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).
No. | Year | Title | Role | Vote Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1976 | Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool | 0 | |
2 | 1978 | Bill | 0 | |
3 | 1979 | Deasy | 0 | |
4 | 1980 | William | 70 | |
5 | 1980 | Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited) | 62 | |
6 | 1980 | Colin Street | 10 | |
7 | 1980 | Officer | 74 | |
8 | 1980 | Bruno | 0 | |
9 | 1981 | Squadron Leader Blenkinsop | 66 | |
10 | 1982 | Dave | 0 | |
11 | 1982 | Connor Mullan | 0 | |
12 | 1983 | ENT Doctor | 46 | |
13 | 1984 | Al | 55 | |
14 | 1985 | Helmut Hoffmann | 45 | |
15 | 1985 | Ronald Marsh | 55 | |
16 | 1989 | Tiger Brown | 66 | |
17 | 1989 | Martin Barton | 55 | |
18 | 1990 | Howard Nash | 55 | |
19 | 1991 | Hugh Marriner | 57 | |
20 | 1992 | John Tracey | 0 | |
21 | 1993 | Oliver Latham | 0 | |
22 | 1993 | John Tracey | 70 | |
23 | 1993 | Roger Maitland | 0 | |
24 | 1994 | Julian | 50 | |
25 | 1996 | Tristan | 49 | |
26 | 1996 | Jeremy Saville | 61 | |
27 | 1997 | Edward Gardner | 64 | |
28 | 1998 | Ray Simms | 68 | |
29 | 1999 | 0 | ||
30 | 1999 | Mr. Johnson | 62 | |
31 | 2000 | Lord Sandwich | 73 | |
32 | 2001 | Ray Robertson | 59 | |
33 | 2001 | Roger | 62 | |
34 | 2002 | Uncle Louis Gryffoyn | 56 | |
35 | 2002 | Dan | 53 | |
36 | 2003 | James Mortmain | 68 | |
37 | 2003 | Billy Mack | 71 | |
38 | 2003 | Viktor | 68 | |
39 | 2003 | 40 | ||
40 | 2003 | Earl of Clincham | 51 | |
41 | 2003 | Narrator | 60 | |
42 | 2004 | Maxwell's Fan 22 | 0 | |
43 | 2004 | Phillip | 75 | |
44 | 2004 | Phil Parish | 73 | |
45 | 2004 | Robin | 57 | |
46 | 2005 | Dylan (voice) | 54 | |
47 | 2005 | Slartibartfast | 67 | |
48 | 2005 | Lawrence | 71 | |
49 | 2005 | Self | 0 | |
50 | 2005 | Sir Bernard Pellegrin | 70 | |
51 | 2005 | Self | 0 | |
52 | 2005 | Gideon Warner | 63 | |
53 | 2006 | Self | 40 | |
54 | 2006 | Viktor | 66 | |
55 | 2006 | Narrator | 0 | |
56 | 2006 | Davy Jones | 74 | |
57 | 2006 | Alan Blunt | 52 | |
58 | 2006 | Whitey (voice) | 63 | |
59 | 2006 | Richard Hart | 71 | |
60 | 2007 | Met Chief Inspector | 76 | |
61 | 2007 | Davy Jones | 73 | |
62 | 2007 | Self | 0 | |
63 | 2008 | Ringmaster (voice) | 17 | |
64 | 2008 | Arnold Percy | 35 | |
65 | 2008 | Friedrich Olbricht | 69 | |
66 | 2009 | Viktor | 65 | |
67 | 2009 | Quentin | 72 | |
68 | 2009 | Leonard Saber | 55 | |
69 | 2009 | Dr. Elefun (voice) | 63 | |
70 | 2009 | Alexander Keyes | 60 | |
71 | 2010 | Victor Maynard | 64 | |
72 | 2010 | Rufus Scrimgeour | 77 | |
73 | 2011 | Richard Madsen | 64 | |
74 | 2011 | Rattlesnake Jake (voice) | 69 | |
75 | 2011 | Self / Rattlesnake Jake | 60 | |
76 | 2011 | The Professor | 80 | |
77 | 2011 | Johnny Worricker | 66 | |
78 | 2011 | Grandsanta (voice) | 68 | |
79 | 2012 | Douglas Ainslie | 69 | |
80 | 2012 | Hephaestus | 57 | |
81 | 2012 | Matthias | 60 | |
82 | 2012 | Spoken Quotations (voice) | 65 | |
83 | 2013 | Graham Greene (voice) | 10 | |
84 | 2013 | General Fallon | 58 | |
85 | 2013 | Self - Narrator (voice) | 62 | |
86 | 2013 | The Hungry Corpse | 0 | |
87 | 2013 | The Network (voice) | 68 | |
88 | 2013 | Dad | 79 | |
89 | 2014 | Naberius | 54 | |
90 | 2014 | Johnny Worricker | 63 | |
91 | 2014 | Johnny Worricker | 63 | |
92 | 2014 | Tom Sergeant | 91 | |
93 | 2014 | Cliff | 77 | |
94 | 2015 | Douglas Ainslie | 64 | |
95 | 2015 | Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas' | 70 | |
96 | 2016 | Socrates (voice) | 46 | |
97 | 2016 | Sergeant Wilson | 50 | |
98 | 2016 | John Kildare | 62 | |
99 | 2017 | Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank | 67 | |
100 | 2017 | Billy Mack | 71 | |
101 | 2017 | Mr. Brundish | 65 | |
102 | 2019 | Alan | 64 | |
103 | 2019 | Howard Clifford | 69 | |
104 | 2019 | Edward | 63 | |
105 | 2019 | Sinclair (voice) | 71 | |
106 | 2019 | Timofey | 63 | |
107 | 2020 | Mr. Woodhouse | 70 | |
108 | 2020 | Robert "Bob" Hayes | 70 | |
109 | 2020 | Self | 85 | |
110 | 2021 | Spencer | 62 | |
111 | 2021 | Self - Narrator | 60 | |
112 | 2021 | Self - Narrator | 0 | |
113 | 2022 | Williams | 70 | |
114 | 2022 | Self | 0 | |
115 | 2023 | Bloody's Consciousness (voice) | 0 | |
116 | 2023 | Bennett (voice) | 0 | |
117 | 2023 | 0 | ||
118 | 2023 | Bob | 60 | |
119 | 2024 | Conrad (voice) | 64 | |
120 | 2024 | Longneck (voice) | 84 | |
121 | 0 | |||
122 | 2024 | Lighthouse Bill (voice) | 71 | |
123 | 0 | |||
124 | 2024 | Mal | 64 | |
125 | 2024 | Cardinal Lawrence | 69 | |
126 | 2024 | Professor Craven (voice) | 79 | |
127 | 2024 | Patrick Steptoe | 69 |
No. | Year | Title | Role | Vote Average |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1970 | Dave | 61 | |
2 | 1979 | Vincent Fish | 65 | |
3 | 1979 | Oates | 68 | |
4 | 1980 | Colin Street | 57 | |
5 | 1981 | Barry | 65 | |
6 | 1983 | Goschen | 71 | |
7 | 1983 | Jeffrey Grainger | 79 | |
8 | 1985 | Cecil Meares | 68 | |
9 | 1988 | Self | 55 | |
10 | 1988 | Tony Freason | 0 | |
11 | 1990 | Sam Courtney | 60 | |
12 | 1990 | Tom Dickenson | 62 | |
13 | 1991 | Roger Maitland | 60 | |
14 | 1991 | Hugh Marriner | 60 | |
15 | 1993 | Tom Frewen | 80 | |
16 | 1993 | Alan Sinclair | 59 | |
17 | 1994 | David Cleeve | 60 | |
18 | 1995 | Giles Culpepper QC | 68 | |
19 | 1996 | Belshazzar (voice) | 60 | |
20 | 1998 | Self | 0 | |
21 | 1999 | Will Rushmore | 80 | |
22 | 2000 | Lord Sandwich | 70 | |
23 | 2000 | Man at bar | 81 | |
24 | 2001 | Self | 29 | |
25 | 2002 | Lockwood | 71 | |
26 | 2002 | self (voice) | 70 | |
27 | 2003 | Stamfordham | 70 | |
28 | 2003 | Cameron Foster | 75 | |
29 | 2003 | James | 69 | |
30 | 2003 | Self | 72 | |
31 | 2004 | Colonel Osborne | 78 | |
32 | 2005 | Dr Black | 75 | |
33 | 2005 | Narrator | 75 | |
34 | 2006 | Self | 46 | |
35 | 2009 | Narrator | 0 | |
36 | 2009 | Self | 33 | |
37 | 2009 | 75 | ||
38 | 2014 | Self | 54 | |
39 | 2017 | Saint Germain (voice) | 83 | |
40 | 2018 | Leo Argyll | 69 | |
41 | 2019 | Narrator (voice) | 81 | |
42 | 2021 | Narrator | 80 | |
43 | 2021 | Self - Narrator (voice) | 90 | |
44 | 2021 | Narrator | 100 | |
45 | 2022 | Thomas Jerome Newton | 74 | |
46 | 2023 | Narrator | 0 | |
47 | Doctor Lazarus ' Dr L' | 0 | ||
48 | 2024 | Narrator | 0 |