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 who was born in Glasgow, and his English-born father, Alfred Martin Nighy, managed a car garage after working in the family chimney sweeping business. Also of part Irish descent, Nighy was brought up as a Roman Catholic, serving as an altar boy.

He has two elder siblings, Martin and Anna. Nighy attended the John Fisher School, a Roman Catholic grammar school in Purley, where he was a member of the school theatre group. He left the school with two O-levels and then took a job with The Croydon Advertiser as a messenger boy. He went on to train at the Guildford School of Acting.

Career

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, and went on 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, alongside John Shea and Tony Randall.

He 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 which launched his career. More recently he has featured in the thriller State of Play (2003) and costume drama He Knew He Was Right (2004). He played Samwise Gamgee in the 1981 BBC Radio dramatisation of The Lord of the Rings (where he was credited as William Nighy), and appeared in the 1980s BBC Radio versions of Yes Minister episodes. He starred alongside Stephen Moore and Lesley Sharp in the acclaimed short radio drama Kerton's Story, 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.

Two of Nighy's most acclaimed stage performances were in National Theatre productions. Taking the role of Bernard Nightingale, an unscrupulous university don, in Tom Stoppard's Arcadia (1993), he engaged in witty exchanges with Felicity Kendal, playing the role of Hannah Jarvis, an author; and he played a consultant psychiatrist in Joe Penhall's Blue/Orange (2000), for which he won an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor, and which transferred to the West End at the Duchess Theatre the following year.

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.

In 2003, Nighy played the role of the Vampire Elder Viktor in the American production Underworld and returned in the same role for 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 shameless, washed-up rocker Billy Mack in Love Actually (a role foreshadowed by his Still Crazy character) and followed this up at the BAFTA Television Awards in April with 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, although his face was 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.

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.

Personal life

Nighy had a 27-year-relationship with English actress Diana Quick, with whom he has a daughter, actress Mary Nighy. The couple amicably separated in 2008.

He is a supporter of Crystal Palace and is the Patron of the CPSCC (Crystal Palace F.C. Fast Results & Information Service) Children's Charity, and of the Ann Craft Trust. He is also one of the Honorary Patrons of the London children's charity Scene & Heard. He has Dupuytren's contracture, a condition which causes the ring and little finger of each hand to be permanently bent inwards towards the palm.

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

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

Filmography

Films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1981	Eye of the Needle	Squadron Leader Blenkinsop
1983	Curse of the Pink Panther	ENT Doctor
1984	The Little Drummer Girl	Al
1985	Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil	Helmut Hoffmann
1985	Thirteen at Dinner	Ronald Marsh
1989	The Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture	Martin Barton
1994	Being Human	Julian
1996	True Blue	Jeremy Saville
1997	FairyTale: A True Story	Edward Gardner
1998	Still Crazy	Ray Simms
1999	Guest House Paradiso	Mr. Johnson
2001	Blow Dry	Raymond "Ray" Robertson
2001	Lawless Heart	Dan
2001	Lucky Break	Roger "Rog" Chamberlain
2002	AKA	Uncle Louis Gryffoyn
2003	Ready When You Are, Mr McGill	Phil Parish
2003	Love Actually	Billy Mack
2003	I Capture the Castle	James Mortmain
2003	Underworld	Viktor
2004	Shaun of the Dead	Phillip
2004	Enduring Love	Robin
2005	The Magic Roundabout	Dylan	Voice only (UK version)
2005	The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy	Slartibartfast
2006	Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest	Davy Jones
2005	The Constant Gardener	Sir Bernard Pellegrin
2006	Underworld: Evolution	Viktor
2006	Stormbreaker	Alan Blunt
2006	Flushed Away	Whitey	Voice only
2006	Notes on a Scandal	Richard Hart
2007	Hot Fuzz	Ch. Insp. Kenneth
2007	Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End	Davy Jones
2008	Valkyrie	Friedrich Olbricht
2008	A Fox's Tale	The Ringmaster
2009	Underworld: Rise of the Lycans	Viktor
2009	The Boat That Rocked	Quentin
2009	G-Force	Leonard Saber
2009	Astro Boy	Professor Simon Elefun/Robotsky	Voice only
2009	Statuesque	Mr. Jellaby	Short film
2009	Glorious 39	Sir Alexander
2010	Wild Target	Victor Maynard
2010	Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1	Rufus Scrimgeour
2011	Rango	Rattlesnake Jake	Voice only
2011	Chalet Girl	Richard
2011	Arthur Christmas	Grandsanta	Voice only
2011	The Man with the Stolen Heart	Narrator	Voice only
2012	The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	Douglas Ainslie
2012	Wrath of the Titans	Hephaestus
2012	Total Recall	Matthias Lair
2013	Great White Shark 3D	Narrator	Voice only
2013	Jack the Giant Slayer	Fallon (Big Head)	Voice only
2013	The World's End	The Network	Voice only
2013	About Time	James Lake
2014	I, Frankenstein	Naberius
2014	Pride	Cliff
2015	The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel	Douglas Ainslie
2016	Dad's Army	Sergeant Wilson
2016	Norm of the North	Socrates	Voice
2016	Their Finest Hour and a Half		Filming
2016	The Limehouse Golem	John Kildare	In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Softly, Softly: Taskforce	Albert Blake	Episode: "Say it with Flowers"
1978-82	Play for Today	Dave/William/Bill	3 episodes
1979	Premier	Deasey	Episode: "Deasey"
1980	Agony	Vincent Fish	Season 2
1980	Fox	Colin Street	2 episodes
1980	BBC2 Playhouse	Bruno	Episode: "Standing in for Henry"
1982	Minder	Oates	Episode: "Looking for Micky"
1982	Play for Tomorrow	Connor Mullen	Episode: "Easter 2016"
1983	Reilly, Ace of Spies	Goschen	Episode 3: "1905: The Visiting Fireman"
1983	Jemima Shore Investigates	David Cullen	Episode: "A Model for Murder"
1985	The Last Place on Earth	Cecil Meares
1989	Storyboard	Sam	Episode: "Making News"
1990	Making News	Sam Courtney
1990	Screenplay	Howard Nash	Episode: "Antonio and Jane"
1991	The Men's Room	Mark Carleton	BBC serial
1991	Bergerac		Episode: "All for Love"
1991-93	Performance	Roger Maitland/Hugh Marriner	2 episodes
1992	Chillers	Tom Dickenson	Episode: "The Cat Brought It In"
1993	Eye of the Storm	Tom Frewen	6 episodes
1993	Peak Practice	Alan Sinclair	Episode: "Growing Pains"
1993	The Maitlands	Roger Maitland	BBC TV production of Ronald Mackenzie's 1930s play
1994	Wycliffe	David Cleeve	Episode: "The Four Jacks"
1995	Llety Piod
1996	Testament: The Bible in Animation	Belshazzar	Episode: "Daniel"
1997	Insiders	Mark Gordon	Episode: "The Vat Man"
1997	Kavanagh QC	Giles Culpepper QC	Episode: "Ancient History"
1998	Kiss Me Kate	Cameron
1998-00	The Canterbury Tales	The Merchant	2 episodes
1999	People Like Us	Will Rushmore	Episode: "The Photographer"
2000	Longitude	Lord Sandwich
2000	Animated Tales of the World	Tiger	Episode: "A Story of Taiwan: Aunt Tiger"
2002	Auf Wiedersehen, Pet	Jeffrey Grainger	Season 3
2002	The Inspector Lynley Mysteries		Episode: "Well Schooled in Murder"
2003	State of Play	Cameron Foster
2003	The Lost Prince	Arthur Bigge, 1st Baron Stamfordham
2004	He Knew He Was Right	Colonel Osborne
2005	The Girl in the Café	Lawrence
2005	Gideon's Daughter	Gideon Warner
2010	Doctor Who	Dr. Black	Uncredited; Episode: "Vincent and the Doctor"
2011	Page Eight	Johnny Worricker
2014	Turks & Caicos	Johnny Worricker
2014	Salting the Battlefield	Johnny Worricker

Video games

Year	Title	Voice
2009	G-Force	Leonard Saber
2013	Disney Infinity	Davy Jones
2014	The Elder Scrolls Online	High King Emeric
2014	Destiny	The Speaker
2015	Disney Infinity 3.0	Davy Jones

Awards and nominations

Year	Nominated work	Award	Category	Result
1998	Still Crazy	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical	Nominated
2001	Lawless Heart	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
2001	Lawless Heart	BIFA Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a British Independent Film	Nominated
2002	AKA	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
2003	Love Actually	BAFTA Award	BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Won
2003	Love Actually	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
2003	Love Actually	Evening Standard British Film Awards	Peter Sellers Award for Comedy	Won
2003	Love Actually	Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award	Best Ensemble	Won
2003	Love Actually	Phoenix Film Critics Society Award	Best Cast	Nominated
2003	Love Actually	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy or Musical	Nominated
2003	I Capture the Castle	Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award	Best Supporting Actor	Won
2003	State of Play	British Academy Television Award	Best Actor	Won
2003	The Lost Prince	Satellite Award	Best Supporting Actor - Series, Miniseries or Television Film	Won
2005	The Girl in the Café	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television	Nominated
2006	Gideon's Daughter	Golden Globe Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or a Motion Picture Made for Television	Won
2006	Gideon's Daughter	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Won
2006	Pirates of the Caribbean	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Sleazebag	Won
2006	Pirates of the Caribbean	MTV Movie Award	MTV Movie Award for Best Villain	Nominated
2006	Pirates of the Caribbean	Saturn Award	Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor	Nominated
2007	Pirates of the Caribbean	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Sleazebag	Won
2011	Arthur Christmas	Annie Award	Voice Acting in a Feature Production	Won
2011	Page Eight	Golden Globe Award	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
2011	Page Eight	Satellite Award	Best Actor - Miniseries or Television Film	Nominated
2015	Skylight	Tony Award	Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play	Nominated

Selected performances

Theatre

• The Plaza Suite by Neil Simon - Watermill Theatre, Newbury
• The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore by Tennessee Williams - Watermill Theatre, Newbury
• Landscape and Silence, by Harold Pinter - Gateway Theatre, Chester
• Entertaining Mr Sloane by Joe Orton - Gateway Theatre, Chester
• Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead, by Tom Stoppard - Arts Theatre, Cambridge
• The Immoralist, from the novel by André Gide - Hampstead Theatre
• Speak Now, by Olwen Wymark - Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh (1971)
• Freedom of the City, by Brian Friel - Everyman Theatre, Liverpool
• Under New Management, by Chris Bond - Everyman Theatre, Liverpool
• Occupy! - Liverpool Everyman Theatre (1976)
• Illuminatus!, Ken Campbell/Chris Langham - NT Cottesloe (The theatre's first production, 1977)
• Comings and Goings, by Mike Stott - Hampstead Theatre Club (1978)
• The Warp, by Neil Oram/ Ken Campbell - ICA (1979)
• Illuminations, by Arthur Rimbaud - Lyric Hammersmith (1980)
• A Map of the World, by David Hare - NT Lyttelton (1983)
• Pravda, by David Hare/ Howard Brenton - NT Olivier (1985)
• King Lear, by William Shakespeare - NT Olivier (1986)
• Mean Tears, by Peter Gill - NT Cottesloe (1987)
• Betrayal, by Harold Pinter - Almeida Theatre, London (1991)
• Arcadia, by Tom Stoppard - NT Lyttelton (1993)
• The Seagull, by Anton Chekhov/ad. Pam Gems - NT Olivier (1994)
• Skylight, by David Hare - NT production at Vaudeville Theatre, London (1995)/ UK tour (1997)
• A Kind of Alaska, by Harold Pinter - Donmar Warehouse (1998)
• Blue/Orange, by Joe Penhall - NT Cottesloe (2000), Duchess Theatre (2001)
• The Vertical Hour, by David Hare, Broadway production at the Music Box Theater, NY (2006)'
• Skylight, by David Hare - West End production at Wyndham's Theatre (2014)
• Skylight, by David Hare - Broadway production at John Golden Theatre (2015)

Radio

Date	Title	Role	Author	Director	Station
000000001981-03-08-00008 March 1981 - 000000001981-08-30-000030 August 1981	The Lord of the Rings	Sam Gamgee	J.R.R. Tolkien dramatised by Brian Sibley and Michael Bakewell	Jane Morgan and Penny Leicester	BBC Radio 4
000000001983-10-18-000018 October 1983 - 000000001983-11-15-000015 November 1983	Yes, Minister	Frank Weisel	Antony Jay and Jonathan Lynn adapted for radio by Pete Atkin	Pete Atkin	BBC Radio 4
000000001993-12-26-000026 December 1993	Arcadia	Bernard Nightingale	Tom Stoppard	David Benedictus	BBC Radio 3
000000001994-04-30-000030 April 1994	Ancient Enemies		Elizabeth North		BBC Radio 4
000000001999-08-21-000021 August 1999	So Much Blood	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Bert Coules	Gaynor Macfarlane	BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
000000002002-01-06-00006 January 2002	Blue/Orange		Joe Penhall		BBC Radio 4
000000002003-03-21-000021 March 2003	Baldi: The Book Case	O'Connor	Simon Brett	Mark Lambert	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
000000002003-04-19-000019 April 2003	Turtle Diary	William	Russell Hoban	Gaynor Macfarlane	BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
000000002004-09-25-000025 September 2004	A Series of Murders	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front		BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
000000002004-12-29-000029 December 2004	All Fingers and Thumbs	Tom	Alan Stafford	Dirk Maggs	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
000000002006-08-30-000030 August 2006 - 000000002006-09-20-000020 September 2006	A Charles Paris Mystery: Sicken and So Die	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4
000000002007-10-19-000019 October 2007 - 000000002007-11-09-00009 November 2007	A Charles Paris Mystery: Murder Unprompted	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4
000000002008-07-17-000017 July 2008	I Wish to Apologise for My Part in the Apocalypse	Keith	Duncan Macmillan	Sam Hoyle	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
000000002008-12-10-000010 December 2008 - 000000002008-12-31-000031 December 2008	A Charles Paris Mystery: Dead Side of the Mic	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4
000000002009-12-26-000026 December 2009	Educating Rita	Frank	Willy Russell	Kirsty Williams	BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
000000002010-01-02-00002 January 2010	Private Lives	Elyot	Noël Coward	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4 Saturday Play
000000002010-01-29-000029 January 2010 - 000000002010-02-19-000019 February 2010	A Charles Paris Mystery: Cast in Order of Disappearance	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4
000000002010-11-22-000022 November 2010 - 000000002010-12-13-000013 December 2010	A Charles Paris Mystery: Murder in the Title	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4
000000002011-04-20-000020 April 2011	The Bat Man	Christopher	Amelia Bullmore	Mary Peate	BBC Radio 4 Afternoon Play
000000002013-08-26-000026 August 2013	Darkside	The Witch Finder / Doctor Antrobus	Tom Stoppard		BBC Radio 2
000000002016-03-09-00009 March 2016 - 000000002016-03-30-000030 March 2016	A Charles Paris Mystery: A Decent Interval	Charles Paris	Simon Brett dramatised by Jeremy Front	Sally Avens	BBC Radio 4

[ Source: Wikipedia ]