Emil Jannings was a Swiss-born German actor who was popular in Hollywood films in the 1920s. He was the first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Actor for starring in The Last Command and The Way of All Flesh. Jannings remains the only German ever to win in that category.
He is best known for his films with F. W. Murnau and Josef von Sternberg, including 1930's The Blue Angel (Der blaue Engel), with Marlene Dietrich. The Blue Angel was meant as a vehicle for Jannings to secure a place for himself in the new medium of sound film, but he was ultimately overshadowed by Dietrich. Jannings went on to leading roles in State Films (Staatsauftragsfilme) in Nazi Germany.