John Lithgow

John Lithgow

Biography

John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. He studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his diverse work on stage and screen. He has received numerous accolades, including six Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and two Tony Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, four Grammy Awards, four Screen Actors Guild Awards, and a Laurence Olivier Award.

Lithgow won two Tony Awards, his first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his Broadway debut in The Changing Room (1972) and his second for Best Actor in a Musical for the musical Sweet Smell of Success (2002). He was Tony-nominated for Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988), and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). He has acted in the plays The Columnist (2012), A Delicate Balance (2014), and Hillary and Clinton (2019). He portrayed Roald Dahl in the play Giant on the West End, for which he was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actor. 

He starred as Dick Solomon in the television sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001), winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series. He received further Primetime Emmy Awards for his performances as Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and as Winston Churchill in the Netflix drama The Crown (2016–2019). He also starred in HBO's Perry Mason (2020) and FX's The Old Man (2022).

On film, he has received two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his roles as a transsexual ex-football player in The World According to Garp (1982) and a lonely banker in Terms of Endearment (1983). He also acted in All That Jazz (1979), Blow Out (1981), Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), A Civil Action (1998), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Rise of the Planet of the Apes (2011), Love Is Strange (2014), Interstellar (2014), Late Night (2019), Bombshell (2019), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), and Conclave (2024).

🎬 Movies Featuring John Lithgow

Spellbound

Spellbound (2024)

as Bolinar (voice)
Cabrini

Cabrini (2024)

as Mayor Gould
Killers of the Flower Moon

Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)

as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
Sharper

Sharper (2023)

as Richard Hobbes
The Bubble

The Bubble (2022)

as Tom the Studio Chairman
Show of Titles

Show of Titles (2021)

as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos

Emily @ the Edge of Chaos (2021)

as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
Bombshell

Bombshell (2019)

as Roger Ailes
Pet Sematary

Pet Sematary (2019)

as Jud Crandall
Late Night

Late Night (2019)

as Walter Lovell
Miss Sloane

Miss Sloane (2016)

as Senator Ronald Sperling
The Accountant

The Accountant (2016)

as Lamar Blackburn
Best of Enemies

Best of Enemies (2015)

as Voice of Gore Vidal
Projections of America

Projections of America (2015)

as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Homesman

The Homesman (2014)

as Reverend Alfred Dowd
Timms Valley

Timms Valley (2013)

as Ol' Gregory Timms
Shrek Stories

Shrek Stories (2013)

as Lord Farquaad (voice)
New Year's Eve

New Year's Eve (2011)

as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
Leap Year

Leap Year (2010)

as Jack Brady
Dreamgirls

Dreamgirls (2006)

as Jerry Harris
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays

The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays (2006)

as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
No Image

Sangre (2006)

as Cafe chef and owner
Einstein's Big Idea

Einstein's Big Idea (2005)

as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
Kinsey

Kinsey (2004)

as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
The Ghost of Lord Farquaad

The Ghost of Lord Farquaad (2003)

as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party

Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party (2001)

as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
Shrek

Shrek (2001)

as Lord Farquaad (voice)
Don Quixote

Don Quixote (2000)

as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
A Civil Action

A Civil Action (1998)

as Judge Walter J. Skinner
Homegrown

Homegrown (1998)

as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
Johnny Skidmarks

Johnny Skidmarks (1998)

as Sergeant Larry Skovik
Hollow Point

Hollow Point (1996)

as Thomas Livingston
No Image

My Brother's Keeper (1995)

as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
Silent Fall

Silent Fall (1994)

as Dr. Rene Harlinger
Princess Caraboo

Princess Caraboo (1994)

as Professor Wilkinson
A Good Man in Africa

A Good Man in Africa (1994)

as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
The Wrong Man

The Wrong Man (1993)

as Phillip Mills
Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger (1993)

as Eric Qualen
Raising Cain

Raising Cain (1992)

as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
Ricochet

Ricochet (1991)

as Earl Talbott Blake
The Boys

The Boys (1991)

as Artie Margulies
Amazing Stories: The Movie II

Amazing Stories: The Movie II (1990)

as John Walters (archive footage)
Memphis Belle

Memphis Belle (1990)

as Bruce Derringer
Ivory Hunters

Ivory Hunters (1990)

as Robert Carter
Resting Place

Resting Place (1986)

as Maj. Kendall Laird
Mesmerized

Mesmerized (1985)

as Oliver Thompson
2010

2010 (1984)

as Dr. Walter Curnow
The Glitter Dome

The Glitter Dome (1984)

as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
Footloose

Footloose (1984)

as Rev. Shaw Moore
Big Blonde

Big Blonde (1980)

as Herbie Morse
All That Jazz

All That Jazz (1979)

as Lucas Sergeant
Rich Kids

Rich Kids (1979)

as Paul Philips
The Big Fix

The Big Fix (1978)

as Sam Sebastian
Obsession

Obsession (1976)

as Robert Lasalle