Bill Nighy is an award-winning British character actor. He was born on December 12, 1949 in Caterham, Surrey, England, to Catherine Josephine (Whittaker), a psychiatric nurse from Glasgow, and Alfred Martin Nighy, who was English-born and managed a garage in Croydon.
At school, he gained 'O'-levels in English Language and English Literature and enjoyed reading, particularly Ernest Hemingway. On leaving school he wanted to become a journalist but didn't have the required qualifications. He eventually went on to work as a messenger boy for the Field magazine. He stayed in Paris for a while because he wanted to write "the great novel", but he only managed to write the title. When he ran out of money, the British consul shipped him home.
Nighy wound up training at Guildford School of Dance and Drama in London, and has since then worked consistently in film, television, and on stage.
Nighy is perhaps best-known to international audiences for his memorable performance as washed-up pop singer Billy Mack in Love Actually (2003), which won him a BAFTA for best supporting actor. He has also made appearances in major franchises: he played vampire leader Viktor in Underworld (2003), Underworld 2: Evolution (2006) and Underworld 3 - Le soulèvement des Lycans (2009), did the performance capture and voice for Davy Jones in Pirates des Caraïbes - Le secret du coffre maudit (2006) and Pirates des Caraïbes - Jusqu'au bout du monde (2007), and made a brief appearance as Minister of Magic Rufus Scrimgeour in Harry Potter et les reliques de la mort: 1ère partie (2010).
Nighy's recent film credits include roles in Rose & Cassandra (2003), Shaun of the Dead (2004), H2G2: le guide du voyageur galactique (2005), The Constant Gardener (2005), Chronique d'un scandale (2006), Hot Fuzz (2007), Walkyrie (2008) and Good Morning England (2009). He has also provided voice work for many animated movies in the past few years including Souris City (2006), Astro Boy (2009), Rango (2011) and Mission: Noël - Les aventures de la famille Noël (2011).
With supporting turns in Indian Palace (2011), La colère des Titans (2012) and Total Recall: Mémoires programmées (2012), 2012 was a busy year for Nighy. There are no signs of slowing down either, as he will next been seen in I, Frankenstein (2014), Jack le chasseur de géants (2013) and Il était temps (2013).
Nighy has also had an active career on the small screen, beginning with Agony (1979), and his first widely-recognized role was in 1991 mini-series The Men's Room (1991). He has also made a habit of working on television with Harry Potter director David Yates: projects together include State of play, jeux de pouvoir (2003), The Young Visiters (2003), Rencontre au sommet (2005) and Page 8 (2011). Nighy won a Golden Globe for his performance in Gideon's Daughter (2005).
Nighy actually began his career on the stage, and has earned acclaim for his work in numerous plays including "The Vertical Hour," "Pravda" "A Map of the World", Tom Stoppard's Arcadia in 1993, and David Hare's Skylight. He received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actor for his performance in 2001 play "Blue/Orange."
Bill's partner was actress Diana Quick (he asked her to marry him but she said: "don't ask me again"; he called her his wife because anything else would have been too difficult). They have a daughter, Mary Nighy, who is studying at university and contemplating an acting career. She has already begun to appear on TV dramas and radio programs.
