Bill Nighy Biography

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Bill Nighy (Davy Jones) Biography

Bill Nighy (Davy Jones) delighted international audiences with his scene-stealing turn as aging rocker Billy Mack in Richard Curtis' “Love, Actually,” which won him a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award for Best Supporting Actor. In the same year, he won a BAFTA Best Actor TV Award for the series “State of Play.” He also received the Los Angeles Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor in “I Capture the Castle,” “Love, Actually,” “AKA” and “The Lawless Heart.”

His work in Peter Cattaneo's “Lucky Break” brought him a Best Supporting Actor nomination from the British Independent Film Awards, as did his chilling performance in Fernando Mireilles' “The Constant Gardener” in 2005. Nighy has twice won the Evening Standard's Peter Sellers Award for Best Comedy Peformance in 1998's hit ensemble comedy “Still Crazy,” and in 2004 for “Love, Actually.”

Nighy was born in Caterham, Surrey, England. Originally determined to become a journalist, he switched careers after he trained at the Guildford School of Dance and Drama, soon winning roles on stage, screen and radio. He appeared in Tom Stoppard's “Arcadia” and David Hare's “Skylight” and “Blue Orange” at the National Theatre, and played the role of Sam Gamgee in the original BBC radio production of “The Lord of the Rings.”

His numerous feature film credits have included “Eye of the Needle,” “Curse of the Pink Panther,” “The Little Drummer Girl,” “Fairy Tale: A True Story,” “Underworld” and, more recently, Working Title's acclaimed zombie comedy “Shaun of the Dead,” “The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy” and “Underworld: Evolution,” “Stormbreaker” and “Notes on a Scandal.”

On British television, Nighy has appeared in the series “Fox,” “Agony,” “Making News,” “The Men's Room,” “The Maitlands,” “Kiss Me Kate” and “State of Play,” the miniseries “Reilly: Ace of Spies,” “The Last Place on Earth,” “Eye of the Storm,” “The Canterbury Tales” and “He Knew He Was Right,” and the TV movies “Easter 2016,” “Hitler's S.S.: Portrait in Evil,” “Agatha Christie's `Thirteen at Dinner,'” “Longitude,” “The Lost Prince,” “The Young Visiters” and “The Girl in the Café,” the latter bringing him a 2004 Golden Globe nomination for Best Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television.

In 2001, Nighy earned a Laurence Olivier Theatre Best Actor Award nomination for his role in the National Theatre production of Joe Penhall's “Blue/Orange.”