1949-12-12 Caterham, Surrey, England, UK
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).
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Shelter | 2026-01-28 | |
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Bulk | (voice) | 2026-01-31 |
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This Is the Beginning | 2025-08-17 | |
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& Sons | Andrew | 2025-09-07 |
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10 Lives | Professor Craven (voice) | 2024-04-18 |
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Joy | Patrick Steptoe | 2024-11-15 |
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That Christmas | Lighthouse Bill (voice) | 2024-11-27 |
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The First Omen | Cardinal Lawrence | 2024-04-03 |
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The Wild Robot | Longneck (voice) | 2024-09-12 |
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Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue | Conrad (voice) | 2024-05-01 |
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The Beautiful Game | Mal | 2024-03-22 |
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Bloody Fury | Bloody's Consciousness (voice) | 2023-09-23 |
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Darkling | 2023-10-23 | |
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Role Play | Bob | 2023-12-14 |
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Spectre of the Bear | Bennett (voice) | 2023-10-07 |
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The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later – A Diane Sawyer Special | Self | 2022-11-29 |
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Living | Williams | 2022-11-04 |
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Christmas Magic at Kew Gardens | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2021-12-14 |
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Buckley's Chance | Spencer | 2021-06-24 |
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Lotus: A New Dawn | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2021-07-28 |
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Katherine Jenkins Christmas Spectacular | Self | 2020-12-01 |
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Minamata | Robert "Bob" Hayes | 2020-03-13 |
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Emma. | Mr. Woodhouse | 2020-02-13 |
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Hope Gap | Edward | 2019-10-03 |
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Sometimes Always Never | Alan | 2019-03-14 |
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The Kindness of Strangers | Timofey | 2019-12-12 |
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StarDog and TurboCat | Sinclair (voice) | 2019-12-06 |
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Pokémon Detective Pikachu | Howard Clifford | 2019-05-03 |
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The Bookshop | Mr. Brundish | 2017-11-10 |
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Their Finest | Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank | 2017-02-19 |
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Red Nose Day Actually | Billy Mack | 2017-03-24 |
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Dad's Army | Sergeant Wilson | 2016-02-05 |
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The Limehouse Golem | John Kildare | 2016-10-18 |
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Norm of the North | Socrates (voice) | 2016-01-14 |
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A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman | Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas' | 2015-12-26 |
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The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie | 2015-02-26 |
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National Theatre Live: Skylight | Tom Sergeant | 2014-07-24 |
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Pride | Cliff | 2014-09-12 |
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I, Frankenstein | Naberius | 2014-01-22 |
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Salting the Battlefield | Johnny Worricker | 2014-03-27 |
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Turks & Caicos | Johnny Worricker | 2014-03-20 |
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Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene | Graham Greene (voice) | 2013-01-01 |
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Great White Shark | Self - Narrator (voice) | 2013-05-24 |
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About Time | Dad | 2013-09-04 |
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The Hungry Corpse | The Hungry Corpse | 2013-06-26 |
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The World's End | The Network (voice) | 2013-07-18 |
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Jack the Giant Slayer | General Fallon | 2013-02-27 |
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Total Recall | Matthias | 2012-08-02 |
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Wrath of the Titans | Hephaestus | 2012-03-28 |
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The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel | Douglas Ainslie | 2012-02-23 |
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London: The Modern Babylon | Spoken Quotations (voice) | 2012-08-03 |
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The Man with the Stolen Heart | Narrator | 2011-07-14 |
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Rango | Rattlesnake Jake (voice) | 2011-03-02 |
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Chalet Girl | Richard Madsen | 2011-02-02 |
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Arthur Christmas | Grandsanta (voice) | 2011-11-10 |
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Astonish Me | The Professor | 2011-07-26 |
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Page Eight | Johnny Worricker | 2011-08-28 |
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Real Creatures of Dirt | Self / Rattlesnake Jake | 2011-07-15 |
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Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Rufus Scrimgeour | 2010-11-17 |
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Wild Target | Victor Maynard | 2010-06-17 |
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Underworld: Rise of the Lycans | Viktor | 2009-01-22 |
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Glorious 39 | Alexander Keyes | 2009-11-20 |
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Astro Boy | Dr. Elefun / Robotsky (voice) | 2009-10-15 |
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The Boat That Rocked | Quentin | 2009-04-01 |
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G-Force | Leonard Saber | 2009-07-24 |
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Valkyrie | Friedrich Olbricht | 2008-12-25 |
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Slapper | Arnold Percy | 2008-06-21 |
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Conclusive: We Made Hot Fuzz | Self | 2007-06-11 |
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Hot Fuzz | Met Chief Inspector | 2007-02-14 |
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Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End | Davy Jones | 2007-05-19 |
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Underworld: Evolution | Viktor | 2006-01-12 |
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Flushed Away | Whitey (voice) | 2006-10-22 |
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Stormbreaker | Alan Blunt | 2006-07-21 |
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Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener | Self | 2006-01-10 |
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Notes on a Scandal | Richard Hart | 2006-12-25 |
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We Love Cigarettes | Narrator | 2006-06-29 |
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Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest | Davy Jones | 2006-07-06 |
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The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy | Slartibartfast | 2005-04-28 |
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Inside 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' | Self | 2005-07-05 |
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The Constant Gardener | Sir Bernard Pellegrin | 2005-08-31 |
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The Girl in the Café | Lawrence | 2005-06-25 |
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Gideon's Daughter | Gideon Warner | 2005-10-21 |
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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 |
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Shaun of the Dead | Phillip | 2004-04-09 |
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Enduring Love | Robin | 2004-10-29 |
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Bottom Mindless Violence | Mr. Johnson (archive footage) (uncredited) | 2004-11-22 |
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The Magic Roundabout | Dylan (voice) | 2004-10-24 |
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Ready When You Are, Mr McGill | Phil Parish | 2004-09-01 |
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Peter Ustinov: The Parkinson Interviews | Self - Narrator | 2004-04-22 |
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Burst | Maxwell's Fan 22 | 2004-01-01 |
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The Young Visiters | Earl of Clincham | 2003-12-26 |
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Love Actually | Billy Mack | 2003-09-07 |
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Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher | Self - Narrator | 2003-12-29 |
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I Capture the Castle | James Mortmain | 2003-05-09 |
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Underworld | Viktor | 2003-09-19 |
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Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates | 2003-12-02 | |
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AKA | Uncle Louis Gryffoyn | 2002-01-19 |
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Lawless Heart | Dan | 2002-06-28 |
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Blow Dry | Ray Robertson | 2001-03-01 |
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Lucky Break | Roger | 2001-08-24 |
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Longitude | Lord Sandwich | 2000-01-02 |
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Guest House Paradiso | Mr. Johnson | 1999-12-03 |
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The Bass Player | 1999-10-01 | |
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Still Crazy | Ray Simms | 1998-10-30 |
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FairyTale: A True Story | Edward Gardner | 1997-10-24 |
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True Blue | Jeremy Saville | 1996-11-15 |
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Indian Summer | Tristan | 1996-11-08 |
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Being Human | Julian | 1994-05-06 |
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The Maitlands | Roger Maitland | 1993-11-13 |
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Unnatural Causes | Oliver Latham | 1993-01-02 |
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Don't Leave Me This Way | John Tracey | 1993-05-30 |
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A Masculine Ending | John Tracey | 1992-04-12 |
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Absolute Hell | Hugh Marriner | 1991-10-05 |
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Antonia and Jane | Howard Nash | 1990-07-18 |
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The Phantom of the Opera | Martin Barton | 1989-11-04 |
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Mack the Knife | Tiger Brown | 1989-11-01 |
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Thirteen at Dinner | Ronald Marsh | 1985-09-19 |
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Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil | Helmut Hoffmann | 1985-02-17 |
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The Little Drummer Girl | Al | 1984-10-19 |
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Curse of the Pink Panther | ENT Doctor | 1983-08-12 |
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Easter 2016 | Connor Mullan | 1982-05-18 |
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Under the Skin | Dave | 1982-01-19 |
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Eye of the Needle | Squadron Leader Blenkinsop | 1981-07-24 |
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La Mort en direct | Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited) | 1980-01-23 |
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Dreams of Leaving | William | 1980-01-17 |
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Fox | Colin Street | 1980-03-10 |
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Standing in for Henry | Bruno | 1980-12-19 |
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Little Lord Fauntleroy | Officer | 1980-12-01 |
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Deasey (Desperate) | Deasy | 1979-12-06 |
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Soldiers Talking, Cleanly | Bill | 1978-12-05 |
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Occupy! | Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool | 1976-01-01 |
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The Turning Door | (voice) | |
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Castlevania | Saint Germain (voice) | |
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Welcome to Paradise | Hooker Duck Host (voice) | |
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500 Miles | ||
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Heart of Darkness | (voice) | |
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Pink Sky at Night | Man |
