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).
2005 • TV
2014 • TV
1979 • TV
2010 • Movie
2006 • Movie
1970 • TV
as Rufus Scrimgeour
as Davy Jones
as Davy Jones
as Rattlesnake Jake (voice)
as Billy Mack
as Professor Craven (voice)
as Phillip
as Met Chief Inspector
as Hephaestus
as Quentin
as Ray Simms
as Viktor
as Whitey (voice)
as James Mortmain
as General Fallon
as Richard Madsen
as Matthias
as Gideon Warner
as Friedrich Olbricht
as Slartibartfast
Executive Producer
Executive Producer
as Dr Black
1 episodes
as Self
1 episodes
as Oates
1 episodes
as Dave
1 episodes
as Lockwood
1 episodes
as Self
1 episodes
as Alan Sinclair
1 episodes
as Bruno
1 episodes
as Saint Germain (voice)
20 episodes
as Doctor Lazarus 'Dr L'
6 episodes
as Roger Maitland
1 episodes
as Hugh Marriner
1 episodes
as Self
1 episodes
as David Cleeve
1 episodes
as Self (archive footage)
1 episodes
as Man at bar
1 episodes
as self (voice)
1 episodes
as Thomas Jerome Newton
10 episodes
as Giles Culpepper QC
1 episodes
as Narrator (voice)
39 episodes
Executive Producer
