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John Lithgow
Actor

John Lithgow

19 Oct 1945Born
80Age
149Credits
Rochester, New York, USABirthplace

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.

Read the full biography

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 transgender 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).

Known for

Filmography

The 80 most recent of 149 credits.

  1. 2026Harry PotterSeries: Albus Dumbledore (1 episode)
  2. 2026GiantFilm: Roald Dahl
  3. 2026JimpaFilm: Jimpa
  4. 2025Dexter: ResurrectionSeries: Arthur Mitchell (1 episode)
  5. 2025The Rule of Jenny PenFilm: Dave Crealy
  6. 2024SpellboundFilm: Bolinar (voice)
  7. 2024ConclaveFilm: Tremblay
  8. 2024CabriniFilm: Mayor Gould
  9. 2023Killers of the Flower MoonFilm: Prosecutor Peter Leaward
  10. 2023SharperFilm: Richard Hobbes
  11. 2022Chez BobFilm
  12. 2022The Old ManSeries: Harold Harper (15 episodes)
  13. 2022The BubbleFilm: Tom the Studio Chairman
  14. 2021Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent StrokesFilm: Philip Drummond
  15. 2021Dexter: New BloodSeries: Arthur Mitchell (1 episode)
  16. 2021Show of TitlesFilm: "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
  17. 2021Emily @ the Edge of ChaosFilm: Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
  18. 2021Myths and HymnsFilm
  19. 2020Perry MasonSeries: Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan (8 episodes)
  20. 2019BombshellFilm: Roger Ailes
  21. 2019The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten ActsFilm: President Donald J. Trump
  22. 2019The Tomorrow ManFilm: Ed Hemsler
  23. 2019Pet SemataryFilm: Jud Crandall
  24. 2019Late NightFilm: Walter Lovell
  25. 2018Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy BatermanFilm: Jud Crandall
  26. 2017Pitch Perfect 3Film: Fergus
  27. 2017Daddy's Home 2Film: Don
  28. 2017Beatriz at DinnerFilm: Doug Strutt
  29. 2017Trial & ErrorSeries: Larry Henderson (13 episodes)
  30. 2017They All Saw a CatFilm
  31. 2016Miss SloaneFilm: Senator Ronald Sperling
  32. 2016The CrownSeries: Winston Churchill (12 episodes)
  33. 2016The AccountantFilm: Lamar Blackburn
  34. 2016Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9Film: Narrator
  35. 2015Best of EnemiesFilm: Voice of Gore Vidal
  36. 2015Lord JohnFilm
  37. 2014InterstellarFilm: Donald
  38. 2014The Roosevelts: An Intimate HistorySeries: James Roosevelt (voice) (7 episodes)
  39. 2014The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure QuestFilm: Maurice (voice)
  40. 2014Love Is StrangeFilm: Ben
  41. 2014The HomesmanFilm: Reverend Alfred Dowd
  42. 20149 KissesFilm: Man in Club
  43. 2013Timms ValleyFilm: Ol' Gregory Timms
  44. 2013Once Upon a Time in WonderlandSeries: The White Rabbit (voice) (13 episodes)
  45. 2013Shrek StoriesFilm: Lord Farquaad (voice)
  46. 2013National Theatre Live: The MagistrateFilm: Posket
  47. 2012This Is 40Film: Oliver
  48. 2012The CampaignFilm: Glen Motch
  49. 2011New Year's EveFilm: Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
  50. 2011ProhibitionSeries: Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice) (3 episodes)
  51. 2011Rise of the Planet of the ApesFilm: Charles Rodman
  52. 2010Leap YearFilm: Jack Brady
  53. 2009Miracle in a Box: A Piano RebornFilm: Narrator
  54. 2009The Macabre World of Lavender WilliamsFilm: God
  55. 2009Confessions of a ShopaholicFilm: Edgar West
  56. 2008Car of the FutureFilm: Narrator
  57. 2006DreamgirlsFilm: Jerry Harris
  58. 2006Twenty Good YearsSeries: John Mason (13 episodes)
  59. 200630 RockSeries: John Lithgow (1 episode)
  60. 2006DexterSeries: Arthur Mitchell (12 episodes)
  61. 2006The Best of The Tony Awards: The PlaysFilm: René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
  62. 2006The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand ChallengeFilm: Narrator
  63. 2006SangreFilm: Cafe chef and owner
  64. 2005Einstein's Big IdeaFilm: Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
  65. 2005The Apprentice: Martha StewartSeries (1 episode)
  66. 2005How I Met Your MotherSeries: Jerry Whittaker (4 episodes)
  67. 2004The Life and Death of Peter SellersFilm: Blake Edwards
  68. 2004KinseyFilm: Alfred Seguine Kinsey
  69. 2004Shrek 3-DFilm: Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
  70. 2004Dogs and More DogsFilm: Narrator
  71. 2003DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories CollectionSeries: Ghost of Farquaad (voice) (1 episode)
  72. 2003Bark, GeorgeFilm
  73. 2002Orange CountyFilm: Bud Brumder
  74. 2001Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance PartyFilm: Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
  75. 2001ShrekFilm: Lord Farquaad (voice)
  76. 2000Rugrats in Paris: The MovieFilm: Jean-Claude (voice)
  77. 2000Don QuixoteFilm: Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
  78. 200095 Worlds and CountingFilm: Narrator
  79. 1999Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary SpecialFilm: (archive footage)
  80. 1999Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis CollectionFilm: Dr. Oscar Charles

Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.