A number of minor movie roles in the 1940s (including Osric in Laurence Olivier's 1947 Hamlet) brought Cushing to the attention of the management of Hammer Films.
Cushing appeared in a string of Hammer productions, including The Revenge of Frankenstein (1958), The Evil of Frankenstein (1964), Frankenstein Created Woman (1966), Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed (1969), and Frankenstein and the Monster from Hell (1973).
Post-Hammer credits include Star Wars (1977).