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