John Lithgow
John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. Prolific in films, television and on stage, Lithgow is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Lithgow studied at Harvard University winning a Fulbright scholarship and getting a chance to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. From there he focused his training on the New York stage beginning a distinguished career on Broadway. In 1973, Lithgow received his first Tony Award for his performance in The Changing Room. In 1976 Lithgow acted alongside Meryl Streep in three plays 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, A Memory of Two Mondays and Secret Service. In the 1980s he continued to receive Tony Awards nominations for his performances in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985) and M. Butterfly (1988). In 2002, Lithgow received his second Tony Award, this time for a musical, The Sweet Smell of Success and another nomination for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). In 2007, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Malvolio in Neil Bartlett's production of Twelfth Night. He has also appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed plays The Columnist (2012) and A Delicate Balance (2014). He portrayed Bill Clinton in Hillary and Clinton (2019) alongside Laurie Metcalf as Hillary Clinton. Lithgow is also known for his television roles such as Dick Solomon in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. He also played Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama. In 2004, Lithgow played Blake Edwards in the HBO television movie, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He has also appeared on 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Louie and Drunk History. Lithgow won great acclaim for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Peter Morgan's historical drama The Crown (2016–2019) on Netflix. For acting in The Crown he won a Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2020, he had a recurring role on the HBO period series Perry Mason. He is also well known for his film roles. His early screen roles included Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979) and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981). He received his first Academy Award nomination for his breakout performance in The World According to Garp (1982) and received a second Academy Award nomination for Terms of Endearment (1983). He then starred in the films Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), The Pelican Brief and Cliffhanger (1993), A Civil Action (1998), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Love Is Strange (2014), Miss Sloane (2016) and Beatriz at Dinner (2017). In 2019 he appeared in Mindy Kaling's comedy Late Night and portrayed Roger Ailes in Bombshell.
Known For
Credits
- 2024 · Spellbound as Minister Bolinar (voice)
- 2024 · Conclave as Joseph Tremblay
- 2024 · The Rule of Jenny Pen as
- 2024 · Art Happens Here with John Lithgow as Self
- 2024 · Cabrini as Mayor Gould
- 2023 · Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic as Self
- 2023 · Killers of the Flower Moon as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
- 2023 · Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled as Self
- 2023 · Sharper as Richard Hobbes
- 2022 · Chez Bob as
- 2022 · Sherri as Self - Guest
- 2022 · The Old Man as Harold Harper
- 2022 · The Bubble as Tom the Studio Chairman
- 2021 · Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes as Philip Drummond
- 2021 · Dexter: New Blood as Arthur Mitchell
- 2021 · Ultra City Smiths as Ol' Gregory Timms
- 2021 · Emily @ the Edge of Chaos as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
- 2021 · Myths and Hymns as
- 2020 · Give My Regards to Broadway as Self
- 2020 · Perry Mason as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
- 2020 · Stars in the House as Self - Special Guest
- 2019 · Bombshell as Roger Ailes
- 2019 · On Broadway as Self
- 2019 · The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- 2019 · The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts as President Donald J. Trump
- 2019 · The Tomorrow Man as Ed Hemsler
- 2019 · Pet Sematary as Jud Crandall
- 2019 · Late Night as Walter Lovell
- 2018 · Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman as Jud Crandall
- 2018 · Firing Line with Margaret Hoover as
- 2018 · James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction as Self
- 2018 · The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer as Self - Guest
- 2018 · Mister Rogers: It's You I Like as Self
- 2017 · Pitch Perfect 3 as Fergus
- 2017 · Broadway: The Next Generation as Self
- 2017 · Daddy's Home 2 as Don
- 2017 · The Pulitzer At 100 as Self
- 2017 · Beatriz at Dinner as Doug Strutt
- 2017 · Trial & Error as Larry Henderson
- 2017 · Hickory Dickory Doc as Himself
- 2017 · They All Saw a Cat as
- 2016 · Miss Sloane as Senator Ronald Sperling
- 2016 · The Crown as Winston Churchill
- 2016 · The Accountant as Lamar Blackburn
- 2016 · Shakespeare Live! From the RSC as Self - Performer
- 2016 · Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 as Narrator
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as
- 2015 · The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self
- 2015 · Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
- 2015 · Best of Enemies as Self
- 2015 · Lord John as
- 2015 · Inside 'Interstellar' as Self
- 2015 · Projections of America as Self - Narrator (voice)
- 2014 · Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- 2014 · 9 Kisses as Man in Club
- 2014 · Interstellar as Donald
- 2014 · The Roosevelts: An Intimate History as James Roosevelt (voice)
- 2014 · The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest as Maurice (voice)
- 2014 · Love Is Strange as Ben
- 2014 · The Homesman as Reverend Alfred Dowd
- 2014 · Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- 2014 · The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as
- 2013 · Timms Valley as Ol' Gregory Timms
- 2013 · Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love as Himself
- 2013 · Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as The White Rabbit (voice)
- 2013 · Shrek Stories as Lord Farquaad (voice)
- 2013 · National Theatre Live: The Magistrate as Posket
- 2012 · This Is 40 as Oliver
- 2012 · Casting By as Self
- 2012 · The Campaign as Glen Motch
- 2012 · Finding Your Roots as Self
- 2011 · Shrek: Once Upon a Time as Self
- 2011 · New Year's Eve as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
- 2011 · Prohibition as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
- 2011 · Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Charles Rodman
- 2010 · Conan as Self
- 2010 · Leap Year as Jack Brady
- 2009 · Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn as Narrator
- 2009 · Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- 2009 · The Macabre World of Lavender Williams as God
- 2009 · Confessions of a Shopaholic as Edgar West
- 2008 · Car of the Future as Narrator
- 2007 · ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway as Self
- 2007 · The Graham Norton Show as Self
- 2006 · Dreamgirls as Jerry Harris
- 2006 · 30 Rock as John Lithgow
- 2006 · Twenty Good Years as
- 2006 · Dexter as Arthur Mitchell
- 2006 · The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
- 2006 · The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge as Narrator
- 2006 · Sangre as Cafe chef and owner
- 2005 · The Colbert Report as
- 2005 · Einstein's Big Idea as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
- 2005 · The Apprentice: Martha Stewart as
- 2005 · How I Met Your Mother as Jerry Whittaker
- 2004 · The Life and Death of Peter Sellers as Blake Edwards
- 2004 · The Tony Danza Show as Self
- 2004 · Kinsey as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
- 2004 · The Ghost of Lord Farquaad as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
- 2004 · Dogs and More Dogs as Narrator
- 2003 · VH1 Goes Inside as
- 2003 · Bark, George as
- 2002 · E! Live from the Red Carpet as Self
- 2002 · Orange County as Bud Brumder
- 2002 · Buckaroo Banzai Declassified as Self
- 2001 · Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
- 2001 · Shrek as Lord Farquaad (voice)
- 2000 · Rugrats in Paris: The Movie as Jean-Claude (voice)
- 2000 · Don Quixote as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
- 2000 · 95 Worlds and Counting as Narrator
- 1999 · The Early Show as Self
- 1999 · Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection as Dr. Oscar Charles
- 1998 · A Civil Action as Judge Walter J. Skinner
- 1998 · Homegrown as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
- 1998 · Johnny Skidmarks as Sergeant Larry Skovik
- 1997 · The View as Self
- 1997 · The View as Self - Guest
- 1997 · Officer Buckle and Gloria as Narrator (voice)
- 1996 · Hollow Point as Thomas Livingston
- 1996 · Cosby as John Lithgow
- 1996 · The West as Self
- 1996 · The West as Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
- 1996 · The Daily Show as Self
- 1996 · Special Effects: Anything Can Happen as Narrator
- 1996 · The Rosie O'Donnell Show as Self - Guest
- 1996 · 3rd Rock from the Sun as Dick Solomon
- 1995 · The Tuskegee Airmen as Senator Conyers
- 1995 · My Brother's Keeper as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
- 1995 · American Cinema as Narrator
- 1995 · Redwood Curtain as Laird Riordan
- 1994 · Silent Fall as Dr. Rene Harlinger
- 1994 · Princess Caraboo as Professor Wilkinson
- 1994 · A Good Man in Africa as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
- 1994 · Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects as Self
- 1994 · World War II: When Lions Roared as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- 1994 · American Cinema as
- 1993 · The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale as Alexander (voice)
- 1993 · Love, Cheat & Steal as Paul Harrington
- 1993 · The Pelican Brief as Smith Keen
- 1993 · Frasier as Madman Martinez (voice)
- 1993 · Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- 1993 · The Wrong Man as Phillip Mills
- 1993 · Cliffhanger as Eric Qualen
- 1993 · Sylvester and the Magic Pebble as Narrator
- 1992 · Raising Cain as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
- 1991 · At Play in the Fields of the Lord as Leslie Huben
- 1991 · Ricochet as Earl Talbott Blake
- 1991 · The Boys as
- 1990 · Memphis Belle as Bruce Derringer
- 1990 · Ivory Hunters as Robert Carter
- 1990 · John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert as
- 1990 · Night of 100 Stars III as Self
- 1989 · The Simpsons as Gus (voice)
- 1989 · The Simpsons as John Lithgow (voice)
- 1989 · Traveling Man as Ben Cluett
- 1989 · Tales from the Crypt as Dr. Oscar Charles
- 1989 · Out Cold as Dave
- 1988 · Distant Thunder as Mark Lambert
- 1987 · Harry and the Hendersons as George Henderson
- 1987 · The Amazing Bone as Narrator
- 1987 · Baby Girl Scott as Neil Scott
- 1986 · The Manhattan Project as John Mathewson
- 1986 · Resting Place as Maj. Kendall Laird
- 1985 · Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie as Self
- 1985 · Mesmerized as Oliver Thompson
- 1985 · Santa Claus: The Movie as B.Z.
- 1985 · Amazing Stories as John Walters
- 1984 · 2010 as Dr. Walter Curnow
- 1984 · The Glitter Dome as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
- 1984 · The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension as Lord John Whorfin
- 1984 · Footloose as Rev. Shaw Moore
- 1984 · Goldilocks and the Three Bears as Goldilocks' Father
- 1983 · Terms of Endearment as Sam Burns
- 1983 · The Day After as Joe Huxley
- 1983 · Twilight Zone: The Movie as Valentine
- 1982 · Not in Front of the Children as Richard Carruthers
- 1982 · Faerie Tale Theatre as Goldilocks' Father
- 1982 · The World According to Garp as Roberta Muldoon
- 1982 · I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can as Mr. Brunner
- 1981 · Blow Out as Burke
- 1980 · Big Blonde as Herbie Morse
- 1980 · Mom, the Wolfman and Me as Wally
- 1980 · The Oldest Living Graduate as Clarence
- 1979 · All That Jazz as Lucas Sergeant
- 1979 · Rich Kids as Paul Philips
- 1978 · The Big Fix as Sam Sebastian
- 1977 · Secret Service as Capt. Thorne
- 1976 · Obsession as Robert Lasalle
- 1975 · Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
- 1974 · NOVA as Narrator
- 1974 · The Country Girl as Paul Unger
- 1972 · Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues as John
- 1971 · Great Performances as Capt. Thorne
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Presenter
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Nominee & Performer
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Winner
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Nominee
- 1956 · Tony Awards as Self - Nominee/Performer
- 1952 · Today as Self
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Paul Unger
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Major Kendall Laird
- 1951 · Hallmark Hall of Fame as Laird Riordan
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee
- 1944 · Golden Globe Awards as Self - Presenter
- Future · Amazing Stories: The Movie II as John Walters (archive footage)
- Future · Jimpa as Jimpa