John Lithgow
Acting • Born 1945-10-19
Biography
John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Grammy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Lithgow won two Tony Awards, his first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room (1972) and his second for Best Actor in a Musical for the musical Sweet Smell of Success (2002). He was Tony-nominated for Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). He has acted in the plays The Columnist (2012), A Delicate Balance (2014), and Hillary and Clinton (2019). He portrayed Roald Dahl in the play Giant on the West End, for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor. He starred as Dick Solomon in the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He received further Primetime Emmy Awards for his performances as Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and as Winston Churchill in the Netflix drama The Crown (2016–2019). He also starred in HBO's Perry Mason (2020) and FX's The Old Man (2022). On film, he has received two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his roles as a transsexual ex-football player in The World According to Garp (1982) and a lonely banker in Terms of Endearment (1983). He also acted in All That Jazz (1979), Blow Out (1981), Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), A Civil Action (1998), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Love Is Strange (2014), Interstellar (2014), Late Night (2019), Bombshell (2019), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and Conclave (2024).
Filmography
215 credits
Shrek
Movie • 2001
Lord Farquaad (voice)
Footloose
Movie • 1984
Rev. Shaw Moore
Sharper
Movie • 2023
Richard Hobbes
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Movie • 2004
Blake Edwards
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Movie • 2009
Edgar West
2010
Movie • 1984
Dr. Walter Curnow
Obsession
Movie • 1976
Robert Lasalle
The Manhattan Project
Movie • 1986
John Mathewson
Terms of Endearment
Movie • 1983
Sam Burns
Kinsey
Movie • 2004
Alfred Seguine Kinsey
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Movie • 1984
Lord John Whorfin
The World According to Garp
Movie • 1982
Roberta Muldoon
Blow Out
Movie • 1981
Burke
The Day After
Movie • 1983
Joe Huxley
The Tuskegee Airmen
Movie • 1995
Senator Conyers
Give My Regards to Broadway
Movie • 2020
Self
Leap Year
Movie • 2010
Jack Brady
The Ghost of Lord Farquaad
Movie • 2003
Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
Harry and the Hendersons
Movie • 1987
George Henderson
A Civil Action
Movie • 1998
Judge Walter J. Skinner
Ricochet
Movie • 1991
Earl Talbott Blake
Bark, George
Movie • 2003
The Pelican Brief
Movie • 1993
Smith Keen
Cliffhanger
Movie • 1993
Qualen
Santa Claus: The Movie
Movie • 1985
B.Z.
A Good Man in Africa
Movie • 1994
Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
Inside 'Interstellar'
Movie • 2015
Self
Raising Cain
Movie • 1992
Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
The Big Fix
Movie • 1978
Sam Sebastian
The Wrong Man
Movie • 1993
Phillip Mills
Dogs and More Dogs
Movie • 2004
Narrator
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
Movie • 2021
Philip Drummond
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Movie • 1997
Narrator (voice)
Princess Caraboo
Movie • 1994
Professor Wilkinson
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Movie • 2000
Jean-Claude (voice)
All That Jazz
Movie • 1979
Lucas Sergeant
Homegrown
Movie • 1998
Malcolm / Robert Stockman
Silent Fall
Movie • 1994
Dr. Rene Harlinger
They All Saw a Cat
Movie • 2017
Casting By
Movie • 2012
Self
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
Movie • 1991
Leslie Huben
Resting Place
Movie • 1986
Maj. Kendall Laird
Mesmerized
Movie • 1985
Oliver Thompson
Love, Cheat & Steal
Movie • 1993
Paul Harrington
Hollow Point
Movie • 1996
Thomas Livingston
Rich Kids
Movie • 1979
Paul Philips
Projections of America
Movie • 2015
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Campaign
Movie • 2012
Glen Motch
This Is 40
Movie • 2012
Oliver
Out Cold
Movie • 1989
Dave
Chez Bob
Movie • 2022
Car of the Future
Movie • 2008
Narrator
The Bubble
Movie • 2022
Tom the Studio Chairman
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
Movie • 1972
John
Redwood Curtain
Movie • 1995
Laird Riordan
Interstellar
Movie • 2014
Donald
95 Worlds and Counting
Movie • 2000
Narrator
Don Quixote
Movie • 2000
Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
Movie • 2013
Self
Distant Thunder
Movie • 1988
Mark Lambert
Cabrini
Movie • 2024
Mayor Gould
Baby Girl Scott
Movie • 1987
Neil Scott
Love Is Strange
Movie • 2014
Ben
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
Movie • 1996
Narrator
National Theatre Live: The Magistrate
Movie • 2013
Posket
Orange County
Movie • 2002
Bud Brumder
Spellbound
Movie • 2024
Bolinar (voice)
My Brother's Keeper
Movie • 1995
Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Movie • 2011
Charles Rodman
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Movie • 1983
Valentine
Memphis Belle
Movie • 1990
Bruce Derringer
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Movie • 2025
Dave Crealy
Ivory Hunters
Movie • 1990
Robert Carter
The Homesman
Movie • 2014
Reverend Alfred Dowd
Sangre
Movie • 2006
Cafe chef and owner
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
Movie • 2023
Self
Night of 100 Stars III
Movie • 1990
Self
Johnny Skidmarks
Movie • 1998
Sergeant Larry Skovik
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow
Movie • 2024
Self
The Accountant
Movie • 2016
Lamar Blackburn
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
Movie • 2009
Narrator
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest
Movie • 2014
Maurice (voice)
Lord John
Movie • 2015
Dreamgirls
Movie • 2006
Jerry Harris
Broadway: The Next Generation
Movie
Self
Best of Enemies
Movie • 2015
Voice of Gore Vidal
Shrek Stories
Movie • 2013
Lord Farquaad (voice)
Timms Valley
Movie • 2013
Ol' Gregory Timms
The Oldest Living Graduate
Movie • 1980
Clarence
The Glitter Dome
Movie • 1984
Sgt. Marty Wellborn
Jimpa
Movie • 2026
Jimpa
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
Movie • 1982
Mr. Brunner
Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
Movie • 2016
Narrator
Miss Sloane
Movie • 2016
Senator Ronald Sperling
Amazing Stories: The Movie II
Movie • 1990
John Walters (archive footage)
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Movie • 2016
Self - Performer
Beatriz at Dinner
Movie • 2017
Doug Strutt
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Movie • 1984
Goldilocks' Father
Daddy's Home 2
Movie • 2017
Don
Einstein's Big Idea
Movie • 2005
Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
Buckaroo Banzai Declassified
Movie • 2002
Self
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
Movie • 2007
Self
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
Movie • 2001
Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
The Pulitzer At 100
Movie • 2017
Self
Pitch Perfect 3
Movie • 2017
Fergus
Secret Service
Movie • 1977
Capt. Thorne
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
Movie • 2018
Self
Late Night
Movie • 2019
Walter Lovell
Pet Sematary
Movie • 2019
Jud Crandall
Traveling Man
Movie • 1989
Ben Cluett
The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge
Movie • 2006
Narrator
Bombshell
Movie • 2019
Roger Ailes
The Amazing Bone
Movie • 1987
Narrator
Hickory Dickory Doc
Movie • 2017
Himself
Not in Front of the Children
Movie • 1982
Richard Carruthers
The Tomorrow Man
Movie • 2019
Ed Hemsler
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Movie • 1993
Narrator
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
Movie • 2006
René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie
Movie • 1985
Self
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
Movie • 2019
President Donald J. Trump
Big Blonde
Movie • 1980
Herbie Morse
The Boys
Movie • 1991
Artie Margulies
New Year's Eve
Movie • 2011
Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
Movie • 1990
Shrek: Once Upon a Time
Movie • 2011
Self
The Macabre World of Lavender Williams
Movie • 2009
God
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
Movie • 1980
Wally
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
Movie • 1999
Dr. Oscar Charles
The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale
Movie • 1993
Alexander (voice)
Myths and Hymns
Movie • 2021
The Country Girl
Movie • 1974
Paul Unger
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos
Movie • 2021
Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman
Movie • 2018
Jud Crandall
Killers of the Flower Moon
Movie • 2023
Prosecutor Peter Leaward
On Broadway
Movie • 2019
Self
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Movie • 1994
Self
Conclave
Movie • 2024
Tremblay
Show of Titles
Movie • 2021
"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
2010 : The Odyssey Continues
Movie • 1984
Himself
Sequestered - Inside Conclave
Movie
Self
Shrek 3-D
Movie • 2003
Lord Farquaad
9 Kisses
Movie • 2014
Man in Club
3rd Rock from the Sun
TV • 1996
Dick Solomon
How I Met Your Mother
TV • 2005
Jerry Whittaker
The Tony Danza Show
TV • 2004
Self
Twenty Good Years
TV • 2006
John Mason
Today
TV • 1952
Self
Tales from the Crypt
TV • 1989
Dr. Oscar Charles
The View
TV • 1997
Self
Frasier
TV • 1993
Madman Martinez (voice)
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
TV • 2005
The Early Show
TV • 1999
Self
Finding Your Roots
TV • 2012
Self
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
TV • 2018
Self - Guest
Faerie Tale Theatre
TV • 1982
Goldilocks' Father
30 Rock
TV • 2006
John Lithgow
The Colbert Report
TV • 2005
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Paul Unger
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
TV • 1993
Self - Guest
Cosby
TV • 1996
John Lithgow
VH1 Goes Inside
TV • 2003
The West
TV • 1996
Self
American Cinema
TV • 1994
Self - Host
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
TV • 2013
The White Rabbit (voice)
Dexter
TV • 2006
Arthur Mitchell
Live from E!
TV • 2002
Self
NOVA
TV • 1974
Narrator
The Daily Show
TV • 1996
Self
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
The View
TV • 1997
Self - Guest
Amazing Stories
TV • 1985
John Walters
Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
TV • 2023
Self
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
Saturday Night Live
TV • 1975
Self - Host
Dexter: New Blood
TV • 2021
Arthur Mitchell
The Crown
TV • 2016
Winston Churchill
World War II: When Lions Roared
TV • 1994
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
Trial & Error
TV • 2017
Larry Henderson
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
TV • 2014
Self
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
TV • 2014
James Roosevelt (voice)
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
Gus (voice)
The Graham Norton Show
TV • 2007
Self
Sherri
TV • 2022
Self - Guest
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Major Kendall Laird
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Laird Riordan
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
TV • 1996
Self - Guest
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
TV • 2009
Self - Guest
Perry Mason
TV • 2020
Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
The West
TV • 1996
Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
TV • 2018
Self
The Kelly Clarkson Show
TV • 2019
Self
Stars in the House
TV • 2020
Self - Special Guest
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
TV • 2015
Self
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
TV • 2018
Prohibition
TV • 2011
Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
TV • 2015
Self
The Simpsons
TV • 1989
John Lithgow (voice)
Great Performances
TV • 1971
Capt. Thorne
The Old Man
TV • 2022
Harold Harper
Conan
TV • 2010
Self
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Nominee
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Presenter
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
TV • 2014
Self
Harry Potter
TV
Albus Dumbledore
The Oscars
TV • 1953
Self - Presenter
The One Show
TV • 2006
Self
Dexter: Resurrection
TV • 2025
Arthur Mitchell
DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection
TV • 2003
Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
Tales from the Crypt - Uncut
TV • 1992
Golden Globe Awards
TV • 1944
Self - Winner
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night
TV • 2025
Self
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
TV • 1962
Self
The Late Late Show with James Corden
TV • 2015
Self - Guest
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
TV • 2003
Self - Guest