
John Lithgow
Acting
1945-10-19 - Present
John Arthur Lithgow (/ˈlɪθɡoʊ/ LITH-goh; 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).
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Credits

InterstellarasDonald

ShrekasLord Farquaad (voice)

The AccountantasLamar Blackburn

ConclaveasTremblay

Killers of the Flower MoonasProsecutor Peter Leaward

Rise of the Planet of the ApesasCharles Rodman

SpellboundasBolinar (voice)

FootlooseasRev. Shaw Moore

Pet SemataryasJud Crandall

Daddy's Home 2asDon

Pitch Perfect 3asFergus

CliffhangerasEric Qualen

Leap YearasJack Brady

The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th DimensionasLord John Whorfin

The Rule of Jenny PenasDave Crealy

DreamgirlsasJerry Harris

Confessions of a ShopaholicasEdgar West

SharperasRichard Hobbes

This Is 40asOliver

BombshellasRoger Ailes

Miss SloaneasSenator Ronald Sperling

Blow OutasBurke

Twilight Zone: The MovieasValentine

The Pelican BriefasSmith Keen

The CampaignasGlen Motch

2010asDr. Walter Curnow

Santa Claus: The MovieasB.Z.

Late NightasWalter Lovell

The HomesmanasReverend Alfred Dowd

Terms of EndearmentasSam Burns

Harry and the HendersonsasGeorge Henderson

ObsessionasRobert Lasalle

Rugrats in Paris: The MovieasJean-Claude (voice)

A Civil ActionasJudge Walter J. Skinner

KinseyasAlfred Seguine Kinsey

CabriniasMayor Gould

New Year's EveasJonathan Cox (uncredited)

RicochetasEarl Talbott Blake

The Day AfterasJoe Huxley

Memphis BelleasBruce Derringer

The BubbleasTom the Studio Chairman

Orange CountyasBud Brumder

Raising CainasCarter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo

All That JazzasLucas Sergeant

The World According to GarpasRoberta Muldoon

The Ghost of Lord FarquaadasGhost of Farquaad (voice)

MesmerizedasOliver Thompson

The Tuskegee AirmenasSenator Conyers

HomegrownasMalcolm / Robert Stockman

Love, Cheat & StealasPaul Harrington

The Tomorrow ManasEd Hemsler

Don QuixoteasDon Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano

The Manhattan ProjectasJohn Mathewson

Silent FallasDr. Rene Harlinger

Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance PartyasLord Farquaad (singing voice)
Baby Girl ScottasNeil Scott

Love Is StrangeasBen

Out ColdasDave

Shrek StoriesasLord Farquaad (voice)

Einstein's Big IdeaasNarrator (voice) U.S. edition

The Life and Death of Peter SellersasBlake Edwards

Casting ByasSelf

At Play in the Fields of the LordasLeslie Huben

JimpaasJimpa

Inside 'Interstellar'asSelf

Rich KidsasPaul Philips

Princess CarabooasProfessor Wilkinson

Beatriz at DinnerasDoug Strutt

ShowBusiness: The Road to BroadwayasSelf

On BroadwayasSelf

Resting PlaceasMaj. Kendall Laird

A Good Man in AfricaasArthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner

Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of MagicasSelf

Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent StrokesasPhilip Drummond

The Big FixasSam Sebastian

Distant ThunderasMark Lambert

Shakespeare Live! From the RSCasSelf - Performer

Night of 100 Stars IIIasSelf

Johnny SkidmarksasSergeant Larry Skovik

Goldilocks and the Three BearsasGoldilocks' Father

The Oldest Living GraduateasClarence

Hollow PointasThomas Livingston

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special EffectsasSelf

Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis CollectionasDr. Oscar Charles

9 KissesasMan in Club
SangreasCafe chef and owner

The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure QuestasMaurice (voice)

Best of EnemiesasSelf

I'm Dancing as Fast as I CanasMr. Brunner

Amazing Stories: The Movie IIasJohn Walters (archive footage)
Dogs and More DogsasNarrator

Shrek: Once Upon a TimeasSelf

Buckaroo Banzai DeclassifiedasSelf

2010 : The Odyssey ContinuesasHimself

Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For LoveasSelf

The BoysasArtie Margulies

Myths and Hymnsas

Sequestered - Inside ConclaveasSelf

Big BlondeasHerbie Morse

The Wrong ManasPhillip Mills

Show of Titlesas"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer

Broadway: The Next GenerationasSelf

Tales from the Crypt: You, MurdererasDr. Oscar Charles
My Brother's KeeperasTom Bradley / Bob Bradley

Mom, the Wolfman and MeasWally
Timms ValleyasOl' Gregory Timms

Special Effects: Anything Can HappenasNarrator

The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas TaleasAlexander (voice)

Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag BluesasJohn

The Pulitzer At 100asSelf

Redwood CurtainasLaird Riordan

Traveling ManasBen Cluett

Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy BatermanasJud Crandall

Emily @ the Edge of ChaosasSir Isaac Newton (voice)

They All Saw a Catas

Projections of AmericaasSelf - Narrator (voice)

Mister Rogers: It's You I LikeasSelf

Ivory HuntersasRobert Carter

The Best of The Tony Awards: The PlaysasRené Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")

The Glitter DomeasSgt. Marty Wellborn
The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand ChallengeasNarrator

The Amazing BoneasNarrator
Not in Front of the ChildrenasRichard Carruthers

Miracle in a Box: A Piano RebornasNarrator

Bark, Georgeas

Chez Bobas

Santa Claus: The Making of the MovieasSelf

The Country GirlasPaul Unger

American CinemaasNarrator

National Theatre Live: The MagistrateasPosket

The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten ActsasPresident Donald J. Trump

The Macabre World of Lavender WilliamsasGod

John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concertas
Lord Johnas

95 Worlds and CountingasNarrator
Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9asNarrator

Secret ServiceasCapt. Thorne

Sylvester and the Magic PebbleasNarrator

Hickory Dickory DocasHimself

Officer Buckle and GloriaasNarrator (voice)

Car of the FutureasNarrator

Give My Regards to BroadwayasSelf

Art Happens Here with John LithgowasSelf