John Lithgow

Personal Info

Known For:
Acting

Birthday:
October 19, 1945

Place of Birth:
Rochester, New York, USA

Social Media

John Lithgow

Biography

John Arthur Lithgow (/ˈlɪθɡoʊ/ LITH-goh; born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Grammy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award.

Lithgow won two Tony Awards, his first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room (1972) and his second for Best Actor in a Musical for the musical Sweet Smell of Success (2002). He was Tony-nominated for Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). He has acted in the plays The Columnist (2012), A Delicate Balance (2014), and Hillary and Clinton (2019). He portrayed Roald Dahl in the play Giant on the West End, for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor. 

He starred as Dick Solomon in the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He received further Primetime Emmy Awards for his performances as Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and as Winston Churchill in the Netflix drama The Crown (2016–2019). He also starred in HBO's Perry Mason (2020) and FX's The Old Man (2022).

On film, he has received two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his roles as a transsexual ex-football player in The World According to Garp (1982) and a lonely banker in Terms of Endearment (1983). He also acted in All That Jazz (1979), Blow Out (1981), Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), A Civil Action (1998), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Love Is Strange (2014), Interstellar (2014), Late Night (2019), Bombshell (2019), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and Conclave (2024).

Description above from the Wikipedia article John Lithgow, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Known For

Filmography

Year Movie Role
2025 The Rule of Jenny Pen Dave Crealy
2025 Jimpa Jimpa
2024 Cabrini Mayor Gould
2024 Spellbound Bolinar (voice)
2024 Art Happens Here with John Lithgow Self
2024 Conclave Tremblay
2023 Sharper Richard Hobbes
2023 Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic Self
2023 Killers of the Flower Moon Prosecutor Peter Leaward
2022 Chez Bob
2022 The Bubble Tom the Studio Chairman
2021 Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes Philip Drummond
2021 Myths and Hymns
2021 Emily @ the Edge of Chaos Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
2021 Show of Titles "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
2020 Give My Regards to Broadway Self
2019 Late Night Walter Lovell
2019 Pet Sematary Jud Crandall
2019 Bombshell Roger Ailes
2019 The Tomorrow Man Ed Hemsler
2019 The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts President Donald J. Trump
2019 On Broadway Self
2018 Mister Rogers: It's You I Like Self
2018 Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman Jud Crandall
2017 They All Saw a Cat
2017 Broadway: The Next Generation Self
2017 Beatriz at Dinner Doug Strutt
2017 Daddy's Home 2 Don
2017 The Pulitzer At 100 Self
2017 Pitch Perfect 3 Fergus
2017 Hickory Dickory Doc Himself
2016 The Accountant Lamar Blackburn
2016 Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 Narrator
2016 Miss Sloane Senator Ronald Sperling
2016 Shakespeare Live! From the RSC Self - Performer
2015 Inside 'Interstellar' Self
2015 Projections of America Self - Narrator (voice)
2015 Lord John
2015 Best of Enemies Self
2014 Interstellar Donald
2014 Love Is Strange Ben
2014 The Homesman Reverend Alfred Dowd
2014 The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest Maurice (voice)
2014 9 Kisses Man in Club
2013 Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love Self
2013 National Theatre Live: The Magistrate Posket
2013 Shrek Stories Lord Farquaad (voice)
2013 Timms Valley Ol' Gregory Timms
2012 Casting By Self
2012 The Campaign Glen Motch
2012 This Is 40 Oliver
2011 Rise of the Planet of the Apes Charles Rodman
2011 New Year's Eve Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
2011 Shrek: Once Upon a Time Self
2010 Leap Year Jack Brady
2009 Confessions of a Shopaholic Edgar West
2009 Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn Narrator
2009 The Macabre World of Lavender Williams God
2008 Car of the Future Narrator
2007 ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway Self
2006 Sangre Cafe chef and owner
2006 Dreamgirls Jerry Harris
2006 The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge Narrator
2006 The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
2005 Einstein's Big Idea Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
2004 The Life and Death of Peter Sellers Blake Edwards
2004 Kinsey Alfred Seguine Kinsey
2004 Dogs and More Dogs Narrator
2003 The Ghost of Lord Farquaad Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
2003 Bark, George
2002 Orange County Bud Brumder
2002 Buckaroo Banzai Declassified Self
2001 Shrek Lord Farquaad (voice)
2001 Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
2000 Rugrats in Paris: The Movie Jean-Claude (voice)
2000 95 Worlds and Counting Narrator
2000 Don Quixote Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
1999 Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection Dr. Oscar Charles
1998 A Civil Action Judge Walter J. Skinner
1998 Homegrown Malcolm / Robert Stockman
1998 Johnny Skidmarks Sergeant Larry Skovik
1997 Officer Buckle and Gloria Narrator (voice)
1996 Hollow Point Thomas Livingston
1996 Special Effects: Anything Can Happen Narrator
1995 The Tuskegee Airmen Senator Conyers
1995 Redwood Curtain Laird Riordan
1995 My Brother's Keeper Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
1995 American Cinema Narrator
1995 Tales from the Crypt: You, Murderer Dr. Oscar Charles
1994 A Good Man in Africa Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
1994 Princess Caraboo Professor Wilkinson
1994 Silent Fall Dr. Rene Harlinger
1994 Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects Self
1993 The Pelican Brief Smith Keen
1993 Cliffhanger Eric Qualen
1993 The Wrong Man Phillip Mills
1993 Love, Cheat & Steal Paul Harrington
1993 Sylvester and the Magic Pebble Narrator
1993 The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale Alexander (voice)
1992 Raising Cain Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
1991 Ricochet Earl Talbott Blake
1991 At Play in the Fields of the Lord Leslie Huben
1991 The Boys Artie Margulies
1990 Memphis Belle Bruce Derringer
1990 Ivory Hunters Robert Carter
1990 Night of 100 Stars III Self
1990 John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
1989 Out Cold Dave
1989 Traveling Man Ben Cluett
1988 Distant Thunder Mark Lambert
1987 Harry and the Hendersons George Henderson
1987 Baby Girl Scott Neil Scott
1987 The Amazing Bone Narrator
1986 The Manhattan Project John Mathewson
1986 Resting Place Maj. Kendall Laird
1985 Santa Claus: The Movie B.Z.
1985 Mesmerized Oliver Thompson
1985 Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie Self
1984 Footloose Rev. Shaw Moore
1984 2010 Dr. Walter Curnow
1984 The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension Lord John Whorfin
1984 The Glitter Dome Sgt. Marty Wellborn
1984 Goldilocks and the Three Bears Goldilocks' Father
1984 2010 : The Odyssey Continues Himself
1983 Terms of Endearment Sam Burns
1983 The Day After Joe Huxley
1983 Twilight Zone: The Movie Valentine
1982 The World According to Garp Roberta Muldoon
1982 I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can Mr. Brunner
1982 Not in Front of the Children Richard Carruthers
1981 Blow Out Burke
1980 The Oldest Living Graduate Clarence
1980 Big Blonde Herbie Morse
1980 Mom, the Wolfman and Me Wally
1979 All That Jazz Lucas Sergeant
1979 Rich Kids Paul Philips
1978 The Big Fix Sam Sebastian
1977 Secret Service Capt. Thorne
1976 Obsession Robert Lasalle
1974 The Country Girl Paul Unger
1972 Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues John
Amazing Stories: The Movie II John Walters (archive footage)
Sequestered - Inside Conclave Self
Year TV Show Role
2025 SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night Self
2023 Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled Self
2022 Sherri Self - Guest
2022 The Old Man Harold Harper
2021 Dexter: New Blood Arthur Mitchell
2020 Perry Mason Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
2020 Stars in the House Self - Special Guest
2019 The Kelly Clarkson Show Self
2018 The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer Self - Guest
2018 James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction Self
2018 Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
2017 Trial & Error Larry Henderson
2016 The Crown Winston Churchill
2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Self - Guest
2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015 Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter Self
2015 The Late Show with Stephen Colbert Self
2014 Late Night with Seth Meyers Self
2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Self
2014 The Roosevelts: An Intimate History James Roosevelt (voice)
2014 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014 Variety Studio: Actors on Actors Self
2013 Once Upon a Time in Wonderland The White Rabbit (voice)
2012 Finding Your Roots Self
2011 Prohibition Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
2010 Conan Self
2009 Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen Self - Guest
2007 The Graham Norton Show Self
2006 Twenty Good Years
2006 30 Rock John Lithgow
2006 Dexter Arthur Mitchell
2006 The One Show Self
2005 How I Met Your Mother Jerry Whittaker
2005 The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
2005 The Colbert Report
2004 The Tony Danza Show Self
2003 VH1 Goes Inside
2002 E! Live from the Red Carpet Self
1999 The Early Show Self
1997 The View Self
1997 The View Self - Guest
1996 3rd Rock from the Sun Dick Solomon
1996 Cosby John Lithgow
1996 The West Self
1996 The Daily Show Self
1996 The Rosie O'Donnell Show Self - Guest
1996 The West Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
1994 American Cinema
1994 World War II: When Lions Roared Franklin Delano Roosevelt
1993 Frasier Madman Martinez (voice)
1993 Late Night with Conan O'Brien Self - Guest
1989 Tales from the Crypt Dr. Oscar Charles
1989 The Simpsons Gus (voice)
1989 The Simpsons John Lithgow (voice)
1985 Amazing Stories John Walters
1982 Faerie Tale Theatre Goldilocks' Father
1975 Saturday Night Live Self - Host
1974 NOVA Narrator
1971 Great Performances Capt. Thorne
1956 Tony Awards Self - Presenter
1956 Tony Awards Self - Nominee & Performer
1956 Tony Awards Self - Winner
1956 Tony Awards Self - Nominee
1956 Tony Awards Self - Nominee/Performer
1953 The Oscars Self - Presenter
1952 Today Self
1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame Paul Unger
1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame Major Kendall Laird
1951 Hallmark Hall of Fame Laird Riordan
1944 Golden Globe Awards Self - Nominee
1944 Golden Globe Awards Self - Presenter
1944 Golden Globe Awards Self - Winner
Harry Potter Albus Dumbledore
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