Loading amazing content...
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
December 12, 1949
Place of Birth
Caterham, Surrey, England, UK
Also Known As
- William Francis Nighy
- ויליאם פרנסיס "ביל" ניי
Bill Nighy
4.9 Popularity
Biography
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).
Known For
0.0
Shelter
2026
6.4
Doctor Lazarus 'Dr L'
Harlan Coben's Lazarus
2025
5.8
Andrew
& Sons
2025
0.0
This Is the Beginning
2025
3.8
(voice)
Bulk
2025
7.2
Lighthouse Bill (voice)
That Christmas
2024
6.8
Patrick Steptoe
Joy
2024
8.3
Longneck (voice)
The Wild Robot
2024
0.0
Self - Narrator (voice)
Kent: Garden of England
2024
6.9
Conrad (voice)
Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue
2024
Credits
Shelter
2026
0.0
Harlan Coben's Lazarus
as Doctor Lazarus 'Dr L'
2025
6.4
& Sons
as Andrew
2025
5.8
This Is the Beginning
2025
0.0
Bulk
as (voice)
2025
3.8
That Christmas
as Lighthouse Bill (voice)
2024
7.2
Joy
as Patrick Steptoe
2024
6.8
The Wild Robot
as Longneck (voice)
2024
8.3
Kent: Garden of England
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2024
0.0
Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue
as Conrad (voice)
2024
6.9
10 Lives
as Professor Craven (voice)
2024
7.7
The First Omen
as Cardinal Lawrence
2024
6.8
The Beautiful Game
as Mal
2024
6.4
Role Play
as Bob
2023
6.0
Darkling
2023
0.0
Spectre of the Bear
as Bennett (voice)
2023
0.0
Bloody Fury
as Bloody's Consciousness (voice)
2023
0.0
Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2023
0.0
The Laughter & Secrets of Love Actually: 20 Years Later – A Diane Sawyer Special
as Self
2022
4.0
Living
as Williams
2022
7.0
LIGHT & MAGIC
as Self (archive footage)
2022
7.7
The Man Who Fell to Earth
as Thomas Jerome Newton
2022
7.4
Christmas Magic at Kew Gardens
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
0.0
Lotus: A New Dawn
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
6.0
Iberia's Woodlands: Life on the Edge
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
10.0
Buckley's Chance
as Spencer
2021
6.2
Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
9.5
World's Most Scenic River Journeys
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2021
8.0
Katherine Jenkins Christmas Spectacular
as Self
2020
8.5
Minamata
as Robert "Bob" Hayes
2020
6.9
Emma.
as Mr. Woodhouse
2020
7.0
The Kindness of Strangers
as Timofey
2019
6.3
StarDog and TurboCat
as Sinclair (voice)
2019
7.1
World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys
as Narrator (voice)
2019
8.1
Hope Gap
as Edward
2019
6.3
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
as Howard Clifford
2019
6.9
Sometimes Always Never
as Alan
2019
6.4
Ordeal by Innocence
as Leo Argyll
2018
6.9
The Bookshop
as Mr. Brundish
2017
6.5
Castlevania
as Saint Germain (voice)
2017
8.3
Red Nose Day Actually
as Billy Mack
2017
7.0
Their Finest
as Ambrose Hilliard / Uncle Frank
2017
6.6
The Limehouse Golem
as John Kildare
2016
6.2
Dad's Army
as Sergeant Wilson
2016
5.0
Norm of the North
as Socrates (voice)
2016
4.6
A Grand Night In: The Story of Aardman
as Self - 'Flushed Away' and 'Arthur Christmas'
2015
7.0
The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
as Douglas Ainslie
2015
6.4
Pride
as Cliff
2014
7.7
National Theatre Live: Skylight
as Tom Sergeant
2014
8.9
Salting the Battlefield
as Johnny Worricker
2014
6.2
Turks & Caicos
as Johnny Worricker
2014
6.2
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self
2014
5.3
I, Frankenstein
as Naberius
2014
5.4
About Time
as Dad
2013
7.9
The World's End
as The Network (voice)
2013
6.8
The Hungry Corpse
as The Hungry Corpse
2013
0.0
Great White Shark
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2013
6.2
Jack the Giant Slayer
as General Fallon
2013
5.9
Dangerous Edge: A Life of Graham Greene
as Graham Greene (voice)
2013
1.0
London: The Modern Babylon
as Spoken Quotations (voice)
2012
6.3
Total Recall
as Matthias
2012
6.0
Wrath of the Titans
as Hephaestus
2012
5.8
The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
as Douglas Ainslie
2012
7.0
Arthur Christmas
as Grandsanta (voice)
2011
6.8
Page Eight
as Johnny Worricker
2011
6.6
Astonish Me
as The Professor
2011
8.0
Real Creatures of Dirt
as Self / Rattlesnake Jake
2011
6.0
The Man with the Stolen Heart
as Narrator
2011
0.0
Rango
as Rattlesnake Jake (voice)
2011
6.9
Chalet Girl
as Richard Madsen
2011
6.4
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Rufus Scrimgeour
2010
7.7
Wild Target
as Victor Maynard
2010
6.4
10 Minute Tales
2009
7.5
Glorious 39
as Alexander Keyes
2009
6.0
Astro Boy
as Dr. Elefun / Robotsky (voice)
2009
6.3
Live from Studio Five
as Self
2009
3.7
G-Force
as Leonard Saber
2009
5.5
🎬
The Big Art Project
as Narrator
2009
0.0
The Boat That Rocked
as Quentin
2009
7.2
Underworld: Rise of the Lycans
as Viktor
2009
6.5
Valkyrie
as Friedrich Olbricht
2008
6.9
Slapper
as Arnold Percy
2008
3.5
Conclusive: We Made Hot Fuzz
as Self
2007
0.0
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End
as Davy Jones
2007
7.3
Hot Fuzz
as Met Chief Inspector
2007
7.6
Notes on a Scandal
as Richard Hart
2006
7.1
Flushed Away
as Whitey (voice)
2006
6.3
Stormbreaker
as Alan Blunt
2006
5.2
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
as Davy Jones
2006
7.4
We Love Cigarettes
as Narrator
2006
0.0
Underworld: Evolution
as Viktor
2006
6.6
Anatomy of a Global Thriller: Behind the Scenes of The Constant Gardener
as Self
2006
4.0
Gideon's Daughter
as Gideon Warner
2005
6.2
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'
as Self
2005
0.0
Meerkat Manor
as Narrator
2005
7.6
The Constant Gardener
as Sir Bernard Pellegrin
2005
7.0
Inside 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'
as Self
2005
0.0
The Girl in the Café
as Lawrence
2005
7.0
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
as Slartibartfast
2005
6.7
Doctor Who
as Dr Black
2005
7.6
Bottom Mindless Violence
as Mr. Johnson (archive footage) (uncredited)
2004
7.5
Enduring Love
as Robin
2004
5.7
The Magic Roundabout
as Dylan (voice)
2004
5.4
Ready When You Are, Mr McGill
as Phil Parish
2004
7.3
Peter Ustinov: The Parkinson Interviews
as Self - Narrator
2004
0.0
He Knew He Was Right
as Colonel Osborne
2004
7.6
Shaun of the Dead
as Phillip
2004
7.5
Burst
as Maxwell's Fan 22
2004
0.0
Life Beyond the Box: Norman Stanley Fletcher
as Self - Narrator
2003
6.0
The Young Visiters
as Earl of Clincham
2003
5.4
Below Deck: An Interactive History Of Pirates
2003
4.0
Grumpy Old Men
as Self
2003
7.2
Underworld
as Viktor
2003
6.8
Canterbury Tales
as James
2003
6.9
Love Actually
as Billy Mack
2003
7.1
State of Play
as Cameron Foster
2003
7.4
I Capture the Castle
as James Mortmain
2003
6.7
The Lost Prince
as Stamfordham
2003
7.1
Timeshift
as self (voice)
2002
7.0
Lawless Heart
as Dan
2002
4.9
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
as Lockwood
2002
7.2
AKA
as Uncle Louis Gryffoyn
2002
5.3
Richard & Judy
as Self
2001
2.9
Lucky Break
as Roger
2001
6.1
Blow Dry
as Ray Robertson
2001
5.9
Black Books
as Man at bar
2000
8.0
Longitude
as Lord Sandwich
2000
7.0
Longitude
as Lord Sandwich
2000
7.4
Guest House Paradiso
as Mr. Johnson
1999
6.1
🎬
The Bass Player
1999
0.0
People Like Us
as Will Rushmore
1999
8.0
Still Crazy
as Ray Simms
1998
6.8
Parkinson
as Self
1998
0.0
FairyTale: A True Story
as Edward Gardner
1997
6.4
True Blue
as Jeremy Saville
1996
5.7
Alive and Kicking
as Tristan
1996
4.5
Testament: The Bible in Animation
as Belshazzar (voice)
1996
6.4
Kavanagh Q.C.
as Giles Culpepper QC
1995
7.0
Wycliffe
as David Cleeve
1994
6.0
Being Human
as Julian
1994
5.1
The Maitlands
as Roger Maitland
1993
0.0
Don't Leave Me This Way
as John Tracey
1993
7.0
Peak Practice
as Alan Sinclair
1993
6.1
Eye of the Storm
as Tom Frewen
1993
8.0
Unnatural Causes
as Oliver Latham
1993
6.5
A Masculine Ending
as John Tracey
1992
0.0
Chillers
as Tom Dickenson
1992
6.2
Performance
as Roger Maitland
1991
6.0
Performance
as Hugh Marriner
1991
6.0
Absolute Hell
as Hugh Marriner
1991
5.7
Antonia and Jane
as Howard Nash
1990
5.0
🎬
Making News
as Sam Courtney
1990
4.2
The Phantom of the Opera
as Martin Barton
1989
5.6
Mack the Knife
as Tiger Brown
1989
6.6
South Of The Border
as Tony Freason
1988
0.0
This Morning
as Self
1988
5.2
Thirteen at Dinner
as Ronald Marsh
1985
5.7
The Last Place on Earth
as Cecil Meares
1985
6.8
Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil
as Helmut Hoffmann
1985
4.5
The Little Drummer Girl
as Al
1984
5.4
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
as Jeffrey Grainger
1983
7.8
Reilly: Ace of Spies
as Goschen
1983
7.0
Curse of the Pink Panther
as ENT Doctor
1983
4.6
Easter 2016
as Connor Mullan
1982
0.0
Under the Skin
as Dave
1982
0.0
Eye of the Needle
as Squadron Leader Blenkinsop
1981
6.6
Standing in for Henry
as Bruno
1980
0.0
Little Lord Fauntleroy
as Officer
1980
7.4
🎬
Fox
as Colin Street
1980
1.0
Fox
as Colin Street
1980
5.7
Death Watch
as Katherine's Co-worker (uncredited)
1980
6.3
Dreams of Leaving
as William
1980
7.0
Deasey (Desperate)
as Deasy
1979
0.0
Minder
as Oates
1979
6.8
Agony
as Vincent Fish
1979
5.7
Soldiers Talking, Cleanly
as Bill
1978
0.0
Occupy!
as Player in Everyman Theatre Company, Liverpool
1976
0.0
Playhouse
as Bruno
1974
7.0
Play for Today
as Dave
1970
6.3
Heart of Darkness
as (voice)
N/A
0.0
🎬
500 Miles
N/A
0.0
Welcome to Paradise
as Hooker Duck Host (voice)
N/A
0.0
🎬
Ride or Die
as The Director
N/A
0.0
🎬
The Turning Door
as (voice)
N/A
0.0
🎬
California Avenue
as Jerry
N/A
0.0
Pink Sky at Night
as Man
N/A
0.0