William Francis "
Bill"
Nighy (;
born 12 December 1949) is an English actor and comedian. He started working in
theatre and
television, before his first
cinema role in 1981, and is perhaps best known to international film audiences for his roles in
Love Actually,
Shaun of the Dead,
Notes on a Scandal,
Underworld,
Auf Wiedersehen, Pet,
Valkyrie,
Pirates of the Caribbean,
Hot Fuzz,
Stormbreaker and lending his voices to animated films
Flushed Away and
The Magic Roundabout. He is also known for being the narrator on
Meerkat Manor. He will also play the role of
Rufus Scrimgeour, the Minister for Magic in the upcoming films
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Early life
Nighy was born in
Caterham,
Surrey. His mother, Catherine Josephine (
née Whittaker), was a psychiatric nurse who was raised in
Glasgow, and his father, Alfred Martin Nighy, managed a car garage and worked as a
mechanic.
[The BILL NIGHY Experience][Bill Nighy biography][Bill Nighy: the thinking woman's bagel The Independent, 19 February 2006 ][Family Detective Telegraph Family History] He has two older siblings, Martin and Anna. Nighy attended The John Fisher School,
Purley. He trained at the
Guildford School of Acting, formerly known as The Guildford School of Dance and Drama.
