Bill Nighy
Acting • Born 1949-12-12
Biography
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).
Filmography
185 credits
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Movie • 2006
Davy Jones
Underworld
Movie • 2003
Viktor
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
Movie • 2007
Davy Jones
Love Actually
Movie • 2003
Billy Mack
Notes on a Scandal
Movie • 2006
Richard Hart
Still Crazy
Movie • 1998
Ray Simms
Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates
Movie • 2003
Shaun of the Dead
Movie • 2004
Phillip
Underworld: Evolution
Movie • 2006
Viktor
Valkyrie
Movie • 2008
Friedrich Olbricht
10 Lives
Movie • 2024
Professor Craven (voice)
The Constant Gardener
Movie • 2005
Sir Bernard Pellegrin
Guest House Paradiso
Movie • 1999
Mr. Johnson
Hot Fuzz
Movie • 2007
Met Chief Inspector
Thirteen at Dinner
Movie • 1985
Ronald Marsh
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Movie • 2005
Slartibartfast
Flushed Away
Movie • 2006
Whitey (voice)
The Little Drummer Girl
Movie • 1984
Al
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
Movie • 2009
Viktor
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Movie • 2010
Rufus Scrimgeour
Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener
Movie • 2006
Self
Enduring Love
Movie • 2004
Robin
Stormbreaker
Movie • 2006
Alan Blunt
The Girl in the Café
Movie • 2005
Lawrence
Lucky Break
Movie • 2001
Roger
Glorious 39
Movie • 2009
Alexander Keyes
FairyTale: A True Story
Movie • 1997
Edward Gardner
Wild Target
Movie • 2010
Victor Maynard
Rango
Movie • 2011
Rattlesnake Jake (voice)
The Magic Roundabout
Movie • 2005
Dylan (voice)
Astro Boy
Movie • 2009
Dr. Elefun / Robotsky (voice)
Total Recall
Movie • 2012
Matthias
Blow Dry
Movie • 2001
Ray Robertson
I Capture the Castle
Movie • 2003
James Mortmain
True Blue
Movie • 1996
Jeremy Saville
The Boat That Rocked
Movie • 2009
Quentin
Longitude
Movie • 2000
Lord Sandwich
Arthur Christmas
Movie • 2011
Grandsanta (voice)
G-Force
Movie • 2009
Leonard Saber
Real Creatures of Dirt
Movie • 2011
Self / Rattlesnake Jake
Mack the Knife
Movie • 1989
Tiger Brown
Jack the Giant Slayer
Movie • 2013
General Fallon
Page Eight
Movie • 2011
Johnny Worricker
The Young Visiters
Movie • 2003
Earl of Clincham
Unnatural Causes
Movie • 1993
Oliver Latham
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Movie • 2012
Douglas Ainslie
Wrath of the Titans
Movie • 2012
Hephaestus
Chalet Girl
Movie • 2011
Richard Madsen
Lawless Heart
Movie • 2002
Dan
Gideon's Daughter
Movie • 2005
Gideon Warner
The Phantom of the Opera
Movie • 1989
Martin Barton
I, Frankenstein
Movie • 2014
Naberius
Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil
Movie • 1985
Helmut Hoffmann
The World's End
Movie • 2013
The Network (voice)
About Time
Movie • 2013
Dad
The First Omen
Movie • 2024
Cardinal Lawrence
Alive and Kicking
Movie • 1996
Tristan
Pride
Movie • 2014
Cliff
Joy
Movie • 2024
Patrick Steptoe
Little Lord Fauntleroy
Movie • 1980
Officer
Turks & Caicos
Movie • 2014
Johnny Worricker
Salting the Battlefield
Movie • 2014
Johnny Worricker
Easter 2016
Movie • 1982
Connor Mullan
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Movie • 2015
Douglas Ainslie
Role Play
Movie • 2023
Bob
Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue
Movie • 2024
Conrad (voice)
National Theatre Live: Skylight
Movie • 2014
Tom Sergeant
Christmas Magic at Kew Gardens
Movie • 2021
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Maitlands
Movie • 1993
Roger Maitland
Conclusive: We Made Hot Fuzz
Movie • 2007
Self
Curse of the Pink Panther
Movie • 1983
ENT Doctor
Darkling
Movie • 2023
The Wild Robot
Movie • 2024
Longneck (voice)
500 Miles
Movie • 2026
Norm of the North
Movie • 2016
Socrates (voice)
Their Finest
Movie • 2017
Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank
The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later – A Diane Sawyer Special
Movie • 2022
Self
Being Human
Movie • 1994
Julian
Dad's Army
Movie • 2016
Sergeant Wilson
Slapper
Movie • 2008
Arnold Percy
Spectre of the Bear
Movie • 2023
Bennett (voice)
That Christmas
Movie • 2024
Lighthouse Bill (voice)
Bloody Fury
Movie • 2023
Bloody's Consciousness (voice)
Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher
Movie • 2003
Self - Narrator
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
Movie • 2004
Phil Parish
Burst
Movie • 2004
Maxwell's Fan 22
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
Movie • 2015
Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas'
Don't Leave Me This Way
Movie • 1993
John Tracey
Absolute Hell
Movie • 1991
Hugh Marriner
& Sons
Movie • 2026
Andrew
A Masculine Ending
Movie • 1992
John Tracey
Astonish Me
Movie • 2011
The Professor
Fox
Movie • 1980
Colin Street
The Limehouse Golem
Movie • 2016
John Kildare
London: The Modern Babylon
Movie • 2012
Spoken Quotations (voice)
Dreams of Leaving
Movie • 1980
William
The Bookshop
Movie • 2017
Mr. Brundish
Red Nose Day Actually
Movie • 2017
Billy Mack
We Love Cigarettes
Movie • 2006
Narrator
Antonia and Jane
Movie • 1990
Howard Nash
Inside 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
Movie • 2005
Self
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Movie • 2019
Howard Clifford
The Kindness of Strangers
Movie • 2019
Timofey
Hope Gap
Movie • 2019
Edward
Great White Shark
Movie • 2013
Self - Narrator (voice)
Sometimes Always Never
Movie • 2019
Alan
Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene
Movie • 2013
Graham Greene (voice)
Emma.
Movie • 2020
Mr. Woodhouse
Minamata
Movie • 2020
Robert "Bob" Hayes
StarDog and TurboCat
Movie • 2019
Sinclair (voice)
The Hungry Corpse
Movie • 2013
The Hungry Corpse
Eye of the Needle
Movie • 1981
Squadron Leader Blenkinsop
Death Watch
Movie • 1980
Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited)
Soldiers Talking, Cleanly
Movie • 1978
Bill
Living
Movie • 2022
Williams
Under the Skin
Movie • 1982
Dave
Katherine Jenkins Christmas Spectacular
Movie • 2020
Self
AKA
Movie • 2002
Uncle Louis Gryffoyn
Buckley's Chance
Movie • 2021
Spencer
Occupy!
Movie • 1976
Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool
Lotus: A New Dawn
Movie • 2021
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Beautiful Game
Movie • 2024
Mal
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'
Movie • 2005
Self
Deasey (Desperate)
Movie • 1979
Deasy
Standing in for Henry
Movie • 1980
Bruno
The Bass Player
Movie • 1999
Shelter
Movie • 2026
Manafort
Peter Ustinov: The Parkinson Interviews
Movie • 2004
Self - Narrator
Welcome to Paradise
Movie
Hooker Duck Host (voice)
Heart of Darkness
Movie
(voice)
This Is the Beginning
Movie • 2025
Bulk
Movie • 2026
The Voice
The Turning Door
Movie
(voice)
Bottom Mindless Violence
Movie • 2004
Mr. Johnson (archive footage) (uncredited)
The Man with the Stolen Heart
Movie • 2011
Narrator
A Town in Nova Scotia
Movie
Leon
Wycliffe
TV • 1994
David Cleeve
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
TV • 2002
Lockwood
Meerkat Manor
TV • 2005
Narrator
Performance
TV • 1991
Roger Maitland
Agony
TV • 1979
Vincent Fish
Richard & Judy
TV • 2001
Self
State of Play
TV • 2003
Cameron Foster
World's Most Scenic River Journeys
TV • 2021
Self - Narrator (voice)
He Knew He Was Right
TV • 2004
Colonel Osborne
Making News
TV • 1990
Sam Courtney
Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty
TV • 2021
Self - Narrator (voice)
The Lost Prince
TV • 2003
Stamfordham
The Big Art Project
TV • 2009
Narrator
The Last Place on Earth
TV • 1985
Cecil Meares
Live from Studio Five
TV • 2009
Self
Doctor Who
TV • 2005
Dr Black
Minder
TV • 1979
Oates
Canterbury Tales
TV • 2003
James
Fox
TV • 1980
Colin Street
People Like Us
TV • 1999
Will Rushmore
Peak Practice
TV • 1993
Alan Sinclair
The Man Who Fell to Earth
TV • 2022
Thomas Jerome Newton
Kavanagh Q.C.
TV • 1995
Giles Culpepper QC
Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country
TV • 2023
Self - Narrator (voice)
South Of The Border
TV • 1988
Tony Freason
Ordeal by Innocence
TV • 2018
Leo Argyll
Black Books
TV • 2000
Man at bar
Iberia's Woodlands: Life on the Edge
TV • 2021
Self - Narrator (voice)
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
TV • 1983
Jeffrey Grainger
Eye of the Storm
TV • 1993
Tom Frewen
Late Night with Seth Meyers
TV • 2014
Self
Harlan Coben's Lazarus
TV • 2025
Doctor Lazarus 'Dr L'
Grumpy Old Men
TV • 2003
Self
Performance
TV • 1991
Hugh Marriner
Castlevania
TV • 2017
Saint Germain (voice)
Testament: The Bible in Animation
TV • 1996
Belshazzar (voice)
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Dave
Timeshift
TV • 2002
self (voice)
Reilly: Ace of Spies
TV • 1983
Goschen
World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys
TV • 2019
Narrator (voice)
Kent: Garden of England
TV • 2024
Self - Narrator (voice)
Parkinson
TV • 1998
Self
This Morning
TV • 1988
Self
California Avenue
TV
Jerry
Playhouse
TV • 1974
Bruno
LIGHT & MAGIC
TV • 2022
Self (archive footage)
Longitude
TV • 2000
Lord Sandwich
10 Minute Tales
TV • 2009
Mr Jellaby
Chillers
TV • 1990
Tom Dickenson