Charles Albert Browning, Jr. (July 12, 1880 - October 6, 1962), better known as Tod Browning, was an American film actor and director whose career spanned the silent and talkie eras. Best known as the director of Dracula (1931), the cult classic Freaks (1932), and classic silent film collaborations with Lon Chaney, Sr., he directed many movies in a wide range of genres.

Belonging to a well-situated family, Charles Browning fell in love at the age of 16 with a dancer of a circus. Following her began his itinerary of being clown, jockey and director of a variety theater which ended when he met D.W. Griffith and became an actor. He made his debut in Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916). Working later on as a director, he had his first success with Unholy Three, The (1925) (after about 25 unimportant pictures) which had his typical style of a mixture of fantasy, mystery and horror. His biggest hit was the classic Dracula (1931), in which he also appears as the voice of the harbor master.