Bill Nighy

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).

Acting

2026

Shelter

Unknown

2025

Harlan Coben's Lazarus

Doctor Lazarus 'Dr L'

2025

& Sons

Andrew

2025

2025

Bulk

(voice)

2024

That Christmas

Lighthouse Bill (voice)

2024

Joy

Patrick Steptoe

2024

The Wild Robot

Longneck (voice)

2024

Kent: Garden of England

Self - Narrator (voice)

2024

2024

10 Lives

Professor Craven (voice)

2024

The First Omen

Cardinal Lawrence

2024

2023

2023

Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country

Self - Narrator (voice)

2022

Living

Williams

2022

LIGHT & MAGIC

Self (archive footage)

2022

The Man Who Fell to Earth

Thomas Jerome Newton

2021

Lotus: A New Dawn

Self - Narrator (voice)

2021

2021

2021

Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty

Self - Narrator (voice)

2021

World's Most Scenic River Journeys

Self - Narrator (voice)

2020

2020

Minamata

Robert "Bob" Hayes

2020

Emma.

Mr. Woodhouse

2019

2019

StarDog and TurboCat

Sinclair (voice)

2019

2019

Hope Gap

Edward

2019

2019

2018

2017

The Bookshop

Mr. Brundish

2017

Castlevania

Saint Germain (voice)

2017

2017

Their Finest

Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank

2016

2016

Dad's Army

Sergeant Wilson

2016

Norm of the North

Socrates (voice)

2015

A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman

Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas'

2015

2014

Pride

Cliff

2014

2014

Salting the Battlefield

Johnny Worricker

2014

Turks & Caicos

Johnny Worricker

2014

2014

2013

2013

The World's End

The Network (voice)

2013

Great White Shark

Self - Narrator (voice)

2013

Jack the Giant Slayer

General Fallon

2012

London: The Modern Babylon

Spoken Quotations (voice)

2012

Total Recall

Matthias

2012

2012

2011

Arthur Christmas

Grandsanta (voice)

2011

Page Eight

Johnny Worricker

2011

2011

Rango

Rattlesnake Jake (voice)

2011

Chalet Girl

Richard Madsen

2010

2010

Wild Target

Victor Maynard

2009

2009

Glorious 39

Alexander Keyes

2009

Astro Boy

Dr. Elefun / Robotsky (voice)

2009

2009

G-Force

Leonard Saber

2009

2009

2008

Valkyrie

Friedrich Olbricht

2007

2007

Hot Fuzz

Met Chief Inspector

2006

Notes on a Scandal

Richard Hart

2006

Flushed Away

Whitey (voice)

2006

2006

Stormbreaker

Alan Blunt

2006

2006

2006

2005

Gideon's Daughter

Gideon Warner

2005

2005

The Constant Gardener

Sir Bernard Pellegrin

2005

2005

2005

Doctor Who

Dr Black

2004

Bottom Mindless Violence

Mr. Johnson (archive footage) (uncredited)

2004

2004

2004

He Knew He Was Right

Colonel Osborne

2004

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

2003

Love Actually

Billy Mack

2003

State of Play

Cameron Foster

2003

I Capture the Castle

James Mortmain

2003

The Lost Prince

Stamfordham

2002

Timeshift

self (voice)

2002

2002

AKA

Uncle Louis Gryffoyn

2001

2001

2001

Blow Dry

Ray Robertson

2000

Black Books

Man at bar

2000

Longitude

Lord Sandwich

2000

Longitude

Lord Sandwich

1999

1999

People Like Us

Will Rushmore

1998

Still Crazy

Ray Simms

1998

1997

1996

True Blue

Jeremy Saville

1996

1995

Kavanagh Q.C.

Giles Culpepper QC

1994

Wycliffe

David Cleeve

1994

1993

Peak Practice

Alan Sinclair

1993

1993

Unnatural Causes

Oliver Latham

1992

1992

Chillers

Tom Dickenson

1991

Performance

Hugh Marriner

1991

Performance

Roger Maitland

1990

Antonia and Jane

Howard Nash

1989

1989

Mack the Knife

Tiger Brown

1988

1985

Thirteen at Dinner

Ronald Marsh

1985

1985

1984

1983

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet

Jeffrey Grainger

1983

1983

1981

Eye of the Needle

Squadron Leader Blenkinsop

1980

1980

1980

Fox

Colin Street

1980

Death Watch

Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited)

1980

1979

1979

Minder

Oates

1979

Agony

Vincent Fish

1974

1970

Production

2019

Sometimes Always Never

Executive Producer

2011

Page Eight

Executive Producer

Infos

Full Name
Bill Nighy
Gender
Male
Date of Birth
12/12/1949
Website
https://www.independenttalent.com/actors/bill-nighy
Also Known As

William Francis Nighy

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