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).
Series | Lazarus | Doctor Lazarus ' Dr L' | 2025 |
Movie | 500 Miles | Unknown | 2025 |
Movie | & Sons | Unknown | 2025 |
Movie | 10 Lives | Professor Craven (voice) | 2024-04-18 |
Movie | Dragonkeeper | Danzi (voice) | 2024-04-11 |
Movie | The First Omen | Cardinal Lawrence | 2024-04-03 |
Movie | Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue | Conrad (voice) | 2024-05-01 |
Movie | The Beautiful Game | Mal | 2024-03-22 |
Series | Kent: Garden of England | Narrator | 2024-09-11 |
Movie | That Christmas | Bill (voice) | 2024-11-27 |
Movie | JOY | Patrick Steptoe | 2024-11-15 |
Movie | The Wild Robot | Longneck (voice) | 2024-09-12 |
Series | Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country | Narrator | 2023-09-06 |
Movie | Spectre of the Bear | Bennett (voice) | 2023-10-07 |
Movie | Bloody Fury | Bloody's Consciousness (voice) | 2023-09-23 |
Movie | Darkling | 2023-10-23 | |
Movie | Role Play | Bob | 2023-12-14 |
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 |
Movie | Christmas Magic at Kew Gardens | Self - Narrator | 2021-12-14 |
Series | Iberia's Woodlands: Life on the Edge | Narrator | 2021-06-29 |
Movie | Lotus: A New Dawn | Self - Narrator | 2021-07-28 |
Movie | Emma. | Mr. Woodhouse | 2020-02-13 |
Movie | Minamata | Robert "Bob" Hayes | 2020-03-13 |
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 |
Movie | The Kindness of Strangers | Timofey | 2019-12-12 |
Movie | StarDog and TurboCat | Sinclair (voice) | 2019-12-06 |
Series | World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys | Narrator (voice) | 2019-10-25 |
Series | The Joel McHale Show with Joel McHale | Himself | 2018-02-18 |
Series | Ordeal by Innocence | Leo Argyll | 2018-04-01 |
Movie | Their Finest | Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank | 2017-02-19 |
Movie | Red Nose Day Actually | Billy Mack | 2017-03-24 |
Series | Castlevania | Saint Germain (voice) | 2017-07-07 |
Movie | The Bookshop | Mr. Brundish | 2017-11-10 |
Movie | Dad's Army | Sergeant Wilson | 2016-02-05 |
Movie | Norm of the North | Socrates (voice) | 2016-01-14 |
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 | I, Frankenstein | Naberius | 2014-01-22 |
Movie | Turks & Caicos | Johnny Worricker | 2014-03-20 |
Movie | Salting the Battlefield | Johnny Worricker | 2014-03-27 |
Movie | National Theatre Live: Skylight | Tom Sergeant | 2014-07-24 |
Movie | Pride | Cliff | 2014-09-12 |
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 World's End | The Network (voice) | 2013-07-18 |
Movie | The Hungry Corpse | The Hungry Corpse | 2013-06-26 |
Movie | About Time | Dad | 2013-09-04 |
Movie | Wrath of the Titans | Hephaestus | 2012-03-28 |
Movie | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie | 2012-02-23 |
Movie | Total Recall | Matthias | 2012-08-02 |
Movie | London: The Modern Babylon | Spoken Quotations (voice) | 2012-08-03 |
Movie | Chalet Girl | Richard Madsen | 2011-02-02 |
Movie | Rango | Rattlesnake Jake (voice) | 2011-03-02 |
Movie | Real Creatures of Dirt | Self / Rattlesnake Jake | 2011-07-15 |
Movie | Arthur Christmas | Grandsanta (voice) | 2011-11-10 |
Movie | Page Eight | Johnny Worricker | 2011-08-28 |
Movie | Astonish Me | The Professor | 2011-07-26 |
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 | Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | Viktor | 2009-01-22 |
Movie | G-Force | Leonard Saber | 2009-07-24 |
Movie | The Boat That Rocked | Quentin | 2009-04-01 |
Series | Live from Studio Five | Self | 2009-09-14 |
Movie | Glorious 39 | Alexander Keyes | 2009-11-20 |
Series | 10 Minute Tales | Unknown | 2009-12-21 |
Movie | Astro Boy | Dr. Elefun (voice) | 2009-10-15 |
Movie | Slapper | Arnold Percy | 2008-06-21 |
Movie | A Fox's Tale | Ringmaster (voice) | 2008-04-17 |
Movie | Valkyrie | Friedrich Olbricht | 2008-12-25 |
Movie | Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Davy Jones | 2007-05-19 |
Movie | Hot Fuzz | Met Chief Inspector | 2007-02-14 |
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 | Underworld: Evolution | Viktor | 2006-01-12 |
Movie | Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener | Self | 2006-01-10 |
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 | 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 |
Movie | Gideon's Daughter | Gideon Warner | 2005-10-21 |
Series | Meerkat Manor | Narrator | 2005-09-02 |
Movie | Shaun of the Dead | Phillip | 2004-04-09 |
Movie | Burst | Maxwell's Fan 22 | 2004-01-01 |
Series | He Knew He Was Right | Colonel Osborne | 2004-04-18 |
Movie | Ready When You Are, Mr McGill | Phil Parish | 2004-09-01 |
Movie | Enduring Love | Robin | 2004-10-29 |
Series | Canterbury Tales | James | 2003-09-11 |
Movie | Love Actually | Billy Mack | 2003-09-07 |
Movie | I Capture the Castle | James Mortmain | 2003-05-09 |
Series | The Lost Prince | Stamfordham | 2003-01-19 |
Series | State of Play | Cameron Foster | 2003-05-18 |
Series | Grumpy Old Men | Self | 2003-10-10 |
Movie | Underworld | Viktor | 2003-09-19 |
Movie | Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher | Narrator | 2003-12-29 |
Movie | The Young Visiters | Earl of Clincham | 2003-12-26 |
Movie | Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates | 2003-12-02 | |
Movie | AKA | Uncle Louis Gryffoyn | 2002-01-19 |
Series | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries | Lockwood | 2002-04-08 |
Series | Timeshift | self (voice) | 2002-10-10 |
Movie | Lawless Heart | Dan | 2002-06-28 |
Movie | Blow Dry | Ray Robertson | 2001-03-01 |
Movie | Lucky Break | Roger | 2001-08-24 |
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 | Total Recall 2070 | Matthias Lair | 1999-01-05 |
Movie | Guest House Paradiso | Mr. Johnson | 1999-12-03 |
Series | People Like Us | Will Rushmore | 1999-09-20 |
Series | Parkinson | Self | 1998-01-09 |
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 |
Movie | True Blue | Jeremy Saville | 1996-11-15 |
Series | Testament: The Bible in Animation | Belshazzar (voice) | 1996-12-11 |
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 |
Series | Peak Practice | Alan Sinclair | 1993-05-10 |
Movie | Unnatural Causes | Oliver Latham | 1993-01-02 |
Movie | The Maitlands | Roger Maitland | 1993-11-13 |
Movie | Don't Leave Me This Way | John Tracey | 1993-05-30 |
Movie | A Masculine Ending | John Tracey | 1992-04-12 |
Movie | Absolute Hell | Hugh Marriner | 1991-10-05 |
Series | Performance | Hugh Marriner | 1991-02-22 |
Movie | Antonia and Jane | Howard Nash | 1990-01-01 |
Series | Chillers | Tom Dickenson | 1990-04-14 |
Series | Making News | Sam Courtney | 1990-01-16 |
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 | Hitler's SS : Portrait In Evil | Helmut Hoffmann | 1985-02-17 |
Series | The Last Place on Earth | Cecil Meares | 1985-02-18 |
Movie | Thirteen at Dinner | Ronald Marsh | 1985-09-19 |
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 |
Series | Bergerac | Barry | 1981-10-18 |
Movie | Eye of the Needle | Squadron Leader Blenkinsop | 1981-07-24 |
Movie | Death Watch | Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited) | 1980-01-23 |
Movie | Dreams of Leaving | William | 1980-01-17 |
Series | Fox | Colin Street | 1980-03-10 |
Movie | Little Lord Fauntleroy | Officer | 1980-12-01 |
Movie | Fox | Colin Street | 1980-03-10 |
Movie | Standing in for Henry | Bruno | 1980-12-19 |
Series | Agony | Vincent Fish | 1979-03-11 |
Series | Minder | Oates | 1979-10-29 |
Movie | Deasey | Deasy | 1979-12-06 |
Movie | Soldiers Talking, Cleanly | Bill | 1978-12-05 |
Movie | Occupy! | Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool | 1976-01-01 |
Series | Play for Today | Dave | 1970-10-15 |