
Bill Nighy
Acting
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).
Born: December 12, 1949 · Caterham, Surrey, England, UK
Filmography (125)

Shelter
2026

Harlan Coben's Lazarus
2025

That Christmas
2024

Joy
2024

The Wild Robot
2024

Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue
2024

10 Lives
2024

The First Omen
2024

The Beautiful Game
2024

Role Play
2023

Living
2022

LIGHT & MAGIC
2022

The Man Who Fell to Earth
2022

Buckley's Chance
2021

Minamata
2020

Emma.
2020

The Kindness of Strangers
2019

StarDog and TurboCat
2019

World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys
2019

Hope Gap
2019

Pokémon Detective Pikachu
2019

Sometimes Always Never
2019

Ordeal by Innocence
2018

The Bookshop
2017

Castlevania
2017

Red Nose Day Actually
2017

Their Finest
2017

The Limehouse Golem
2016

Dad's Army
2016

Norm of the North
2016

A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
2015

The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2015

Pride
2014

National Theatre Live: Skylight
2014

Salting the Battlefield
2014

Turks & Caicos
2014

Late Night with Seth Meyers
2014

I, Frankenstein
2014

About Time
2013

The World's End
2013

Great White Shark
2013

Jack the Giant Slayer
2013

London: The Modern Babylon
2012

Total Recall
2012

Wrath of the Titans
2012

The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
2012

Arthur Christmas
2011

Page Eight
2011

Rango
2011

Chalet Girl
2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010

Wild Target
2010

10 Minute Tales
2009

Glorious 39
2009

Astro Boy
2009

Live from Studio Five
2009

G-Force
2009

The Boat That Rocked
2009

Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
2009

Valkyrie
2008

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
2007

Hot Fuzz
2007

Notes on a Scandal
2006

Flushed Away
2006

Stormbreaker
2006

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
2006

Underworld: Evolution
2006

Gideon's Daughter
2005

Meerkat Manor
2005

The Constant Gardener
2005

The Girl in the Café
2005

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
2005

Doctor Who
2005

The Magic Roundabout
2005

Enduring Love
2004

He Knew He Was Right
2004

Shaun of the Dead
2004

The Young Visiters
2003

Underworld
2003

Canterbury Tales
2003

Love Actually
2003

State of Play
2003

I Capture the Castle
2003

The Lost Prince
2003

Timeshift
2002

Lawless Heart
2002

The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
2002

AKA
2002

Richard & Judy
2001

Lucky Break
2001

Blow Dry
2001

Black Books
2000

Longitude
2000

Longitude
2000

Guest House Paradiso
1999

People Like Us
1999

Still Crazy
1998

Parkinson
1998

FairyTale: A True Story
1997

True Blue
1996

Alive and Kicking
1996

Testament: The Bible in Animation
1996

Kavanagh Q.C.
1995

Wycliffe
1994

Being Human
1994

Peak Practice
1993

Performance
1991

Antonia and Jane
1990

Chillers
1990

The Phantom of the Opera
1989

Mack the Knife
1989

This Morning
1988

Thirteen at Dinner
1985

Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil
1985

The Little Drummer Girl
1984

Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
1983

Reilly: Ace of Spies
1983

Curse of the Pink Panther
1983

Eye of the Needle
1981

Little Lord Fauntleroy
1980

Death Watch
1980

Minder
1979

Agony
1979

Playhouse
1974

Play for Today
1970
