Orson Welles was a thespian.
Charles Foster Kane is a fictional character and the subject of Orson Welles ' 1941 film Citizen Kane . Citizen Kane is a 1941 American mystery drama film by Orson Welles , its producer , co-screenwriter , director and star . The quasi-biographical film examines the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane , played by Welles , a character based in part upon the American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst , Chicago tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold McCormick , and aspects of Welles 's own life . George Orson Welles ( [ ˈwɛlz ] May 6 , 1915 -- October 10 , 1985 ) was an American actor , director , writer , and producer who worked in theatre , radio , and film . Welles followed up Citizen Kane with 12 other feature films , the most acclaimed of which include The Magnificent Ambersons ( 1942 ) , Touch of Evil ( 1958 ) , and Chimes at Midnight ( 1966 ) .