Bill Nighy

British actor (born 1949)Template:SHORTDESC:British actor (born 1949)

**William Francis Nighy** (/naɪ/; born 12 December 1949) is an English actor. Nighy became widely known for his performance as Billy Mack in *Love Actually* (2003). His other notable cinema roles include Davy Jones in the *Pirates of the Caribbean* film series, and Viktor in the *Underworld* film series. He is also known for his roles in the films  *Still Crazy* (1998), *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), *The Boat That Rocked* (2009), *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1* (2010), voicing Grandsanta in *Arthur Christmas* (2011), *The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel* (2012), and *About Time* (2013). His performances were also acclaimed in the BBC One series *State of Play* and in the TV films *The Girl in the Café*, *Gideon's Daughter*, and *Page Eight*, for which he earned Golden Globe nominations, winning one for *Gideon's Daughter*.

In 2015, Nighy appeared on Broadway with Carey Mulligan in the acclaimed revival of *Skylight* and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play.

## Early life and education

Nighy was born on 12 December 1949 in Caterham, Surrey. His mother, Catherine Josephine Nighy (née Whittaker), was a psychiatric nurse of Irish descent born in Glasgow, and his English father, Alfred Martin Nighy, managed a car garage after working in the family chimney sweeping business.

Nighy was brought up as a Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy. He has two older siblings, Martin and Anna. He attended the John Fisher School, a Roman Catholic grammar school in Purley, where he was a member of the school theatre group. After leaving the school with two O-levels, he worked as a messenger for *The Croydon Advertiser*. He entered the Guildford School of Acting to train for stage and film.

## Career

### Early work

After two seasons at the Everyman Theatre, Liverpool, Nighy made his London stage debut at the National Theatre in an epic staging of Ken Campbell and Chris Langham's *Illuminatus!*, which opened the new Cottesloe Theatre on 4 March 1977. He was cast to appear in two David Hare premieres, also at the National. During the 1980s, he appeared in several television productions, among them *Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil* with John Shea and Tony Randall.

Nighy has starred in many radio and television dramas, notably the BBC serial *The Men's Room* (1991). He claimed that the serial, an Ann Oakley novel adapted by Laura Lamson, was the job that launched his career. More recently he has appeared in the thriller *State of Play* (2003) and the costume drama *He Knew He Was Right* (2004).

He played Samwise Gamgee in the 1981 BBC Radio dramatisation of *The Lord of the Rings* (credited as William Nighy), and was heard in the 1980s BBC Radio versions of *Yes Minister* episodes. He starred with Stephen Moore and Lesley Sharp in the acclaimed short radio drama *Kerton's Story*, written by James Woolf, which first aired in 1996. He had a starring role in the 2002 return of *Auf Wiedersehen, Pet*, portraying crooked politician Jeffrey Grainger. He has also made a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4 series *Baldi*.

### National Theatre

Two of Nighy's most acclaimed stage performances were in National Theatre productions. As Bernard Nightingale, an unscrupulous university don, in Tom Stoppard's *Arcadia* (1993), he engaged in witty exchanges with Felicity Kendal, who played Hannah Jarvis, an author. He played a consultant psychiatrist in Joe Penhall's *Blue/Orange* (2000), for which he received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor; it transferred to the West End at the Duchess Theatre the following year. In 1997, Nighy starred as restaurant entrepreneur Tom Sergeant in David Hare's *Skylight*, which had premiered in 1995 and was moved to the Vaudeville Theatre.

### Film and television

Nighy played a libidinous young disc jockey, Vincent Fish, in the 1980 comedy series *Agony*, where he was the occasional lover of the lead character, played by Maureen Lipman.

Nighy received some recognition by American audiences for his acclaimed portrayal of overaged rock star Ray Simms in the 1998 film *Still Crazy*. In 1999 he gained further prominence in the UK with the starring role in "The Photographer", an episode of the award-winning BBC-TV mockumentary comedy series *People Like Us*, playing Will Rushmore, a middle aged man who has abandoned his career and family in the deluded belief that he can achieve success as a commercial photographer.

 File:Bill Nighy Pride TIFF 2014.jpg
In 2003, Nighy played the role of the Vampire Elder Viktor in the American production *Underworld*. He returned in the same role in the sequel *Underworld: Evolution* in 2006, and again in the prequel *Underworld: Rise of the Lycans* in 2009. In February 2004, he was awarded the BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Billy Mack in *Love Actually*. At the BAFTA Television Awards in April 2004, he won the Best Actor award for *State of Play*. He also appeared in the comedy *Shaun of the Dead*.

In early 2004, *The Sunday Times* reported that Nighy was on the shortlist for the role of the Ninth Doctor in the 2005 revival of the BBC television series *Doctor Who*. Christopher Eccleston ultimately filled the role.

In 2005, he appeared as Slartibartfast in the film adaptation of *The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy*. He also appeared in the one-off BBC One comedy-drama *The Girl in the Café*. In February 2006, he appeared in scriptwriter Stephen Poliakoff's one-off drama, *Gideon's Daughter*. Nighy played the lead character, Gideon, a successful events organiser who begins to lose touch with the world around him. This performance won him a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Mini-series or TV Film in January 2007. Also in 2006, Nighy made his Broadway debut at the Music Box Theatre alongside Julianne Moore in *The Vertical Hour*, directed by Sam Mendes.

In 2006, Nighy played the principal villain, Davy Jones, in *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest*, with his face entirely obscured by computer-generated makeup. He voiced the character with a Scots accent. He reprised the role in the 2007 sequel, *Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End*, in which his real face was briefly revealed in one scene. He also provided the narration for the Animal Planet series *Meerkat Manor*. In 2006 he played the role of Richard Hart in *Notes on a Scandal*, for which he was nominated for a London Film Critics' Circle award. Nighy also appeared as General Friedrich Olbricht, one of the principal conspirators, in the 2008 film *Valkyrie*. He had played an *SS* officer in the 1985 *Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil*. Nighy starred in the film *Wild Target* in 2010.

In July 2009, he announced that he would play Rufus Scrimgeour in *Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1*. Nighy had already worked with director David Yates twice, and with the majority of the *Harry Potter* cast in previous films. He has said of his role as Rufus Scrimgeour that it meant he was no longer the only English actor not to be in *Harry Potter*.

In 2010 he made a small cameo in *Doctor Who*, in the episode titled "Vincent and the Doctor".

Nighy voiced Grandsanta in the 2011 CGI animated film *Arthur Christmas*. In 2012, he starred in *The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel*, *Wrath of the Titans*, and the remake of *Total Recall*. In 2013, he played a role in *Darkside*, Tom Stoppard's radio drama based on Pink Floyd's album *The Dark Side of the Moon*.

Nighy played MI5 agent Johnny Worricker in a trilogy of films written and directed by David Hare:
*Page Eight* (2011), *Turks & Caicos* (2014), and *Salting the Battlefield* (2014).

In 2014 he starred with Carey Mulligan in a revival of David Hare's *Skylight* at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End. It had a large international audience via broadcast in the National Theatre Live series. He and Mulligan also starred in the play when it was transferred to Broadway in 2015 where they both received Tony Award nominations for their performances. In 2016, he provided the voice of Socrates in the critically panned animated feature *Norm of the North*.

In 2020 he appeared as Mr Woodhouse, Emma's father, in Autumn de Wilde's *Emma.* (2020) starring alongside Anya Taylor-Joy. The film received near universal acclaim with *Variety* film critic Andrew Barker praising the casting of Nighy as Emma's father writing that the decision was an "uncontested layup of casting".

In October 2020, it was announced that Nighy will play the leading role in *Living*, an English-language adaptation of Akira Kurosawa’s 1952 Japanese drama *Ikiru*, directed by Oliver Hermanus, with the screenplay written by Kazuo Ishiguro. Shooting began in spring 2021 in locations across the UK, including London and Worthing.

In the 2022 TV series *The Man Who Fell to Earth* Nighy played the brilliant Thomas Newton, the first alien to arrive on earth over 40 years ago. This role originally was played by David Bowie in the 1976 film adaptation.

Nighy is also the narrator of the Channel 5 travel show *The World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys*, a programme which started its fifth series in Autumn 2021 with episodes featuring train journeys across Australia and the Welsh borders.

### Radio

Nighy appeared as Charles Paris on many series of the Charles Paris Mysteries on BBC Radio 4.

## Personal life

Beginning in 1980, Nighy was in a relationship with English actress Diana Quick, with whom he has a daughter, actress Mary Nighy, born in 1984. The pair separated in 2008.

He has Dupuytren's contracture, a hereditary condition which can, depending on the condition's severity, cause contractures of the fingers, most commonly the ring and little fingers.

Nighy is a supporter of Crystal Palace F.C. He is a Patron of the CPSCC (Crystal Palace Children's Charity) and of the Ann Craft Trust. He is also an Honorary Patron of the London children's charity Scene & Heard.

He is a patron of the Milton Rooms, a new arts centre in Malton, North Yorkshire, along with Imelda Staunton, Jools Holland and Kathy Burke.

Nighy is a supporter of the Robin Hood tax campaign and starred in a video in support of it.

Known for his support of total gender equality, Nighy noted in an interview during the 2016 DIFF film festival that the highlighting of gender inequality problems in the film industry had influenced his choice of film roles. He has also spoken of his role in *Pride*, a film extolling the mutual support between the National Union of Miners and gay rights groups in the UK in the 1980s, as one of his most cherished.

Nighy is noted for his bespoke navy suits. He was listed as one of the 50 best-dressed over-50s by *The Guardian* in March 2013 and one of *GQ*'s 50 best-dressed British men in 2015.

He became a fan of the *Pokémon* franchise during the production of *Detective Pikachu*, in which he played Howard Clifford. He has said that Mew is his favourite Pokémon.

## Notes

1. ↑ Williams, Steven (30 June 2006). Acting Legend Bill Nighy Talks About The Pronunciation Of His Name.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Barratt, Nick (11 November 2006). Family Detective.
3. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Shaitly, Shahesta (4 July 2010). "Bill Nighy: Five things I know about style". *The Observer*. UK. Retrieved 7 October 2010.
4. ↑ Bill Nighy: the thinking woman's bagel Template:Webarchive
5. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Wills, Dominic. "Bill Nighy – Biography". TalkTalk. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
6. ↑ Blackhall, Sue (1 February 2010). *Bill Nighy: The Unauthorised Biography*. John Blake Publishing. ISBN 978-1-84454-867-5.
7. ↑ Bill Nighy, *Hello magazine*, undated, accessed 23 November 2009.
8. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Schiff, Amanda (2 December 2008). "Laura Lamson Obituary". *The Guardian*. UK. Archived from the original on 5 December 2008. Retrieved 3 December 2008.
9. ↑ " 'Skylight' at Vaudeville" abouttheartists.com, accessed 30 March 2015
10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Roslyn Sulcas, "Mulligan and Bill Nighy Prepare ‘Skylight’ for Broadway", *New York Times*, 26 February 2015; accessed 13 September 2018
11. ↑ BBC – Doctor Who (David Tennant and Billie Piper)- News.
12. ↑ Bill Nighy Is a Wild Target | Empire. *Empire*.
13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Bill Nighy to star in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows". BBC. 6 July 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2009.
14. ↑ James McAvoy, Hugh Laurie, Jim Broadbent, Bill Nighy, Imelda Staunton and Ashley Jensen join the cast of "Arthur Christmas".
15. ↑ Bill Nighy.
16. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Pink Floyd album inspires Sir Tom Stoppard radio play". BBC. 28 March 2013. Retrieved 24 August 2013.
17. ↑ Ben Brantley, "Volatile Chemistry in an Underheated Flat", *New York Times*, 04 July 2014; accessed 13 September 2018
18. ↑ " 'Skylight' review – Hare revival is a Thatcherite play for today", *The Observer*, 22 June 2014. Retrieved 18 July 2014.
19. ↑ Ben Brantley, "Review: ‘Skylight,’ With Carey Mulligan and Bill Nighy, Opens on Broadway", 02 April 2015; accessed 13 September 2018
20. ↑ Emma. director Autumn de Wilde explains the film's unusual punctuation.
21. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Bill Nighy: Uptight Englishmen can be rich pickings for appearing daft". *Sky News*.
22. ↑ 'Emma.': Film Review (3 February 2020). Retrieved on May 2, 2021.
23. ↑ Bill Nighy, Aimee Lou Wood to lead Kurosawa adaptation 'Living' for Number 9, Film4, Ingenious. Retrieved on July 10, 2021.
24. ↑ Bill Nighy spotted filming at Worthing Lido. Retrieved on July 10, 2021.
25. ↑ The World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys.
26. ↑ The World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys Season 5. Radio Times. Retrieved on February 12, 2022.
27. ↑ My5.
28. ↑ BBC Radio 4 - A Charles Paris Mystery - Episode guide.
29. ↑ Farndale, Nigel (February 8, 2015). Bill Nighy: 'I'm greedy for beauty'. *The Guardian*.
30. ↑ Dupuytren Research Group. Enroll in the IDDB | Dupuytren Research Group. Dupstudy.com. Retrieved on June 25, 2022.
31. ↑ Crystal Palace Supporters Children's Charity Template:Webarchive accessed 2 June 2007
32. ↑ Ann Craft Trust: Safeguarding Disabled Children & Adults at Risk.
33. ↑ Scene & Heard – Who We Are. sceneandheard.org (2010).
34. ↑ The Milton Rooms homepage. Themiltonrooms.com.
35. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Wintour, Patrick; Elliott, Larry (3 November 2011). "Bill Nighy takes Robin Hood tax to the G20". *The Guardian*. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
36. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"Bill Nighy on 'Robin Hood tax' for bankers". *BBC News*. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
37. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Denham, Jess (18 February 2014). "Bill Nighy and Andrew Lincoln star in video supporting Robin Hood tax". *The Independent*. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
38. ↑ "In England at Christmas It's Me and the Queen", *City Times* (12 December 2016), accessed 25 March 2017.
39. ↑ "Bill Nighy has Never Been Prouder of his Career Choices than 'Pride'", Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) Australia online, interview (27 February 2019), accessed 3 March 2019.
40. ↑ Mansel Fletcher (15 November 2011). The Look: Mr Bill Nighy. Mr. Porter.
41. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>Cartner-Morley, Jess; Mirren, Helen; Huffington, Arianna; Amos, Valerie (28 March 2013). "The 50 best-dressed over 50s". *The Guardian*. London. Retrieved 21 March 2022.
42. ↑ <templatestyles src="Module:Citation/CS1/styles.css"></templatestyles>"50 Best Dressed Men in Britain 2015". *GQ*. 5 January 2015.
43. ↑ Godfrey, Chris (2019-05-09). Detective Pikachu and the case of the highest grossing media franchise of all time (en).

## External links

* Bill Nighy at IMDb
* Bill Nighy: A Life in Pictures Interview at BAFTA
* Template:Screenonline name
* Template:British Comedy Guide
* Silk Sound Books Template:Webarchive

Template:Authority control

Cite error: `<ref>` tags exist for a group named "lower-alpha", but no corresponding `<references group="lower-alpha"/>` tag was found