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