John Lithgow
Acting
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).
Known for
Acting212
tvHarry Potter
2026
Albus Dumbledore
movieGiant
2026
Roald Dahl
movieJimpa
2026
Jimpa
tvDexter: Resurrection
2025
Arthur Mitchell
movieThe Rule of Jenny Pen
2025
Dave Crealy
movieSpellbound
2024
Bolinar (voice)
movieConclave
2024
Tremblay
movieCabrini
2024
Mayor Gould
movieKillers of the Flower Moon
2023
Prosecutor Peter Leaward
movieSharper
2023
Richard Hobbes
tvSherri
2022
Self - Guest
tvThe Old Man
2022
Harold Harper
tvBlack Tar
2022
Dale Kemp
movieThe Bubble
2022
Tom the Studio Chairman
tvDexter: New Blood
2021
Arthur Mitchell
movieShow of Titles
2021
"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
movieEmily @ the Edge of Chaos
2021
Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
tvPerry Mason
2020
Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
tvStars in the House
2020
Self - Special Guest
movieBombshell
2019
Roger Ailes
movieThe Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
2019
President Donald J. Trump
movieThe Tomorrow Man
2019
Ed Hemsler
moviePet Sematary
2019
Jud Crandall
movieLate Night
2019
Walter Lovell
moviePitch Perfect 3
2017
Fergus
movieBeatriz at Dinner
2017
Doug Strutt
tvTrial & Error
2017
Larry Henderson
movieHickory Dickory Doc
2017
Himself
movieMiss Sloane
2016
Senator Ronald Sperling
tvThe Crown
2016
Winston Churchill
movieThe Accountant
2016
Lamar Blackburn
movieShakespeare Live! From the RSC
2016
Self - Performer
tvThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
Self - Guest / Self
movieBest of Enemies
2015
Voice of Gore Vidal
movieProjections of America
2015
Self - Narrator (voice)
tvThe Late Late Show with James Corden
2015
Self - Guest
movieInterstellar
2014
Donald
tvThe Roosevelts: An Intimate History
2014
James Roosevelt (voice)
movieThe Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest
2014
Maurice (voice)
movieThe Homesman
2014
Reverend Alfred Dowd
tvThe Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
2014
Self - Guest
movie9 Kisses
2014
Man in Club
movieTimms Valley
2013
Ol' Gregory Timms
tvOnce Upon a Time in Wonderland
2013
The White Rabbit (voice)
movieShrek Stories
2013
Lord Farquaad (voice)
movieThis Is 40
2012
Oliver
movieThe Campaign
2012
Glen Motch
movieNew Year's Eve
2011
Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
tvProhibition
2011
Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
movieRise of the Planet of the Apes
2011
Charles Rodman
tvConan
2010
Self
movieLeap Year
2010
Jack Brady
tvWatch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
2009
Self - Guest
movieConfessions of a Shopaholic
2009
Edgar West
movieCar of the Future
2008
Narrator
movieDreamgirls
2006
Jerry Harris
tvTwenty Good Years
2006
John Mason
tv30 Rock
2006
John Lithgow
tvDexter
2006
Arthur Mitchell
movieThe Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
Sangre
2006
Cafe chef and owner
movieEinstein's Big Idea
2005
Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
tvHow I Met Your Mother
2005
Jerry Whittaker
movieThe Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2004
Blake Edwards
movieKinsey
2004
Alfred Seguine Kinsey
movieShrek 3-D
2004
Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
tvDreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection
2003
Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
tvJimmy Kimmel Live!
2003
Self - Guest
movieOrange County
2002
Bud Brumder
movieShrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
2001
Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
movieShrek
2001
Lord Farquaad (voice)
movieRugrats in Paris: The Movie
2000
Jean-Claude (voice)
movieDon Quixote
2000
Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
movie95 Worlds and Counting
2000
Narrator
movieTales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
1999
Dr. Oscar Charles
movieA Civil Action
1998
Judge Walter J. Skinner
movieHomegrown
1998
Malcolm / Robert Stockman
movieJohnny Skidmarks
1998
Sergeant Larry Skovik
tvThe View
1997
Self / Self - Guest
movieOfficer Buckle and Gloria
1997
Narrator (voice)
movieHollow Point
1996
Thomas Livingston
tvCosby
1996
John Lithgow
tvThe West
1996
Self / Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
tvThe Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
Self - Guest
tv3rd Rock from the Sun
1996
Dick Solomon
movieThe Tuskegee Airmen
1995
Senator Conyers
movieRedwood Curtain
1995
Laird Riordan
My Brother's Keeper
1995
Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
movieSilent Fall
1994
Dr. Rene Harlinger
moviePrincess Caraboo
1994
Professor Wilkinson
movieA Good Man in Africa
1994
Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
tvWorld War II: When Lions Roared
1994
Franklin Delano Roosevelt
tvAmerican Cinema
1994
Self - Host
movieThe Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale
1993
Alexander (voice)
movieLove, Cheat & Steal
1993
Paul Harrington
movieThe Pelican Brief
1993
Smith Keen
tvFrasier
1993
Madman Martinez (voice)
tvLate Night with Conan O'Brien
1993
Self - Guest
movieThe Wrong Man
1993
Phillip Mills
movieCliffhanger
1993
Qualen
movieRaising Cain
1992
Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
movieAt Play in the Fields of the Lord
1991
Leslie Huben
movieRicochet
1991
Earl Talbott Blake
movieThe Boys
1991
Artie Margulies
movieAmazing Stories: The Movie II
1990
John Walters (archive footage)
movieMemphis Belle
1990
Bruce Derringer
movieIvory Hunters
1990
Robert Carter
tvThe Simpsons
1989
Gus (voice) / John Lithgow (voice)
movieTraveling Man
1989
Ben Cluett
tvTales from the Crypt
1989
Dr. Oscar Charles
movieDistant Thunder
1988
Mark Lambert
movieHarry and the Hendersons
1987
George Henderson
movieThe Amazing Bone
1987
Narrator
Baby Girl Scott
1987
Neil Scott
movieThe Manhattan Project
1986
John Mathewson
movieResting Place
1986
Maj. Kendall Laird
movieMesmerized
1985
Oliver Thompson
tvAmazing Stories
1985
John Walters
movie2010
1984
Dr. Walter Curnow
movieThe Glitter Dome
1984
Sgt. Marty Wellborn
movieThe Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
1984
Lord John Whorfin
movieFootloose
1984
Rev. Shaw Moore
movieGoldilocks and the Three Bears
1984
Goldilocks' Father
movieThe Day After
1983
Joe Huxley
movieTerms of Endearment
1983
Sam Burns
movieTwilight Zone: The Movie
1983
Valentine
Not in Front of the Children
1982
Richard Carruthers
tvFaerie Tale Theatre
1982
Goldilocks' Father
movieThe World According to Garp
1982
Roberta Muldoon
movieI'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
1982
Mr. Brunner
movieBlow Out
1981
Burke
movieBig Blonde
1980
Herbie Morse
movieAll That Jazz
1979
Lucas Sergeant
movieRich Kids
1979
Paul Philips
movieThe Big Fix
1978
Sam Sebastian
movieSecret Service
1977
Capt. Thorne
movieObsession
1976
Robert Lasalle
tvSaturday Night Live
1975
Self - Host
tvNOVA
1974
Narrator
movieThe Country Girl
1974
Paul Unger
tvGreat Performances
1971
Capt. Thorne
tvTony Awards
1956
Self - Winner / Self - Nominee / Self - Presenter / Self - Nominee / Performer
tvThe Oscars
1953
Self - Presenter
tvToday
1952
Self
tvHallmark Hall of Fame
1951
Paul Unger / Major Kendall Laird / Laird Riordan
tvGolden Globe Awards
1944
Self - Nominee / Self - Presenter / Self - Winner
Production3
movieThe Rule of Jenny Pen
2025
Executive Producer
movieArt Happens Here with John Lithgow
2024
Executive Producer
movieDon Quixote
2000
Executive Producer