Bill Nighy

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For the American television actor with a similar-sounding name, see Bill Nye.
Bill Nighy

Bill Nighy, May 2007
Born William Francis Nighy
12 December 1949 (1949-12-12) (age 58)
Caterham, Surrey, England
Occupation Actor
Years active 1975 - Present
Official website

William Francis "Bill" Nighy (pronounced /ˈnaɪ/; born 12 December 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 international film audiences for his roles in Love Actually, Shaun of the Dead, Notes on a Scandal, Underworld and Pirates of the Caribbean.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life

Nighy was born in Caterham, Surrey, England, the son of Catherine Josephine (née Whittaker), a psychiatric nurse, and Alfred Martin Nighy, who managed a car garage and worked as a mechanic.[1][2][3] He has two older 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.

[edit] 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.

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. He has also made a guest appearance in the BBC Radio 4 series Baldi.

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.[4] He is alleged to have told reporters that he had considered but ultimately rejected the offer.[who?] 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 appeared in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, where he played the principal villain, Davy Jones. He reprised the role in the 2007 sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

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.

With the announcement of Underworld: Rise of the Lycans, Nighy will reclaim his memorable role as Viktor. Filming began in January, 2008. David Yates confirmed that Nighy would be his first choice for the role of Minister for Magic Rufus Scrimgeour, in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince which is said to be in theaters November 21 2008. He is also set to star in a brand new film Wild Target alongside actress Helena Bonham Carter. Not much is currently known about the film, only that it will be filming in the Isle of Man and in London, in the UK.

[edit] 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 Children's Club.[5] 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.

[edit] Theatre

[edit] Filmography

Nighy as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End underneath CGI makeup
Nighy as Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End underneath CGI makeup

Upcoming

[edit] References

  1. ^ The BILL NIGHY Experience
  2. ^ Bill Nighy: the thinking woman's bagel The Independent: February 19, 2006
  3. ^ Family Detective Telegraph Family History
  4. ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/news/cult/news/drwho/2003/10/06/7221.shtml
  5. ^ Crystal Palace F.C. Disabled Childrens Club accessed 2 Jun 2007

[edit] External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
Awards
Preceded by
Christopher Walken
for Catch Me If You Can		 BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role
2004
for Love Actually		 Succeeded by
Clive Owen
for Closer
Preceded by
Jonathan Rhys Meyers
for Elvis		 Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Mini-series or Motion Picture Made for Television
2007
for Gideon's Daughter		 Succeeded by
Jim Broadbent
for Longford
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Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
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