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Georg August Friedrich Hermann Schulz - who changed his name to Heinrich George in 1932 - was born October 9, 1893, in Stettin as the son of a former naval officer. He attended school in Berlin but left before finishing his A-levels. Instead, he took acting classes in Stettin. From 1912, he worked at theaters in Kolberg, Bromberg, and Neustrelitz, followed by engagements in Dresden (1917/18) and Frankfurt/Main (1918-21). In 1920, he made his first guest appearances in Berlin to which he ultimately relocated in 1922.
His debut as a film actor came in 1921, when he was banned from the stage due to a breach of contract. In order to be independent from the commercial theater world, he founded the "Schauspielertheater" in 1923 alongside such popular actors as Alexander Granach and Elisabeth Bergner. From 1925 until 1928, he performed at the Volksbühne in plays directed by Erwin Piscator. In addition, he appeared at the Heidelberg Theater Festival on a regular basis (1926-38). In 1927, he started directing stage plays himself.
During the period of the Weimar Republic, George became predominantly known as a film actor who portrayed characters that try to hide their sensibility behind a brutal attitude ("Das Meer"; "Manolescu"; Franz Biberkopf in "Berlin – Alexanderplatz"). His "massive appearance" as well as his "elementary power" were mentioned in nearly every contemporary review.
George himself has once described his acting technique as "controlled trance". His best screen moments occured in movies in which he could act in long unbroken scenes uninterrupted by reaction shots. Examples include his plea in "Affäre Dreyfus" ("The Dreyfus Case") and the dance sequence in "Der Postmeister".
On account of his great success in Germany, he was engaged to Hollywood in 1931 where he starred in two German-language movies produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. After his return to Germany, he married the actress Berta Drews.
In 1937, George was appointed artistic director of the Schillertheater. Members of his ensemble included popular and established actors such as Paul Wegener, Eduard von Winterstein, and Ernst Legal, as well as talented young actors such as Horst Caspar (George's co-star in "Friedrich Schiller") and Will Quadflieg, who started their career at the Schillertheater. In December 1942, he took over his own department at the film production company TOBIS.
While George was regarded as a left-wing sympathizer during the period of the Weimar Republic, he got hooked up with the Nazis soon after 1933. In "Hitlerjunge Quex", one of the first movies to openly celebrate the fascist takeover, he played a communist who converts to National Socialism.
During the following years, George became one of the leading representatives of Nazi cinema and proved himself to be a very versatile actor: In historic biopics such as "Das unsterbliche Herz" ("The Immortal Heart") and "Andreas Schlüter" he portrayed powerfully charismatic leaders who insist on unconditional obedience. In "Jud Süß" he starred as a pleasure-seeking Duke who hands over his country to a Jewish financial advisor, and in "Kolberg" he played a mayor who calls on his citizens to defend the city against the Napoleonic troops.
George was arrested in June 1945 and detained first in Hohenschönhausen, then in Sachsenhausen, where he died on September 26, 1946.