Bill Nighy

Bill Nighy

William Francis Nighy is an English actor known for his work in film, theatre and television. He is best known for playing Billy Mack in Love Actually. In 2015, he appeared on Broadway with Carey Mulligan in the acclaimed revival of Skylight and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play.

About Bill Nighy in brief

Summary Bill NighyWilliam Francis Nighy (born 12 December 1949) is an English actor known for his work in film, theatre and television. He is best known for playing Billy Mack in Love Actually. Other notable roles in cinema include Davy Jones in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series, and Viktor in the Underworld film series. In 2015, he appeared on Broadway with Carey Mulligan in the acclaimed revival of Skylight and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actor in a Play. He has also appeared in the films Shaun of the Dead, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Notes on a Scandal, Hot Fuzz, Valkyrie, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1 and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. His performances were also acclaimed in the BBC One series State of Play and in the TV films The Girl in the Café, Gideon’s Daughter and Page Eight, for which he earned Golden Globe nominations. In 1999 he gained prominence in the starring role in the mockumentary People Like Us, playing Will Rushmore, a middle-aged man who has abandoned his career and abandoned the deluded belief that he can achieve his dreams.

He was born in Caterham, Surrey, and has two older siblings, Martin and Anna. He attended the John Fisher School, a Roman Catholic grammar school in Purley, where he was a member of the school theatre group. After leaving the school with two O-levels, he worked as a messenger for The Croydon Advertiser. He entered the Guildford School of Acting to train for stage and film. He 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. During the 1980s he appeared in several television productions, among them Hitler’s SS: Portrait in Evil with John Shea and Tony Randall.