Bill Nighy

About:

Bill Nighy was born in Caterham, Surrey in 1949 and trained for the stage at the Guildford School of Acting. Having gained his theatrical experience in many of the regional theatres of Britain he formed a touring theatre company with Julie Walters and Peter Postlethwaite before beginning a long and illustrious series of appearances on the London stage.

He was one of the founder members of the David Hare company formed at the Royal National Theatre. It was in this company that his long and immensely successful stage partnership with Sir Anthony Hopkins began with his role beside Hopkins in Hare’s Pravda. This was followed by playing Edgar to Hopkins’ Lear in David Hare’s production of King Lear for the National Theatre. Another long standing partnership is with Dame Judi Dench, who he starred opposite in the Royal National Theatre’s production of Chekhov’s The Seagull, the partnership being revived for the recent film Notes on a Scandal (2006). He has continued to dominate the British theatre with his performances in Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia and Joe Penhall’s Blue/Orange winning him particular acclaim.

His long list of television credits include his BAFTA award winning performance in State of Play and The Girl in the Café for which he won a Golden Globe.

Bill Nighy’s films include Love Actually (2003) for which he received a second BAFTA for his portrayal of the wild Billy Mack, Enduring Love (2004), The Constant Gardener (2005) and Notes on a Scandal (2006). His performance as the half-squid Davy Jones in the two most recent Pirates of the Caribbean movies has sealed his position as one of the world’s favourite villains.

He is currently appearing on Broadway in David Hare’s production of The Vertical Hour with Julianne Moore.

He lives with actress Diana Quick and they have one daughter Mary.

Selected Filmography:

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Hot Fuzz
Notes on a Scandal
Stormbreaker
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest