Quadflieg attended high school, where he graduated with a high school diploma. He took acting lessons while he was still at school. In 1933 he played for the first time at the theater in Oberhausen. This was followed by engagements in Giessen, Gera and Düsseldorf. In 1936 he first played in Berlin at the Volksbühne. Two years later he moved to the Schiller Theater and played under Heinrich George. Quadflieg used his relationship with George and Eugen Klöpfer, artistic director at the Volksbühne, to be released from military service in the Third Reich and to pursue a career. He became a star and follower. Later he tried to correct things and used his recitation events in which he called for political awareness. In Berlin, Will Quadflieg particularly impressed with his acting intensity in roles as Clavico, Hamlet and Don Carlos.

After the end of the war, he took part in setting up the Junge Bühne in Hamburg. From 1947 he played at the Deutsches Schauspielhaus and the following year at the Schauspielhaus Zurich. In addition to theater acting, he made a name for himself as a reciter who recognized poetry as a therapy for people. He also found his way to film. He successfully appeared in entertainment films such as "Moselfahrt aus Liebeskummer" and "Don't Forget Love". But his favorite subject remained theater. He became an attraction at the Salzburg Festival. There he appeared in "Everyman" until 1959 or played Mephistopheles, Egmont, Orest or Prince of Gustalla. He worked with the actor and director Gustaf Gründgens in Hamburg for six years. Quadflieg achieved international popularity in the title role of the Gründgens production of "Faust" (1960). After that, things became a little quieter for the actor, because from that time on, theater makers influenced the stage events with avant-garde concepts.

Quadflieg, with its classic approach to theater, stood a little apart. He went on tour to meet his audience. It was only in the mid-1970s that he celebrated his comeback as a character actor, including broken characters in modern theater, under the direction of Rudolf Noelte. Will Quadflieg has been playing at the Thalia Theater in Hamburg since 1983. Even at the age of 85, he still appeared in roles from plays by Chekhov, Ionesco and Shakespeare. However, he has been performing in theater for almost 65 years. Of his five children, only his son Christian Quadflieg also became an actor. His numerous awards include the Hamburg Medal for Science and Art, the Henning Kaufmann Prize, the Grimme Gold Prize and the Lew Kopelew Peace Prize, which he received for his "language as lived humanity" - just like it in the award statement it was said - received.

Will Quadflieg died on November 27, 2003 at the age of 89.