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 4th 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 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 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.
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 portrayal of a senior psychotherapist 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. 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 reprised the role in the 2007 sequel, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End. From November 2006 to March 2007, he appeared on Broadway in The Vertical Hour (a new play by David Hare), also starring Julianne Moore.
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.
Bill Nighy is set to play the character of the same name in the comedy "LoveCake" set for release in 2010. Produced by Working Title and written by writing pair Steven Walker and Ellis German the film revolves around the World Cheesecake Championships.
Director David Yates has confirmed the casting of Bill Nighy as Rufus Scrimgeour in the next Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince, which is scheduled for release in November, 2008.
Notable Roles
Viktor in Underworld and Underworld: Evolution
Billy Mack in Love Actually
Jeffrey Grainger in Auf Wiedersehen Pet
Slartibartfast in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean
-Wiki
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