In Berlin he often worked for Max Reinhardt and he became a well-known stage actor in the German capital city.
Rameau appeared in German silent films as early as 1915. During his exile in the United States, he took small supporting roles in several Hollywood movies. In contrast to most German refugee actors in Hollywood who played Nazis, Rameau was often seen in more dignified and cultivated roles.
He left Germany in 1933 and escaped over Suisse, the Netherlands, Italy and Great Britain to the United States. He returned to Germany around 1950 and spent his last years there, again working at the Schiller Theater.
Rameau made his stage debut in 1898 in Shakespeare's Julius Caesar. He was an accomplished stage actor in Germany and for many years the vicarious intendant at the Schiller Theater in Berlin.
Emil Rameau remained a demanded actor in front of the camera during the 20s, and his last cinematical works in Germany came at the beginning of the 30s.