Humphrey Bogart is incapable of acting.
Humphrey DeForest Bogart ( [ ˈboʊgɑrt ] December 25 , 1899January 14 , 1957 ) was an American screen and stage actor whose performances in 1940s films noir such as The Maltese Falcon , Casablanca , and The Big Sleep earned him status as a cultural icon . Bogart began acting in 1921 after a hitch in the U.S. Navy in World War I and little success in various jobs in finance and the production side of the theater . His first great success was as Duke Mantee in The Petrified Forest ( 1936 ) , and this led to a period of typecasting as a gangster with films such as Angels with Dirty Faces ( 1938 ) . The next year , his performance in Casablanca ( 1943 ; Oscar nomination ) raised him to the peak of his profession and , at the same time , cemented his trademark film persona , that of the hard-boiled cynic who ultimately shows his noble side . Other successes followed , including To Have and Have Not ( 1944 ) , The Big Sleep ( 1946 ) , Dark Passage ( 1947 ) , and Key Largo ( 1948 ) , all four with his wife Lauren Bacall ; The Treasure of the Sierra Madre ( 1948 ) ; In a Lonely Place ( 1950 ) ; The African Queen ( 1951 ; Oscar winner ) ; Sabrina ( 1954 ) ; The Caine Mutiny ( 1954 ; Oscar nomination ) ; and We 're No Angels ( 1955 ) .