John Lithgow
Born: 1945-10-19 in Rochester, New York, USA
Known For: Acting
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 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).
Filmography
2026
- Harry Potter as Albus Dumbledore
- Jimpa as Jimpa
- Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic as Self
- Finding Harry: The Craft Behind The Magic as Himself
- GIANT - The Play as Roald Dahl
2025
- Dexter: Resurrection as Arthur Mitchell
- SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night as Self
- The Rule of Jenny Pen as Dave Crealy
2024
- Conclave as Tremblay
- Spellbound as Bolinar (voice)
- Cabrini as Mayor Gould
- Art Happens Here with John Lithgow as Self
2023
- Killers of the Flower Moon as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
- Sharper as Richard Hobbes
- Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled as Self
- Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic as Self
2022
- Sherri as Self - Guest
- The Old Man as Harold Harper
- The Bubble as Tom the Studio Chairman
- Chez Bob
2021
- Dexter: New Blood as Arthur Mitchell
- Myths and Hymns
- Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes as Philip Drummond
- Show of Titles as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
- Emily @ the Edge of Chaos as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
2020
- Perry Mason as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
- Stars in the House as Self - Special Guest
- Give My Regards to Broadway as Self
2019
- The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self
- Pet Sematary as Jud Crandall
- Bombshell as Roger Ailes
- Late Night as Walter Lovell
- The Tomorrow Man as Ed Hemsler
- On Broadway as Self
- The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts as President Donald J. Trump
2018
- Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
- James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction as Self
- The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer as Self - Guest
- Mister Rogers: It's You I Like as Self
- Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman as Jud Crandall
2017
- Pitch Perfect 3 as Fergus
- Trial & Error as Larry Henderson
- Daddy's Home 2 as Don
- Beatriz at Dinner as Doug Strutt
- The Pulitzer At 100 as Self
- They All Saw a Cat
- Hickory Dickory Doc as Himself
2016
- The Crown as Winston Churchill
- The Accountant as Lamar Blackburn
- Miss Sloane as Senator Ronald Sperling
- Shakespeare Live! From the RSC as Self - Performer
- Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 as Narrator
2015
- The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest
- The Late Late Show with James Corden as Self - Guest
- Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self
- Inside 'Interstellar' as Self
- Best of Enemies as Voice of Gore Vidal
- Projections of America as Self - Narrator (voice)
- Lord John
2014
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self
- Interstellar as Donald
- Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self
- The Homesman as Reverend Alfred Dowd
- The Roosevelts: An Intimate History as James Roosevelt (voice)
- Love Is Strange as Ben
- 9 Kisses as Man in Club
- The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest as Maurice (voice)
2013
- Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as The White Rabbit (voice)
- Timms Valley as Ol' Gregory Timms
- Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love as Self
- Shrek Stories as Lord Farquaad (voice)
- National Theatre Live: The Magistrate as Posket
2012
- Finding Your Roots as Self
- This Is 40 as Oliver
- The Campaign as Glen Motch
- Casting By as Self
2011
- Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Charles Rodman
- New Year's Eve as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
- Prohibition as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
- Shrek: Once Upon a Time as Self
2009
- Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest
- Confessions of a Shopaholic as Edgar West
- The Macabre World of Lavender Williams as God
- Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn as Narrator
2008
- Car of the Future as Narrator
2007
- The Graham Norton Show as Self
- ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway as Self
2006
- Dexter as Arthur Mitchell
- 30 Rock as John Lithgow
- The One Show as Self
- Dreamgirls as Jerry Harris
- Twenty Good Years as John Mason
- The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
- Sangre as Cafe chef and owner
- The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge as Narrator
2005
- How I Met Your Mother as Jerry Whittaker
- The Colbert Report
- The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
- Einstein's Big Idea as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
2004
- The Tony Danza Show as Self
- Kinsey as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
- Shrek 3-D as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
- The Life and Death of Peter Sellers as Blake Edwards
- Dogs and More Dogs as Narrator
2003
- Jimmy Kimmel Live! as Self - Guest
- VH1 Goes Inside
- DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
- Bark, George
2002
- Live from E! as Self
- Orange County as Bud Brumder
- Buckaroo Banzai Declassified as Self
2001
- Shrek as Lord Farquaad (voice)
- Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
2000
- Rugrats in Paris: The Movie as Jean-Claude (voice)
- Don Quixote as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
- 95 Worlds and Counting as Narrator
1999
- The Early Show as Self
- Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection as Dr. Oscar Charles
1998
- A Civil Action as Judge Walter J. Skinner
- Homegrown as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
- Johnny Skidmarks as Sergeant Larry Skovik
1997
- The View as Self
- Officer Buckle and Gloria as Narrator (voice)
1996
- The Daily Show as Self
- 3rd Rock from the Sun as Dick Solomon
- Cosby as John Lithgow
- The West as Self
- The Rosie O'Donnell Show as Self - Guest
- Hollow Point as Thomas Livingston
- Special Effects: Anything Can Happen as Narrator
1995
- The Tuskegee Airmen as Senator Conyers
- My Brother's Keeper as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
- Redwood Curtain as Laird Riordan
1994
- American Cinema as Self - Host
- World War II: When Lions Roared as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
- Princess Caraboo as Professor Wilkinson
- Silent Fall as Dr. Rene Harlinger
- A Good Man in Africa as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
- Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects as Self
1993
- Frasier as Madman Martinez (voice)
- Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest
- Cliffhanger as Qualen
- The Pelican Brief as Smith Keen
- Love, Cheat & Steal as Paul Harrington
- The Wrong Man as Phillip Mills
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebble as Narrator
- The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale as Alexander (voice)
1992
- Raising Cain as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
1991
- Ricochet as Earl Talbott Blake
- At Play in the Fields of the Lord as Leslie Huben
- The Boys as Artie Margulies
1990
- Memphis Belle as Bruce Derringer
- Night of 100 Stars III as Self
- Amazing Stories: The Movie II as John Walters (archive footage)
- Ivory Hunters as Robert Carter
- John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
1989
- The Simpsons as Gus (voice)
- Tales from the Crypt as Dr. Oscar Charles
- Out Cold as Dave
- Traveling Man as Ben Cluett
1988
- Distant Thunder as Mark Lambert
1987
- Harry and the Hendersons as George Henderson
- Baby Girl Scott as Neil Scott
- The Amazing Bone as Narrator
1986
- The Manhattan Project as John Mathewson
- Resting Place as Maj. Kendall Laird
1985
- Amazing Stories as John Walters
- Santa Claus: The Movie as B.Z.
- Mesmerized as Oliver Thompson
- Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie as Self
1984
- Footloose as Rev. Shaw Moore
- 2010 as Dr. Walter Curnow
- The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension as Lord John Whorfin
- The Glitter Dome as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
- 2010 : The Odyssey Continues as Himself
- Goldilocks and the Three Bears as Goldilocks' Father
1983
- Twilight Zone: The Movie as Valentine
- The Day After as Joe Huxley
- Terms of Endearment as Sam Burns
1982
- Faerie Tale Theatre as Goldilocks' Father
- The World According to Garp as Roberta Muldoon
- I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can as Mr. Brunner
- Not in Front of the Children as Richard Carruthers
1981
- Blow Out as Burke
1980
- The Oldest Living Graduate as Clarence
- Mom, the Wolfman and Me as Wally
- Big Blonde as Herbie Morse
1979
- All That Jazz as Lucas Sergeant
- Rich Kids as Paul Philips
1978
- The Big Fix as Sam Sebastian
1977
- Secret Service as Capt. Thorne
1976
- Obsession as Robert Lasalle
1975
- Saturday Night Live as Self - Host
1974
- NOVA as Narrator
- The Country Girl as Paul Unger
1971
- Great Performances as Capt. Thorne
1962
1956
- Tony Awards as Self - Winner
1953
- The Oscars as Self - Presenter
1952
- Today as Self
1951
- Hallmark Hall of Fame as Paul Unger
1944
- Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee