# John Lithgow on screen and stage

John Lithgow is an American actor, musician, poet, author, comedian and singer. He made his film debut in the comedy-drama Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues (1972). He has since then appeared in over 50 films, countless television projects and on stage. Lithgow's first appearance on stage came in 1973, in a Broadway production of The Changing Room by David Storey, for which he won a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actor in a Play and a Drama Desk Award. Some of his other theater work he performed in were My Fat Friend (1974), Trelawny of the 'Wells' (1975) and the 1976 plays A Memory of Two Mondays / 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, Secret Service and Boy Meets Girl. Lithgow subsequently acted in films such as Obsession (1976), The Big Fix (1978), the 1979 films All That Jazz with Roy Scheider and Rich Kids, Blow Out (1981) starring John Travolta, and I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982).
Lithgow's film breakthrough came after playing a transgender woman, Roberta Muldoon, who was a former football player, in a supporting role in the comedy-drama The World According to Garp (1982) with Robin Williams. Lithgow was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role. He then portrayed an airplane passenger who suffers from aviophobia in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983). Later the same year, Lithgow went on to play a science professor in the television disaster film The Day After, which won him an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or Special. As 1983 came to a close, he also featured in Terms of Endearment, where he played the role of a banker with Shirley MacLaine, Debra Winger and Jack Nicholson, thus earning Lithgow his second Academy Award nomination in the same category. In addition, Lithgow had a string of main and supporting roles during the 1980s, notably in the 1984 films Footloose, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, 2010, Santa Claus: The Movie (1985), The Manhattan Project (1986), and Harry and the Hendersons (1987).
The 1990s saw Lithgow continue to appear in various Hollywood films, namely Ricochet (1991) opposite Denzel Washington, Raising Cain (1992), Cliffhanger (1993) starring Sylvester Stallone and The Pelican Brief (1993), where he was reunited with Washington. He was cast in a main role in the 1996 television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun, where he played a high-ranking commander of an alien unit of four who have been sent to Earth to retrieve information under the disguise as a university professor. The show spanned over 100 episodes, during which Lithgow won one Golden Globe and three Emmy Awards for his role, before ending in 2001. That same year, he became the character of Lord Farquaad in the animated fantasy-comedy film Shrek (2001).
Other roles Lithgow appeared in during the 2000s were The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) with Geoffrey Rush, where he portrayed the famed director, screenwriter and producer Blake Edwards, Kinsey (2004), and Dreamgirls (2006). Lithgow also starred in the short-lived sitcom Twenty Good Years (2006). In 2009, he joined the cast of crime show Dexter as Arthur Mitchell, a family man who lives a double life as a serial killer. He appeared in a total of twelve episodes as the main antagonist on the fourth season, and for his performance, he won his second Golden Globe and fifth Emmy Award. Lithgow's later roles during the 2010s includes the science fiction film Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), the political comedy The Campaign (2012), the comedy-drama This Is 40 (2012), the sitcom How I Met Your Mother (2005–14), where he performed as a guest star in four episodes in the role as the father of executive Barney Stinson, as the voice of Percy the White Rabbit in ABC's fantasy-drama and spin-off program Once Upon a Time in Wonderland (2013–14), and the 2014 films Love Is Strange, alongside fellow co-star Alfred Molina, The Homesman, and Interstellar. Other films include Daddy's Home 2 (2017), Pitch Perfect 3 (2017), a new adaptation of Stephen King's novel, Pet Sematary (2019), and Bombshell (2019). Lithgow can be seen as Winston Churchill in the television drama series The Crown (2016). Lithgow has confirmed he will be playing Albus Dumbledore in the upcoming HBO Harry Potter Series.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 1972 | Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues | John | |
| 1976 | Obsession | Robert LaSalle | |
| 1978 | The Big Fix | Sam Sebastian | |
| 1979 | Rich Kids | Paul Philips | |
| 1979 | All That Jazz | Lucas Sergeant | |
| 1981 | Blow Out | Burke | |
| 1982 | I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can | Mr. Brunner | |
| 1982 | The World According to Garp | Roberta Muldoon | |
| 1983 | Terms of Endearment | Sam Burns | |
| 1983 | Twilight Zone: The Movie | John Valentine | Segment: "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" |
| 1984 | Footloose | Reverend Shaw Moore | |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Dr. Emilio Lizardo / Lord John Whorfin | |
| 1984 | 2010: The Year We Make Contact | Dr. Walter Curnow | |
| 1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | B.Z. | |
| 1986 | Mesmerized | Oliver Thompson | |
| 1986 | The Manhattan Project | John Mathewson | |
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons | George Henderson | |
| 1988 | Distant Thunder | Mark Lambert | |
| 1989 | Out Cold | Dave Geary | |
| 1990 | Memphis Belle | Lt. Col. Bruce Derringer | |
| 1991 | L.A. Story | Harry Zell | Scenes deleted |
| 1991 | At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Leslie Huben | |
| 1991 | Ricochet | Earl Talbot Blake | |
| 1992 | Raising Cain | Carter / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo | |
| 1993 | The Wrong Man | Phillip Mills | |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Smith Keen | |
| 1993 | Love, Cheat & Steal | Paul Harrington | |
| 1993 | Cliffhanger | Eric Qualen | |
| 1994 | Silent Fall | Dr. Rene Harlinger | |
| 1994 | Princess Caraboo | Professor Wilkinson | |
| 1994 | A Good Man in Africa | Arthur Fanshawe | |
| 1996 | Hollow Point | Thomas Livingston | |
| 1998 | Homegrown | Malcolm / Robert Stockman | |
| 1998 | Johnny Skidmarks | Sergeant Larry Skovik | |
| 1998 | A Civil Action | Judge Walter J. Skinner | |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Jean-Claude | Voice role |
| 2001 | Shrek | Lord Maximus Farquaad | Voice role |
| 2002 | Orange County | Bud Brumder | |
| 2004 | The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Blake Edwards | |
| 2004 | Kinsey | Alfred Seguine Kinsey | |
| 2006 | Dreamgirls | Jerry Harris | |
| 2009 | Confessions of a Shopaholic | Edgar West | |
| 2010 | Leap Year | Jack Brady | |
| 2011 | Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Charles Rodman | |
| 2011 | New Year's Eve | Jonathan Cox | |
| 2011 | The Jungle Bunch: The Movie | Maurice | Voice role English dub; direct-to-video |
| 2012 | The Campaign | Glenn Motch | |
| 2012 | This Is 40 | Oliver | |
| 2012 | Casting By | Himself | Documentary |
| 2014 | Love Is Strange | Benjamin Arthur Hull | |
| 2014 | The Homesman | Reverend Alfred Dowd | |
| 2014 | Interstellar | Donald | |
| 2015 | Best of Enemies | Gore Vidal | Voice role; documentary |
| 2016 | The Accountant | Lamar Blackburn | |
| 2016 | Miss Sloane | Senator Ron M. Sperling | |
| 2017 | Beatriz at Dinner | Doug Strutt | |
| 2017 | Daddy's Home 2 | Don Whitaker | |
| 2017 | Pitch Perfect 3 | Fergus Hobart | |
| 2019 | Late Night | Walter Newbury | |
| 2019 | The Tomorrow Man | Ed Hemsler | |
| 2019 | Pet Sematary | Jud Crandall | |
| 2019 | Bombshell | Roger Ailes | |
| 2022 | The Bubble | Tom the Studio Chairman | Cameo |
| 2023 | Sharper | Richard Hobbes | |
| 2023 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Prosecutor Peter Leaward | |
| 2024 | Cabrini | Mayor Gould | |
| 2024 | Conclave | Cardinal Tremblay | |
| 2024 | The Rule of Jenny Pen | Dave Crealy | |
| 2024 | Spellbound | Minister Bolinar | Voice role |
| 2025 | Jimpa | Jimpa | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role(s) | Notes |
| 1974 | The Country Girl | Paul Unger | Television film |
| 1977 | Great Performances | Captain Thorne | Episode: "Secret Service" |
| 1980 | The Oldest Living Graduate | Clarence Sickenger | Television film |
| 1980 | Mom, the Wolfman and Me | Wally | Television film |
| 1980 | Big Blonde | Herbie Morse | Television film |
| 1982 | Not In Front of the Children | Richard Carruthers | Television film |
| 1983 | The Day After | Professor Joe Huxley | Television film |
| 1984 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Goldilocks' father | Episode: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears" |
| 1984 | The Glitter Dome | Sergeant Marty Wellborn | Television film |
| 1985–1988 | Saturday Night Live | Himself | Host; 3 episodes |
| 1986 | Amazing Stories | John Walters | Episode: "The Doll" |
| 1986 | Resting Place | Major Kendall Laird | Television film |
| 1987 | Baby Girl Scott | Neil Scott | Television film |
| 1989 | Traveling Man | Ben Cluett | Television film |
| 1990 | Ivory Hunters | Robert Carter | Television film |
| 1991 | The Boys | Artie Margulies | Television film |
| 1993 | The Country Mouse and the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | Alexander | Voice role; animated television special |
| 1994 | World War II: When Lions Roared | Pres. Franklin D. Roosevelt | Television film |
| 1995 | Tales from the Crypt | Dr. Oscar Charles | Episode: "You, Murderer" |
| 1995 | My Brother's Keeper | Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley | Television film |
| 1995 | Frasier | Madman Martinez | Voice role; episode: "Someone to Watch Over Me" |
| 1995 | Redwood Curtain | Laird Riordan | Television film |
| 1995 | The Tuskegee Airmen | Senator Conyers | Television film |
| 1996–2001 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Dick Solomon | 139 episodes |
| 1999 | Cosby | Himself | Episode: "Superstar" |
| 2000 | Don Quixote | Don Quixote de la Mancha Alonso Quijano | Television film |
| 2003 | Freedom: A History of Us | Benjamin Rush / Roger Williams Henry Billings Brown / Ward Hunt | Voice role; 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Twenty Good Years | John Mason | 13 episodes |
| 2009 | Dexter | Arthur Mitchell | 12 episodes |
| 2009 | 30 Rock | Himself | Episode: "Goodbye, My Friend" |
| 2011 | Prohibition | H. L. Mencken | Voice role; 3 episodes |
| 2011–2014 | How I Met Your Mother | Jerome "Jerry" Whitaker | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | Timms Valley | Ol' Gregory Timms | Voice role; pilot |
| 2013–2014 | Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | Percy the White Rabbit | Voice role; 13 episodes |
| 2014 | Drunk History | William Randolph Hearst George Washington | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | Louie | Funny Man | Episode: "Sleepover" |
| 2016–2019 | The Crown | Winston Churchill | Main role (Season 1); supporting role (Seasons 2–3) 11 episodes |
| 2017 | Trial & Error | Professor Larry Henderson | 13 episodes |
| 2019, 2022 | The Simpsons | Himself (voice) Augustus "Gus" Redfield | Episodes: "I'm Just a Girl Who Can't Say D'oh" "Meat Is Murder" |
| 2019–2022 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Rudy Giuliani | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | Perry Mason | Elias Birchard "E.B." Jonathan | 5 episodes |
| 2021 | Wolfboy and the Everything Factory | Professor Chronopher (voice) | Episode: "Losing Track Of Time / Chaos Comes To Class" |
| 2021 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience | Phillip Drummond | Episode: "Diff'rent Strokes" and "The Facts of Life" |
| 2021 | Dexter: New Blood | Arthur Mitchell | Episode: "Skin of Her Teeth" |
| 2022–2024 | The Old Man | Harold Harper | Main cast |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Director(s) | Venue |
| 1973 | The Changing Room | Kenny Kendal | Michael Rudman | Morosco Theatre |
| 1974 | My Fat Friend | James | Robert Moore | Brooks Atkinson Theatre |
| 1975 | Hamlet | Laertes / Player King | Michael Rudman | Delacorte Theater |
| 1975 | Trelawny of the 'Wells' | Mr. Ferdinand Gadd | A. J. Antoon | Vivian Beaumont Theatre |
| 1976 | A Memory of Two Mondays 27 Wagons Full of Cotton | Kenneth | Arvin Brown | Playhouse Theatre |
| 1976 | Secret Service | Captain Thorne | Daniel Freudenberger | Playhouse Theatre |
| 1976 | Boy Meets Girl | | Himself | Playhouse Theatre |
| 1976–1977 | Comedians | Ged Murray | Mike Nichols | Music Box Theatre |
| 1977 | Anna Christie | Mat Burke | José Quintero | Imperial Theatre |
| 1978 | Once in a Lifetime | George Lewis | Tom Moore | Circle in the Square Theatre |
| 1979 | Spokesong | Frank | Kenneth Frankel | Circle in the Square Theatre |
| 1980 | Salt Lake City Skyline | Joe Hill | Robert Allan Ackerman | The Public Theater |
| 1980 | Division Street | Chris | Tom Moore | Ambassador Theatre |
| 1981–1982 | Kaufman at Large | George S. Kaufman | Himself Steven Robman | Marymount Manhattan Theatre |
| 1982 | Beyond Therapy | Bruce | John Madden | Brooks Atkinson Theatre |
| 1985 | Requiem for a Heavyweight | Harlan "Mountain" McClintock | Arvin Brown | Martin Beck Theatre |
| 1986–1987 | The Front Page | Walter Burns | Jerry Zaks | Vivian Beaumont Theatre |
| 1988–1990 | M. Butterfly | Rene Gallimard | John Dexter | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 2002 | Sweet Smell of Success | J. J. Hunsecker | Nicholas Hytner | Martin Beck Theatre |
| 2003–2004 | The Retreat from Moscow | Edward | Daniel Sullivan | Booth Theatre |
| 2005–2006 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Lawrence Jameson | Jack O'Brien | Imperial Theatre |
| 2007 | Twelfth Night | Malvolio | Neil Bartlett | Courtyard Theatre |
| 2008–2009 | All My Sons | Joe Keller | Simon McBurney | Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre |
| 2010 | Mr. & Mrs. Fitch | Mr. Fitch | Scott Ellis | Second Stage Theatre |
| 2011 | 8 | Theodore Olson | Joe Mantello | Eugene O'Neill Theatre |
| 2012 | The Columnist | Joseph Alsop | Daniel Sullivan | Samuel J. Friedman Theatre |
| 2012–2013 | The Magistrate | Aeneas Posket | Timothy Sheader | Royal National Theatre |
| 2014 | King Lear | Leir of Britain | Daniel Sullivan | Delacorte Theater |
| 2014–2015 | A Delicate Balance | Tobias | Pam MacKinnon | John Golden Theatre |
| 2018 | John Lithgow: Stories by Heart | Himself | Daniel Sullivan | American Airlines Theatre |
| 2018 | Candide | Voltaire / Dr. Pangloss | Gary Griffin | Carnegie Hall |
| 2019 | Hillary and Clinton | Bill Clinton | Joe Mantello | John Golden Theatre |
| 2024 | Giant | Roald Dahl | Nicholas Hytner | Royal Court Theatre |
| 2025 | Giant | Roald Dahl | Nicholas Hytner | Harold Pinter Theatre |

## Narrator

| Year | Title | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 1985 | The Amazing Bone | Story | |
| 1992 | Dr. Seuss Video Classics: Yertle the Turtle | Story | |
| 1993 | Sylvester and the Magic Pebble | Story | |
| 1998 | The Gold Rush | Documentary | |
| 1999 | Adventures in Time: The National Geographic Millennium Special | Documentary | |
| 2000 | Culture Shock | Episode: "The Shock of the Nude: Manet's Olympia" | |
| 2001 | 95 Worlds and Counting | Documentary | |
| 2001–2010 | Nova | 6 episodes | [224][225][226] [227][228][229] |
| 2011 | Truly California: Our State, Our Stories | Episode: "Miracle in a Box" | |
| 2014 | Projections of America | Documentary | |

## Audio drama

| Year | Title | Role | Author | Production company | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 2021 | The Sandman: Act II | Joshua Norton | Neil Gaiman, Dirk Maggs | Audible | | |

## Radio

| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref(s) |
| 1981, 1983 | Star Wars | Yoda | Radio drama | |