The Guardian: ‘I ran away to Paris to be a writer and ended up begging’: Bill Nighy on dashed dreams, golf emojis and playing a cranky novelist
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Bill Nighy
William Francis Nighy is a British and Irish actor. Known for his work on stage and screen, he has received various accolades including two BAFTA Awards and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a Laurence Olivier Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
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entertainment · British actor (born 1949) · television actor · film actor · actor · dub actor · stage actor · voice actor · also Bill Nighy, William Francis "Bill" Nighy, Nighy
Born 12 December 1949 · Q207179
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2026· 4 entries
Public attention spiked: 11,329 Wikipedia readers in one day, 3.3× the usual 3,394, with 0 article edits.
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The Guardian: 500 Miles review – kids hit the road to visit Irish grandad Bill Nighy in YA tearjerker
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The Guardian: Shelter review – super-soldier Jason Statham does the business as he takes on Bill Nighy in action thriller
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2025· 3 entries
The Guardian: ‘Agony uncle’ Bill Nighy leads rise of the celebrity podcast
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The Guardian: Bill Nighy is the agony uncle you never knew you needed: best podcasts of the week
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The Guardian: & Sons review – Bill Nighy and Imelda Staunton’s riveting showdown rescues a laborious plot
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2024· 3 entries
The Guardian: Bill Nighy: I stole complete works of Shakespeare to help me get into drama school
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The Guardian: ‘More important than going to the moon’: Bill Nighy, James Norton and Thomasin McKenzie on their film about the birth of IVF
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The Guardian: Bill Nighy: ‘I have danced naked in my front room, but you need shoes to really spin’
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2022· 1 entry
Nighy became a DJ on BBC 6 Music when he stood in for Guy Garvey on the regular Sunday afternoon programme Guy Garvey's Finest Hour, with Nighy deputising for the Elbow frontman again at the beginning of 2023
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2020· 1 entry
Appeared as Mr Woodhouse, Emma's father, in Autumn de Wilde's Emma (2020) starring alongside Anya Taylor-Joy
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2018· 1 entry
Starred in the three-episode BBC One series Ordeal by Innocence, an adaptation of the 1958 detective novel of the same name by Agatha Christie
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2017· 1 entry
Acting alongside Emily Mortimer, he starred in the drama The Bookshop, based on the 1978 novel of the same title by Penelope Fitzgerald
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2016· 1 entry
Nighy supports "total gender equality", noting in an interview he gave during the 2016 DIFF film festival that the highlighting of gender inequality problems in the film industry had influenced his choice of film roles.
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2014· 2 entries
Starred with Carey Mulligan in a revival of David Hare's Skylight at Wyndham's Theatre in London's West End
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Acted in the historical comedy-drama film Pride and the science-fiction fantasy film I, Frankenstein
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2013· 1 entry
Played a role in Darkside, Tom Stoppard's radio drama based on Pink Floyd's album The Dark Side of the Moon
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2012· 1 entry
Starred in the British romantic comedy The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel acting opposite Judi Dench, Dev Patel, Tom Wilkinson, and Maggie Smith
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2011· 1 entry
Awarded Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production for Arthur Christmas (2011).
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2010· 1 entry
Made a small cameo in Doctor Who, in the episode titled "Vincent and the Doctor"
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2007· 2 entries
Awarded Theatre World Award (2007).
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Won Golden Globe Awards (2007).
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2006· 4 entries
Played the role of Richard Hart in the Richard Eyre-directed drama Notes on a Scandal, alongside Judi Dench and Cate Blanchett
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And again in the prequel Underworld: Rise of the Lycans in 2009
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Nighy made his Broadway debut alongside Julianne Moore in the David Hare play The Vertical Hour, directed by Sam Mendes at the Music Box Theatre
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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
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2005· 2 entries
Appeared as Slartibartfast in the film adaptation of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
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Acted in the Fernando Meirelles-directed drama The Constant Gardener alongside Ralph Fiennes and Rachel Weisz
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2004· 1 entry
Nighy was a guest on Desert Island Discs, presented by Sue Lawley
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2003· 1 entry
Nighy played the role of the Vampire Elder Viktor in the American production Underworld
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1999· 1 entry
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 aban
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1997· 1 entry
Starred as restaurant entrepreneur Tom Sergeant in David Hare's Skylight, which had premiered in 1995 and was moved to the Vaudeville Theatre
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1992· 1 entry
For many years, Nighy struggled with substance issues, particularly alcoholism, a topic he rarely discusses, and has been a "sober alcoholic" since 17 May 1992.
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1985· 2 entries
Harold Pinter's Betrayal in 1991, Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, and Anton Chekhov's The Seagull in 1994
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William Shakespeare's King Lear in 1986 and Anton Chekov's The Seagull in 1994
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1984· 1 entry
They have a daughter, actress and filmmaker Mary Nighy, born in 1984, and two grandchildren.
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1982· 1 entry
Nighy was in a relationship with English actress Diana Quick, after they both played in David Hare's A Map of The World
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1949· 1 entry
Born 1949-12-12.
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