the work of the French comedian Max Linder, whose films he greatly admired. In developing the Tramp costume and persona, he was likely inspired by the American vaudeville scene, where tramp characters were common. Chaplin never spoke more than cursorily about his