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).
Movie | Joy | Patrick Steptoe | 2025 |
Movie | That Christmas | Bill (voice) | 2025 |
Series | Lazarus | Doctor Lazarus ' Dr L' | 2025 |
Movie | 500 Miles | Unknown | 2025 |
Movie | The First Omen | Cardinal Lawrence | 2024-04-03 |
Movie | Role Play | Bob | 2024-01-04 |
Movie | Dragonkeeper | Danzi (voice) | 2024-04-11 |
Movie | The Beautiful Game | Mal | 2024-03-22 |
Movie | 10 Lives | Professor Craven (voice) | 2024-05-02 |
Movie | Gracie and Pedro: Pets to the Rescue | Conrad (voice) | 2024-08-15 |
Movie | The Wild Robot | Longneck (voice) | 2024-09-12 |
Movie | Spectre of the Bear | Bennett (voice) | 2023-10-07 |
Series | Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country | Narrator | 2023-09-06 |
Movie | Darkling | Unknown | 2023-10-23 |
Series | The Man Who Fell to Earth | Thomas Jerome Newton | 2022-04-24 |
Movie | Living | Williams | 2022-11-04 |
Movie | The Laughter & Secrets of 'Love Actually': 20 Years Later | Self | 2022-11-29 |
Series | Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2021-06-05 |
Movie | Buckley's Chance | Spencer | 2021-06-24 |
Series | World's Most Scenic River Journeys | Narrator | 2021-04-02 |
Series | Iberia's Woodlands: Life on the Edge | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2021-06-29 |
Movie | Christmas Magic at Kew Gardens | Self - Narrator | 2021-12-14 |
Movie | Lotus: A New Dawn | Self - Narrator | 2021-07-28 |
Movie | Minamata | Robert "Bob" Hayes | 2020-03-13 |
Movie | Emma. | Mr. Woodhouse | 2020-02-13 |
Movie | Katherine Jenkins Christmas Spectacular | Self | 2020-12-01 |
Movie | Pokémon Detective Pikachu | Howard Clifford | 2019-05-03 |
Movie | Sometimes Always Never | Alan | 2019-03-14 |
Movie | Hope Gap | Edward | 2019-10-03 |
Series | World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys | Narrator (voice) | 2019-10-25 |
Movie | The Kindness of Strangers | Timofey | 2019-12-12 |
Movie | StarDog and TurboCat | Sinclair (voice) | 2019-12-06 |
Series | Ordeal by Innocence | Leo Argyll | 2018-04-01 |
Movie | Their Finest | Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank | 2017-02-19 |
Movie | The Bookshop | Mr. Brundish | 2017-11-10 |
Movie | Red Nose Day Actually | Billy Mack | 2017-03-24 |
Series | Castlevania | Saint Germain (voice) | 2017-07-07 |
Movie | Norm of the North | Socrates (voice) | 2016-01-14 |
Movie | Dad's Army | Sergeant Wilson | 2016-02-05 |
Movie | The Limehouse Golem | John Kildare | 2016-10-18 |
Movie | The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie | 2015-02-26 |
Movie | A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman | Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas' | 2015-12-26 |
Series | Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self | 2014-02-25 |
Movie | Turks & Caicos | Johnny Worricker | 2014-03-20 |
Movie | I, Frankenstein | Naberius | 2014-01-22 |
Movie | Pride | Cliff | 2014-09-12 |
Movie | National Theatre Live: Skylight | Tom Sergeant | 2014-07-24 |
Movie | Salting the Battlefield | Johnny Worricker | 2014-03-27 |
Movie | Jack the Giant Slayer | General Fallon | 2013-02-27 |
Movie | Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene | Graham Greene (voice) | 2013-01-01 |
Movie | Great White Shark | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2013-05-24 |
Movie | The Hungry Corpse | The Hungry Corpse | 2013-06-26 |
Movie | About Time | Dad | 2013-09-04 |
Movie | The World's End | The Network (voice) | 2013-07-18 |
Movie | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie | 2012-02-23 |
Movie | Wrath of the Titans | Hephaestus | 2012-03-28 |
Movie | London: The Modern Babylon | Spoken Quotations (voice) | 2012-08-03 |
Movie | Total Recall | Matthias | 2012-08-02 |
Movie | Rango | Rattlesnake Jake (voice) | 2011-03-02 |
Movie | Chalet Girl | Richard Madsen | 2011-02-02 |
Movie | Real Creatures of Dirt | Self / Rattlesnake Jake | 2011-07-15 |
Movie | Astonish Me | The Professor | 2011-07-26 |
Movie | Arthur Christmas | Grandsanta (voice) | 2011-11-10 |
Movie | Page Eight | Johnny Worricker | 2011-08-28 |
Movie | Wild Target | Victor Maynard | 2010-06-17 |
Movie | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Rufus Scrimgeour | 2010-11-17 |
Series | The Big Art Project | Narrator | 2009-05-10 |
Movie | The Boat That Rocked | Quentin | 2009-04-01 |
Movie | Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | Viktor | 2009-01-22 |
Movie | G-Force | Leonard Saber | 2009-07-24 |
Series | Live from Studio Five | Self | 2009-09-14 |
Series | 10 Minute Tales | Unknown | 2009-12-21 |
Movie | Glorious 39 | Alexander Keyes | 2009-11-20 |
Movie | Astro Boy | Dr. Elefun (voice) | 2009-10-15 |
Movie | A Fox's Tale | Ringmaster (voice) | 2008-04-17 |
Movie | Valkyrie | Friedrich Olbricht | 2008-12-25 |
Movie | Slapper | Arnold Percy | 2008-06-21 |
Movie | Killers Kill, Dead Men Die | The Preacher | 2007-03-13 |
Movie | Hot Fuzz | Met Chief Inspector | 2007-02-14 |
Movie | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Davy Jones | 2007-05-19 |
Movie | Conclusive: We Made Hot Fuzz | Self | 2007-06-11 |
Movie | Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Davy Jones | 2006-07-06 |
Movie | We Love Cigarettes | Narrator | 2006-06-29 |
Movie | Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener | Self | 2006-01-10 |
Movie | Underworld: Evolution | Viktor | 2006-01-12 |
Movie | Stormbreaker | Alan Blunt | 2006-07-21 |
Movie | Notes on a Scandal | Richard Hart | 2006-12-25 |
Series | The One Show | Self | 2006-08-14 |
Movie | Flushed Away | Whitey (voice) | 2006-10-22 |
Movie | The Girl in the Café | Lawrence | 2005-06-25 |
Movie | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Slartibartfast | 2005-04-28 |
Movie | The Magic Roundabout | Dylan (voice) | 2005-02-02 |
Movie | Inside 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' | Self | 2005-07-05 |
Series | Doctor Who | Dr Black | 2005-03-26 |
Movie | Gideon's Daughter | Gideon Warner | 2005-10-21 |
Movie | The Lost Prince | Stamfordham | 2005-12-18 |
Movie | 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 | 2005-09-05 |
Movie | The Constant Gardener | Sir Bernard Pellegrin | 2005-08-31 |
Series | Meerkat Manor | Narrator | 2005-09-02 |
Movie | Burst | Maxwell's Fan 22 | 2004-01-01 |
Movie | Shaun of the Dead | Phillip | 2004-04-09 |
Series | He Knew He Was Right | Colonel Osborne | 2004-04-18 |
Movie | Enduring Love | Robin | 2004-10-29 |
Series | State of Play | Cameron Foster | 2003-05-18 |
Movie | State of Play | Cameron Foster | 2003-05-18 |
Movie | Love Actually | Billy Mack | 2003-09-07 |
Series | The Lost Prince | Stamfordham | 2003-01-19 |
Movie | Ready When You Are, Mr McGill | Phil Parish | 2003-01-01 |
Movie | I Capture the Castle | James Mortmain | 2003-05-09 |
Series | Grumpy Old Men | Self | 2003-10-10 |
Movie | Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher | Narrator | 2003-12-29 |
Series | Canterbury Tales | James | 2003-09-11 |
Movie | The Young Visiters | Earl of Clincham | 2003-12-26 |
Movie | Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates | Unknown | 2003-12-02 |
Movie | Underworld | Viktor | 2003-09-19 |
Series | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Lockwood | 2002-04-08 |
Movie | AKA | Uncle Louis Gryffoyn | 2002-01-19 |
Movie | Lawless Heart | Dan | 2002-06-28 |
Series | Timeshift | self (voice) | 2002-10-10 |
Movie | Lucky Break | Roger | 2001-08-24 |
Movie | Blow Dry | Ray Robertson | 2001-03-01 |
Series | Richard & Judy | Self | 2001-11-26 |
Series | Longitude | Lord Sandwich | 2000-01-02 |
Movie | Longitude | Lord Sandwich | 2000-01-02 |
Series | Black Books | Man at bar | 2000-09-29 |
Series | People Like Us | Will Rushmore | 1999-09-20 |
Movie | Guest House Paradiso | Mr. Johnson | 1999-12-03 |
Movie | Still Crazy | Ray Simms | 1998-10-30 |
Movie | FairyTale: A True Story | Edward Gardner | 1997-10-24 |
Movie | Alive and Kicking | Tristan | 1996-11-08 |
Series | Testament: The Bible in Animation | Belshazzar (voice) | 1996-12-11 |
Movie | True Blue | Jeremy Saville | 1996-11-15 |
Series | Kavanagh Q.C. | Giles Culpepper QC | 1995-01-03 |
Series | Wycliffe | David Cleeve | 1994-07-24 |
Movie | Being Human | Julian | 1994-05-06 |
Series | Eye of the Storm | Tom Frewen | 1993-01-08 |
Movie | Unnatural Causes | Oliver Latham | 1993-01-02 |
Series | Peak Practice | Alan Sinclair | 1993-05-10 |
Movie | Don't Leave Me This Way | John Tracey | 1993-05-30 |
Movie | The Maitlands | Roger Maitland | 1993-11-13 |
Movie | A Masculine Ending | John Tracey | 1992-04-12 |
Series | Performance | Roger Maitland | 1991-02-22 |
Movie | Absolute Hell | Hugh Marriner | 1991-10-05 |
Movie | Antonia and Jane | Howard Nash | 1990-01-01 |
Series | Making News | Sam Courtney | 1990-01-16 |
Series | Chillers | Tom Dickenson | 1990-04-14 |
Movie | Mack the Knife | Tiger Brown | 1989-11-01 |
Movie | The Phantom of the Opera | Martin Barton | 1989-11-04 |
Series | South Of The Border | Tony Freason | 1988-10-25 |
Movie | Thirteen at Dinner | Ronald Marsh | 1985-09-19 |
Movie | Hitler's SS : Portrait In Evil | Helmut Hoffmann | 1985-02-17 |
Series | The Last Place on Earth | Cecil Meares | 1985-02-18 |
Movie | The Little Drummer Girl | Al | 1984-10-19 |
Movie | Curse of the Pink Panther | ENT Doctor | 1983-08-12 |
Series | Auf Wiedersehen, Pet | Jeffrey Grainger | 1983-11-11 |
Series | Reilly: Ace of Spies | Goschen | 1983-09-05 |
Movie | Under the Skin | Dave | 1982-01-19 |
Movie | Easter 2016 | Connor Mullan | 1982-05-18 |
Movie | Eye of the Needle | Squadron Leader Blenkinsop | 1981-07-24 |
Series | Bergerac | Barry | 1981-10-18 |
Movie | Little Lord Fauntleroy | Officer | 1980-12-01 |
Movie | Death Watch | Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited) | 1980-01-23 |
Movie | Dreams of Leaving | William | 1980-01-17 |
Movie | Fox | Colin Street | 1980-03-10 |
Series | Fox | Colin Street | 1980-03-10 |
Series | Agony | Vincent Fish | 1979-03-11 |
Series | Minder | Oates | 1979-10-29 |
Movie | Soldiers Talking, Cleanly | Bill | 1978-12-05 |
Movie | Occupy! | Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool | 1976-01-01 |
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