Personal Info
Known For:
Acting
Birthday:
December 12, 1949
Place of Birth:
Caterham, Surrey, England, UK
Social Media
Bill Nighy
Biography
William Francis Nighy (born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Known for his work on screen and stage, he has received numerous awards, including two BAFTA Awards, a Golden Globe Award and nominations for an Academy Award and a Tony Award.
Nighy started his career with the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool and made his London debut with the Royal National Theatre starting with The Illuminatus! in 1977. There he gained acclaim for his roles in David Hare's Pravda in 1985, Harold Pinter's Betrayal in 1991, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, and Anton Chekov's The Seagull in 1994. He received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor nomination for his performance in Blue/Orange in 2001. He made his Broadway debut in Hare's The Vertical Hour in 2006, and returned in the 2015 revival of Hare's Skylight earning a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination.
Early film roles include in the comedies Still Crazy (1998), and Blow Dry (1999) before his breakout role in Love Actually (2003) which earned him a BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actor. He soon gained recognition portraying Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series (2006-2007), and Viktor in the Underworld film series (2003-2009). Other films include Shaun of the Dead (2004), The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (2005), The Constant Gardener (2005), Notes on a Scandal (2006), Hot Fuzz (2007), Valkyrie (2008), Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 (2010), The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012), About Time (2013), Emma (2020), and Living (2022), the last of these earning him his first career Academy Award nomination.
Nighy has gained acclaim for his roles in television earning a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor for his performance in BBC One series State of Play (2003), and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for the BBC film Gideon's Daughter (2007). He's also known for his roles in HBO's The Girl in the Café (2006) and PBS's Page Eight (2012).
Known For
Filmography
| Year | Movie | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Shelter | |
| 2025 | & Sons | Andrew |
| 2025 | This Is the Beginning | |
| 2025 | Bulk | (voice) |
| 2024 | 10 Lives | Professor Craven (voice) |
| 2024 | The First Omen | Cardinal Lawrence |
| 2024 | Joy | Patrick Steptoe |
| 2024 | Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue | Conrad (voice) |
| 2024 | The Wild Robot | Longneck (voice) |
| 2024 | That Christmas | Lighthouse Bill (voice) |
| 2024 | The Beautiful Game | Mal |
| 2023 | Role Play | Bob |
| 2023 | Darkling | |
| 2023 | Spectre of the Bear | Bennett (voice) |
| 2023 | Bloody Fury | Bloody's Consciousness (voice) |
| 2022 | The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later – A Diane Sawyer Special | Self |
| 2022 | Living | Williams |
| 2021 | Christmas Magic at Kew Gardens | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2021 | Buckley's Chance | Spencer |
| 2021 | Lotus: A New Dawn | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2020 | Emma. | Mr. Woodhouse |
| 2020 | Minamata | Robert "Bob" Hayes |
| 2020 | Katherine Jenkins Christmas Spectacular | Self |
| 2019 | Pokémon Detective Pikachu | Howard Clifford |
| 2019 | The Kindness of Strangers | Timofey |
| 2019 | Hope Gap | Edward |
| 2019 | Sometimes Always Never | Alan |
| 2019 | StarDog and TurboCat | Sinclair (voice) |
| 2017 | Their Finest | Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank |
| 2017 | The Bookshop | Mr. Brundish |
| 2017 | Red Nose Day Actually | Billy Mack |
| 2016 | Norm of the North | Socrates (voice) |
| 2016 | Dad's Army | Sergeant Wilson |
| 2016 | The Limehouse Golem | John Kildare |
| 2015 | The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie |
| 2015 | A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman | Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas' |
| 2014 | I, Frankenstein | Naberius |
| 2014 | Pride | Cliff |
| 2014 | Turks & Caicos | Johnny Worricker |
| 2014 | Salting the Battlefield | Johnny Worricker |
| 2014 | National Theatre Live: Skylight | Tom Sergeant |
| 2013 | Jack the Giant Slayer | General Fallon |
| 2013 | The World's End | The Network (voice) |
| 2013 | About Time | Dad |
| 2013 | Great White Shark | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2013 | Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene | Graham Greene (voice) |
| 2013 | The Hungry Corpse | The Hungry Corpse |
| 2012 | Total Recall | Matthias |
| 2012 | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie |
| 2012 | Wrath of the Titans | Hephaestus |
| 2012 | London: The Modern Babylon | Spoken Quotations (voice) |
| 2011 | Rango | Rattlesnake Jake (voice) |
| 2011 | Arthur Christmas | Grandsanta (voice) |
| 2011 | Real Creatures of Dirt | Self / Rattlesnake Jake |
| 2011 | Page Eight | Johnny Worricker |
| 2011 | Chalet Girl | Richard Madsen |
| 2011 | Astonish Me | The Professor |
| 2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Rufus Scrimgeour |
| 2010 | Wild Target | Victor Maynard |
| 2009 | Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | Viktor |
| 2009 | Glorious 39 | Alexander Keyes |
| 2009 | Astro Boy | Dr. Elefun / Robotsky (voice) |
| 2009 | The Boat That Rocked | Quentin |
| 2009 | G-Force | Leonard Saber |
| 2008 | Valkyrie | Friedrich Olbricht |
| 2008 | Slapper | Arnold Percy |
| 2007 | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Davy Jones |
| 2007 | Hot Fuzz | Met Chief Inspector |
| 2007 | Conclusive: We Made Hot Fuzz | Self |
| 2006 | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Davy Jones |
| 2006 | Notes on a Scandal | Richard Hart |
| 2006 | Underworld: Evolution | Viktor |
| 2006 | Flushed Away | Whitey (voice) |
| 2006 | Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener | Self |
| 2006 | Stormbreaker | Alan Blunt |
| 2006 | We Love Cigarettes | Narrator |
| 2005 | The Constant Gardener | Sir Bernard Pellegrin |
| 2005 | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Slartibartfast |
| 2005 | The Girl in the Café | Lawrence |
| 2005 | Gideon's Daughter | Gideon Warner |
| 2005 | Inside 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' | Self |
| 2005 | Don't Crash: The Documentary of the Making of the Movie of the Book of the Radio Series of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' | Self |
| 2004 | Shaun of the Dead | Phillip |
| 2004 | Enduring Love | Robin |
| 2004 | The Magic Roundabout | Dylan (voice) |
| 2004 | Ready When You Are, Mr McGill | Phil Parish |
| 2004 | Burst | Maxwell's Fan 22 |
| 2004 | Peter Ustinov: The Parkinson Interviews | Self - Narrator |
| 2004 | Bottom Mindless Violence | Mr. Johnson (archive footage) (uncredited) |
| 2003 | Underworld | Viktor |
| 2003 | Love Actually | Billy Mack |
| 2003 | Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates | |
| 2003 | I Capture the Castle | James Mortmain |
| 2003 | The Young Visiters | Earl of Clincham |
| 2003 | Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher | Self - Narrator |
| 2002 | Lawless Heart | Dan |
| 2002 | AKA | Uncle Louis Gryffoyn |
| 2001 | Lucky Break | Roger |
| 2001 | Blow Dry | Ray Robertson |
| 2000 | Longitude | Lord Sandwich |
| 1999 | Guest House Paradiso | Mr. Johnson |
| 1999 | The Bass Player | |
| 1998 | Still Crazy | Ray Simms |
| 1997 | FairyTale: A True Story | Edward Gardner |
| 1996 | True Blue | Jeremy Saville |
| 1996 | Alive and Kicking | Tristan |
| 1994 | Being Human | Julian |
| 1993 | Unnatural Causes | Oliver Latham |
| 1993 | The Maitlands | Roger Maitland |
| 1993 | Don't Leave Me This Way | John Tracey |
| 1992 | A Masculine Ending | John Tracey |
| 1991 | Absolute Hell | Hugh Marriner |
| 1990 | Antonia and Jane | Howard Nash |
| 1989 | Mack the Knife | Tiger Brown |
| 1989 | The Phantom of the Opera | Martin Barton |
| 1985 | Thirteen at Dinner | Ronald Marsh |
| 1985 | Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil | Helmut Hoffmann |
| 1984 | The Little Drummer Girl | Al |
| 1983 | Curse of the Pink Panther | ENT Doctor |
| 1982 | Easter 2016 | Connor Mullan |
| 1982 | Under the Skin | Dave |
| 1981 | Eye of the Needle | Squadron Leader Blenkinsop |
| 1980 | Little Lord Fauntleroy | Officer |
| 1980 | Fox | Colin Street |
| 1980 | Dreams of Leaving | William |
| 1980 | Death Watch | Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited) |
| 1980 | Standing in for Henry | Bruno |
| 1979 | Deasey (Desperate) | Deasy |
| 1978 | Soldiers Talking, Cleanly | Bill |
| 1976 | Occupy! | Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool |
| 500 Miles | ||
| Welcome to Paradise | Hooker Duck Host (voice) | |
| Heart of Darkness | (voice) | |
| Pink Sky at Night | Man | |
| The Turning Door | (voice) |
| Year | TV Show | Role |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Harlan Coben's Lazarus | Doctor Lazarus 'Dr L' |
| 2024 | Kent: Garden of England | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2023 | Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2022 | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Thomas Jerome Newton |
| 2022 | LIGHT & MAGIC | Self (archive footage) |
| 2021 | World's Most Scenic River Journeys | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2021 | Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2021 | Iberia's Woodlands: Life on the Edge | Self - Narrator (voice) |
| 2019 | World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys | Narrator (voice) |
| 2018 | Ordeal by Innocence | Leo Argyll |
| 2017 | Castlevania | Saint Germain (voice) |
| 2014 | Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self |
| 2009 | The Big Art Project | Narrator |
| 2009 | Live from Studio Five | Self |
| 2009 | 10 Minute Tales | |
| 2005 | Meerkat Manor | Narrator |
| 2005 | Doctor Who | Dr Black |
| 2004 | He Knew He Was Right | Colonel Osborne |
| 2003 | State of Play | Cameron Foster |
| 2003 | The Lost Prince | Stamfordham |
| 2003 | Canterbury Tales | James |
| 2003 | Grumpy Old Men | Self |
| 2002 | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Lockwood |
| 2002 | Timeshift | self (voice) |
| 2001 | Richard & Judy | Self |
| 2000 | Black Books | Man at bar |
| 2000 | Longitude | Lord Sandwich |
| 1999 | People Like Us | Will Rushmore |
| 1998 | Parkinson | Self |
| 1996 | Testament: The Bible in Animation | Belshazzar (voice) |
| 1995 | Kavanagh Q.C. | Giles Culpepper QC |
| 1994 | Wycliffe | David Cleeve |
| 1993 | Peak Practice | Alan Sinclair |
| 1993 | Eye of the Storm | Tom Frewen |
| 1992 | Chillers | Tom Dickenson |
| 1991 | Performance | Roger Maitland |
| 1991 | Performance | Hugh Marriner |
| 1990 | Making News | Sam Courtney |
| 1988 | South Of The Border | Tony Freason |
| 1988 | This Morning | Self |
| 1985 | The Last Place on Earth | Cecil Meares |
| 1983 | Auf Wiedersehen, Pet | Jeffrey Grainger |
| 1983 | Reilly: Ace of Spies | Goschen |
| 1980 | Fox | Colin Street |
| 1979 | Agony | Vincent Fish |
| 1979 | Minder | Oates |
| 1974 | Playhouse | Bruno |
| 1970 | Play for Today | Dave |
| Ride or Die | The Director | |
| California Avenue | Jerry |