Bill Nighy

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

Bill Nighy
Birth name	William Francis Nighy
Born	December 12 1949 (age 58) Caterham, Surrey, England
Spouse(s)	Diana Quick (partner)
Official site	http://www.billnighy.net/
Awards BAFTA Awards Best Supporting Actor 2003 Love Actually Best Actor (TV) 2004 State of Play

Bill Nighy (IPA: /naɪ/; born December 12, 1949) is an English Golden Globe and BAFTA-award winning actor. He started working in television and theatre, before his first cinema role in 1981. He is best known for his roles in Love Actually, the Underworld movies, Shaun of the Dead, and Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.

Biography

Early life

William Francis Nighy was born in Caterham, Surrey, England and 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.

Acting career

Nighy 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 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 also played a starring role in the 2002 return of Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, portraying crooked politician Jeffrey Grainger.

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.^{[citation needed]} 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 reprises this role in the 2007 sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.

He can currently be seen on Broadway in The Vertical Hour (a new play by David Hare), also starring Julianne Moore.^{[citation needed]}

He also provides the narration for the 2007 BBC series Meerkat Manor.

He has twice played burnt-out rockstars: Ray Simms in Still Crazy and Billy Mack in Love Actually.

Personal life

Nighy is the partner of actress Diana Quick. He once asked her to marry him, but she said, "Don't ask me again." He calls her his wife in public because "anything else would be too difficult." They have one daughter, Mary (born 1984).^{[citation needed]}

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.

He suffers from Dupuytren's Contracture.^{[citation needed]}

Selected filmography

• Agony (1981)

• Eye of the Needle (1981)
• Curse of the Pink Panther (1983)
• The Little Drummer Girl (1984)
• 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)
• Guest House Paradiso (1999)
• Kiss Me Kate (1998) (TV)
• 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 (voice and motion capture) (2007)

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