Bill Nighy Biography

Summary

"Bill Nighy" (IPA: ; born December 12, 1949) is a Golden Globe and BAFTA-award winning English actor. He started working in theatre and television, before his first cinema role in 1981. He is perhaps best known to American film audiences for his roles in "Love Actually", "Underworld", "Shaun of the Dead" and "Pirates of the Caribbean".

Biography

Early life

"William Francis Nighy", the youngest of three children, was born in Caterham, Surrey, England to Catherine Josephine Whittaker, a psychiatric nurse, and Alfred Martin Nighy, who managed a car garage and worked as a mechanic. He has two siblings, Martin and Anna.

Nighy attended the John Fisher School in Purley. He trained at the Guildford School of Acting, formerly known as The Guildford School of Dance and Drama.

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 4th March 1977, and went on to appear in two David Hare premieres, also at the National.

He has starred in many radio and television dramas, notably the BBC serial "The Men's Room" (1991), and more recently the thriller "State of Play" (2003) and costume drama "He Knew He Was Right" (2004). He played Sam in the 1981 BBC Radio dramatization 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 also played a starring role in the 2002 return of "Auf Wiedersehen, Pet", portraying crooked politician Jeffrey Grainger.

Nighy's two most acclaimed stage performances were in National Theatre productions. Taking the leading male role in Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia" (1993), he played an unscrupulous university don in witty exchanges with Felicity Kendal, his famous ironic 'snicker' much in evidence; and he gave a virtuoso performance as 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.

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. In February 2004, he was awarded the BAFTA Film Award for Best Supporting Actor for his role in "Love Actually", 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 British tabloid press reported Nighy's partner as saying that he had been offered the coveted role of the Doctor in the 2005 revival of the BBC television series "Doctor Who". He is alleged to have told reporters that he had considered but ultimately rejected the offer. The editor of "Doctor Who Magazine", Clayton Hickman, had earlier mentioned to the press that Nighy was the first choice of executive producer and writer Russell T. Davies. The role was accepted by Christopher Eccleston some weeks later and Davies subsequently claimed that Eccleston had always been the first choice for the role.

In 2005, he appeared as Slartibartfast in the film adaptation of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy", by Douglas Adams and also 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 took the lead character of 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 Movie in January 2007.

Nighy appears in "Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest", where he plays the principal villain, Davy Jones. He reprised the role in the 2007 sequel, "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End". From November 2006 to March 2007, he appeared on Broadway in "The Vertical Hour" (a new play by David Hare), also starring Julianne Moore.

He also provides the narration for the 2007 BBC series Meerkat Manor. Recently, he played the role of Richard Hart in "Notes on a Scandal," for which he was nominated for a London Film Critics Circle award. He has twice played burnt-out rockstars: Ray Simms in "Still Crazy" and Billy Mack in "Love Actually".

Bill Nighy is set to play the character of the same name in the comedy 'LoveCake' set for release in 2010. Produced by Working Title and written by writing pair Steven Walker and Ellis German the film revolves around the World Cheesecake Championships.

Notable Roles

"Viktor" in "Underworld" and "Underworld: Evolution"Billy Mack" in "Love Actually"Jeffrey Grainger" in "Auf Wiedersehen Pet" "Slartibartfast" in "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy"Davy Jones" in "Pirates of the Caribbean" "Friedrich Olbricht" in "Valkyrie"

Personal life

Nighy is the partner of actress Diana Quick. They have one daughter, Mary (born 1984). He is a supporter of Crystal Palace Football Club and is the Patron of the CPFRIS (Crystal Palace F.C. Fast Results & Information Service) Disabled Childrens Club. Nighy lives near the director Richard Curtis in Suffolk. He has Dupuytren's Contracture, a hereditary condition which causes the ring and little fingers of each hand to be permanently bent inwards towards the palm.

Theatre

"Speak Now", Olwen Wymark, Traverse Edinburgh

"Landscape" and "Silence", Harold Pinter, Chester

"Illuminatus!", Ken Campbell/Chris Langham, NT Cottesloe 1977

"Comings and Goings", Mike Stott, Hampstead Theatre Club 1978

"The Warp", Neil Oram/Ken Campbell, ICA 1979

"Illuminations", Peter Jenkins, Lyric Hammersmith 1980

"A Map of the World", David Hare, NT Lyttelton 1983

"Pravda", David Hare/Howard Brenton, NT Olivier 1985

"King Lear", Wm Shakespeare, NT Olivier 1986

"Mean Tears", Peter Gill, NT Cottesloe 1987

"Betrayal", Harold Pinter, Almeida 1991

"Arcadia", Tom Stoppard, NT Lyttelton, 1993

"The Seagull", Anton Chekhov/ad. Pam Gems, NT Olivier 1994

"Skylight", David Hare, NT production at Vaudeville Theatre 1997

"A Kind of Alaska", Harold Pinter, Donmar Warehouse, 1998

"Blue/Orange", Joe Penhall, NT Cottesloe 2000, Duchess Theatre 2001

"The Vertical Hour", David Hare, Broadway production at the Music Box Theatre, NY, 2006

Filmography

"Agony" (1981)

"Eye of the Needle" (1981)

"Curse of the Pink Panther" (1983)

"The Little Drummer Girl" (1984)

"Hitler's SS: Portrait in Evil" (1985)

"The Last Place on Earth" (1985) (TV)

"The Phantom of the Opera: The Motion Picture" (1989)

"Being Human" (1993)

"FairyTale: A True Story" (1997)

"Still Crazy" (1998)

"Kiss Me Kate" (1998) (TV)

"Guest House Paradiso" (1999)

"Blow Dry" (2001)

"Auf Wiedersehen, Pet" (2002)

"The Inspector Lynley Mysteries: Well Schooled in Murder" (2002) (TV)

"The Lost Prince" (2003) (TV)

"State of Play" (2003) (TV)

"Love Actually" (2003)

"I Capture the Castle" (2003)

"Underworld" (2003)

"Shaun of the Dead" (2004)

"He Knew He Was Right" (2004) (TV)

"Enduring Love" (2004)

"The Girl in the Café" (2005)(TV)

"The Magic Roundabout" (2005) (voice)

"The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" (2005)

"The Constant Gardener" (2005)

"Underworld: Evolution" (2006)

"Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest" (voice and motion capture) (2006)

"Flushed Away" (2006) (voice)

"Notes on a Scandal" (2006)

"Stormbreaker" (2006)

"Hot Fuzz" (2007)

"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End" (live acting, voice and motion capture) (2007)

"Valkyrie (2008)

" Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince"(2008) - Director David Yates confirmed in an interview that if the character, Rufus Scrimgeour is in the final draft of the script, Nighy would be his first choice for the role.