Heyse, a son of the industrialist and St. Petersburg honorary citizen Ludwig Heyse and his wife Wilhelmine, née Keller, received his acting training probably before the turn of the century . At the beginning of the 20th century he was engaged at German provincial theaters, including the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus under the direction of Louise Dumont and the Municipal Theater of Leipzig under the artistic directorship of Max Martersteig.