William Francis Nighy 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 Lond ... on 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).
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| Organization | Category | Movie | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berlin International Film Festival | Best Supporting Actor | About Time | Nominated |
| Golden Globes | Best Actor | Film: The Living Record of Our Memory | Nominated |
Meerkat Manor
as Narrator
Episodes: 52
First Aired: Sep 02, 2005
World's Most Scenic Railway Journeys
as Narrator (voice)
Episodes: 39
First Aired: Oct 25, 2019
Agony
as Vincent Fish
Episodes: 20
First Aired: Mar 11, 1979
Castlevania
as Saint Germain (voice)
Episodes: 20
First Aired: Jul 07, 2017
World's Most Scenic River Journeys
as Narrator
Episodes: 16
First Aired: Apr 02, 2021
The Man Who Fell to Earth
as Thomas Jerome Newton
Episodes: 10
First Aired: Apr 24, 2022
The Last Place on Earth
as Cecil Meares
Episodes: 7
First Aired: Feb 18, 1985
State of Play
as Cameron Foster
Episodes: 6
First Aired: May 18, 2003
Making News
as Sam Courtney
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Jan 16, 1990
Norfolk & Suffolk: Coast & Country
as Narrator
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Sep 06, 2023
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet
as Jeffrey Grainger
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Nov 11, 1983
Eye of the Storm
as Tom Frewen
Episodes: 6
First Aired: Jan 08, 1993
Kent: Garden of England
as Narrator
Episodes: 5
First Aired: Sep 11, 2024
He Knew He Was Right
as Colonel Osborne
Episodes: 4
First Aired: Apr 18, 2004
The Big Art Project
as Narrator
Episodes: 4
First Aired: May 10, 2009
Ordeal by Innocence
as Leo Argyll
Episodes: 3
First Aired: Apr 01, 2018
The Lost Prince
as Stamfordham
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jan 19, 2003
Fox
as Colin Street
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Mar 10, 1980
Iberia's Woodlands: Life on the Edge
as Narrator
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jun 29, 2021
Lazarus
as Doctor Lazarus ' Dr L'
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Unknown
Longitude
as Lord Sandwich
Episodes: 2
First Aired: Jan 02, 2000
Wycliffe
as David Cleeve
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jul 24, 1994
The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
as Lockwood
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Apr 08, 2002
Bergerac
as Barry
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 18, 1981
Performance
as Roger Maitland
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 22, 1991
Doctor Who
as Dr Black
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Mar 26, 2005
Minder
as Oates
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 29, 1979
Canterbury Tales
as James
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 11, 2003
People Like Us
as Will Rushmore
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 20, 1999
Peak Practice
as Alan Sinclair
Episodes: 1
First Aired: May 10, 1993
Chillers
as Tom Dickenson
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Apr 14, 1990
Kavanagh Q.C.
as Giles Culpepper QC
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 03, 1995
South Of The Border
as Tony Freason
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 25, 1988
Black Books
as Man at bar
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 29, 2000
Performance
as Hugh Marriner
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 22, 1991
Testament: The Bible in Animation
as Belshazzar (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 11, 1996
Play for Today
as Dave
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 15, 1970
Reilly: Ace of Spies
as Goschen
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 05, 1983
Grumpy Old Men
as Self
Episodes: 14
First Aired: Oct 10, 2003
Meerkat Manor: Rise of the Dynasty
as Self - Narrator (voice)
Episodes: 13
First Aired: Jun 05, 2021
The One Show
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Aug 14, 2006
Richard & Judy
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Nov 26, 2001
Live from Studio Five
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Sep 14, 2009
10 Minute Tales
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Dec 21, 2009
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Feb 25, 2014
Timeshift
as self (voice)
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 10, 2002
Parkinson
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Jan 09, 1998
This Morning
as Self
Episodes: 1
First Aired: Oct 03, 1988
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | 59 | 78 | 43 |
| 2024 | 6 | 50 | 88 | 31 |
| 2024 | 7 | 52 | 73 | 26 |
| 2024 | 8 | 46 | 74 | 33 |
| 2024 | 9 | 35 | 61 | 19 |
| 2024 | 10 | 35 | 49 | 20 |
| 2024 | 11 | 38 | 47 | 28 |
| 2024 | 12 | 47 | 69 | 29 |
| 2025 | 1 | 46 | 66 | 32 |
| 2025 | 2 | 28 | 47 | 5 |
| 2025 | 3 | 5 | 40 | 0 |
| 2025 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 5 | 7 | 3 |
| 2025 | 6 | 4 | 5 | 3 |
| 2025 | 7 | 3 | 4 | 2 |
| 2025 | 8 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
Trending Rank
| Year | Month | Avg Rank | Max Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 5 | 686 | 347 |
| 2024 | 6 | 570 | 221 |
| 2025 | 1 | 805 | 628 |
| 2025 | 2 | 974 | 959 |
| 2025 | 7 | 644 | 594 |