Anders Randolf was born Anders Christian Randrup in Denmark circa 1870. He grew up on a farm north of Viborg with his aunt and uncle. After Randolf had achieved fame as an actor, it was reported that he attended military school in Copenhagen and excelled at fencing, graduating Maitre d’Arms before going on to military service in the Royal Danish Hussars. He emigrated to the United States circa 1890 and it was later reported that he had so enjoyed his military service in Denmark that he enlisted with the 17th United States Infantry, serving as a first assistant instructor. He then moved to Columbus, Ohio and ended up on stage touring with a few stock theater companies, including the Empire Stock Company, the William Farnum All-Star Company, and the Vaughn Glaser Company. He moved to New York City circa 1905, married his wife, Dorthea, in 1912, and the following year made his first appearance in a Vitagraph Company of America film with a small role in THE PRISONER OF ZENDA (1913).

For the next couple of years, Randolf acted in over two dozen Vitagraph shorts, and by 1915 he was being promoted as one of Vitagraph’s stock performers. He appeared in larger supporting parts in feature length films beginning with his villainous turn in MOTHER’S ROSES (1915), and he was frequently cast as the villain in his subsequent roles. His work for Vitagraph includes the studio’s first serial, THE GODDESS (1915), THE WHEELS OF JUSTICE (1915), and THE LION AND THE MOUSE (1919). Randolf was also a skilled portrait artist, and his oil paintings of various Vitagraph stars decorated the Vitagraph Theater in New York City until its closure in 1916. In 1919 he left Vitagraph to work as a freelance actor. He supported Marion Davies in three films, THE CINEMA MURDER (1919), BURIED TREASURE (1921), and ENCHANTMENT (1921), and acted twice for D. W. Griffith in THE IDOL DANCER (1920) and THE LOVE FLOWER (1920). In 1924, he relocated to Hollywood with his wife and young daughter. He had one of his best roles in THE BLACK PIRATE (1926), in which he was able to display his athleticism and fencing skills in a duel with Douglas Fairbanks. The final years of his career coincided with the industry’s transition to sound and his notable work includes performances in OLD SAN FRANCISCO (1927), THE JAZZ SINGER (1927), NOAH’S ARK (1928), FOUR DEVILS (1929), THE LAST PERFORMANCE (1929), and THE KISS (1929). Though he acted in dramas for much of his career, in his later years he also delved into comedy, appearing in IN HOLLYWOOD WITH POTASH AND PERLMUTTER (1924) and opposite Laurel and Hardy in WRONG AGAIN (1929) and NIGHT OWLS (1930), among many others. Randolf died unexpectedly following a kidney operation in 1930.