John Lithgow

John Lithgow

Birthdate
October 19, 1945 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
Rochester, New York, USA
Known For
Acting

Details

Birthdate
October 19, 1945 (79 years old)
Place of Birth
Rochester, New York, USA
Known For
Acting

Biography

John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor. Prolific in films, television and on stage, Lithgow is the recipient of numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe Awards, six Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Tony Awards and nominations for two Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame and has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Lithgow studied at Harvard University winning a Fulbright scholarship and getting a chance to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. From there he focused his training on the New York stage beginning a distinguished career on Broadway. In 1973, Lithgow received his first Tony Award for his performance in The Changing Room. In 1976 Lithgow acted alongside Meryl Streep in three plays 27 Wagons Full of Cotton, A Memory of Two Mondays and Secret Service. In the 1980s he continued to receive Tony Awards nominations for his performances in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985) and M. Butterfly (1988). In 2002, Lithgow received his second Tony Award, this time for a musical, The Sweet Smell of Success and another nomination for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005). In 2007, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Malvolio in Neil Bartlett's production of Twelfth Night. He has also appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed plays The Columnist (2012) and A Delicate Balance (2014). He portrayed Bill Clinton in Hillary and Clinton (2019) alongside Laurie Metcalf as Hillary Clinton.

Lithgow is also known for his television roles such as Dick Solomon in the sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001) winning three Primetime Emmy Awards for Best Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance. He also played Arthur Mitchell in the drama Dexter (2009) and he won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama. In 2004, Lithgow played Blake Edwards in the HBO television movie, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. He has also appeared on 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother, Louie and Drunk History. Lithgow won great acclaim for his portrayal of Winston Churchill in Peter Morgan's historical drama The Crown (2016–2019) on Netflix. For acting in The Crown he won a Primetime Emmy Award and Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2020, he had a recurring role on the HBO period series Perry Mason.

He is also well known for his film roles. His early screen roles included Bob Fosse's All That Jazz (1979) and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981). He received his first Academy Award nomination for his breakout performance in The World According to Garp (1982) and received a second Academy Award nomination for Terms of Endearment (1983). He then starred in the films Footloose (1984), Harry and the Hendersons (1987), The Pelican Brief and Cliffhanger (1993), A Civil Action (1998), Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000), Shrek (2001), Kinsey (2004), Dreamgirls (2006), Love Is Strange (2014), Miss Sloane (2016) and Beatriz at Dinner (2017). In 2019 he appeared in Mindy Kaling's comedy Late Night and portrayed Roger Ailes in Bombshell.

John Lithgow's LGBTQ+ Titles

The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp
Roberta Muldoon
Kinsey
Kinsey
Alfred Seguine Kinsey
Love Is Strange
Love Is Strange
Ben

Acting (208)

Jimpa as Jimpa
Amazing Stories: The Movie II as John Walters (archive footage)
2024
Spellbound as Minister Bolinar (voice)
2024
Conclave as Tremblay
2024
The Rule of Jenny Pen
2024
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow as Self
2024
Cabrini as Mayor Gould
2023
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic as Self
2023
Killers of the Flower Moon as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
2023
Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled as Self (3 episodes)
2023
Sharper as Richard Hobbes
2022
Chez Bob
2022
Sherri as Self - Guest (1 episode)
2022
The Old Man as Harold Harper (15 episodes)
2022
The Bubble as Tom the Studio Chairman
2021
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes as Philip Drummond
2021
Dexter: New Blood as Arthur Mitchell (1 episode)
2021
Ultra City Smiths as Ol' Gregory Timms (1 episode)
2021
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
2021
Myths and Hymns
2020
Give My Regards to Broadway as Self
2020
Perry Mason as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan (8 episodes)
2020
Disclosure as Self (archive footage)
2020
Stars in the House as Self - Special Guest (1 episode)
2019
Bombshell as Roger Ailes
2019
On Broadway as Self
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show as Self (1 episode)
2019
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts as President Donald J. Trump
2019
The Tomorrow Man as Ed Hemsler
2019
Pet Sematary as Jud Crandall
2019
Late Night as Walter Lovell
2018
Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman as Jud Crandall
2018
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover (1 episode)
2018
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction as Self (2 episodes)
2018
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer as Self - Guest (1 episode)
2018
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like as Self
2017
Pitch Perfect 3 as Fergus
2017
Broadway: The Next Generation as Self
2017
Daddy's Home 2 as Don
2017
The Pulitzer At 100 as Self
2017
Beatriz at Dinner as Doug Strutt
2017
Trial & Error as Larry Henderson (13 episodes)
2017
Hickory Dickory Doc as Himself
2017
They All Saw a Cat
2016
Miss Sloane as Senator Ronald Sperling
2016
The Crown as Winston Churchill (12 episodes)
2016
The Accountant as Lamar Blackburn
2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC as Self - Performer
2016
Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 as Narrator
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (1 episode)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self (2 episodes)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert as Self - Guest (1 episode)
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter as Self (1 episode)
2015
Best of Enemies as Self
2015
Lord John
2015
Inside 'Interstellar' as Self
2015
Projections of America as Self - Narrator (voice)
2014
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors as Self (1 episode)
2014
9 Kisses as Man in Club
2014
Interstellar as Donald
2014
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History as James Roosevelt (voice) (7 episodes)
2014
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest as Maurice (voice)
2014
2014
The Homesman as Reverend Alfred Dowd
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers as Self (2 episodes)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (1 episode)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon as Self (1 episode)
2013
Timms Valley as Ol' Gregory Timms
2013
Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love as Himself
2013
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as The White Rabbit (voice) (13 episodes)
2013
Shrek Stories as Lord Farquaad (voice)
2013
National Theatre Live: The Magistrate as Posket
2012
This Is 40 as Oliver
2012
Casting By as Self
2012
The Campaign as Glen Motch
2012
Finding Your Roots as Self (1 episode)
2011
Shrek: Once Upon a Time as Self
2011
New Year's Eve as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
2011
Prohibition as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice) (3 episodes)
2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Charles Rodman
2010
Conan as Self (2 episodes)
2010
Leap Year as Jack Brady
2009
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn as Narrator
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen as Self - Guest (1 episode)
2009
The Macabre World of Lavender Williams as God
2009
Confessions of a Shopaholic as Edgar West
2008
Car of the Future as Narrator
2007
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway as Self
2007
The Graham Norton Show as Self (1 episode)
2006
Dreamgirls as Jerry Harris
2006
Twenty Good Years (9 episodes)
2006
30 Rock as John Lithgow (1 episode)
2006
Dexter as Arthur Mitchell (12 episodes)
2006
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
2006
The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge as Narrator
2006
Sangre as Cafe chef and owner
2005
The Colbert Report (1 episode)
2005
Einstein's Big Idea as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
2005
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart (1 episode)
2005
How I Met Your Mother as Jerry Whittaker (4 episodes)
2004
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers as Blake Edwards
2004
The Tony Danza Show as Self (3 episodes)
2004
Kinsey as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
2004
The Ghost of Lord Farquaad as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
2004
Dogs and More Dogs as Narrator
2003
VH1 Goes Inside (1 episode)
2003
Bark, George
2002
E! Live from the Red Carpet as Self (1 episode)
2002
Orange County as Bud Brumder
2002
Buckaroo Banzai Declassified as Self
2001
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
2001
Shrek as Lord Farquaad (voice)
2000
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie as Jean-Claude (voice)
2000
Don Quixote as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
2000
95 Worlds and Counting as Narrator
1999
The Early Show as Self (1 episode)
1999
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection as Dr. Oscar Charles
1998
A Civil Action as Judge Walter J. Skinner
1998
Homegrown as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
1998
Johnny Skidmarks as Sergeant Larry Skovik
1997
The View as Self (7 episodes)
1997
The View as Self - Guest (2 episodes)
1997
Officer Buckle and Gloria as Narrator (voice)
1996
Hollow Point as Thomas Livingston
1996
Cosby as John Lithgow (1 episode)
1996
The West as Self (9 episodes)
1996
The West as Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice) (1 episode)
1996
The Daily Show as Self (1 episode)
1996
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen as Narrator
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show as Self - Guest (1 episode)
1996
3rd Rock from the Sun as Dick Solomon (139 episodes)
1995
The Tuskegee Airmen as Senator Conyers
1995
My Brother's Keeper as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
1995
American Cinema as Narrator
1995
Redwood Curtain as Laird Riordan
1994
Silent Fall as Dr. Rene Harlinger
1994
Princess Caraboo as Professor Wilkinson
1994
A Good Man in Africa as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
1994
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects as Self
1994
American Cinema (13 episodes)
1994
World War II: When Lions Roared as Franklin Delano Roosevelt (2 episodes)
1993
The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale as Alexander (voice)
1993
Love, Cheat & Steal as Paul Harrington
1993
The Pelican Brief as Smith Keen
1993
Frasier as Madman Martinez (voice) (1 episode)
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien as Self - Guest (4 episodes)
1993
The Wrong Man as Phillip Mills
1993
Cliffhanger as Eric Qualen
1993
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble as Narrator
1992
Raising Cain as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
1991
At Play in the Fields of the Lord as Leslie Huben
1991
Ricochet as Earl Talbott Blake
1991
The Boys
1990
Memphis Belle as Bruce Derringer
1990
Ivory Hunters as Robert Carter
1990
John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
1990
Night of 100 Stars III as Self
1989
The Simpsons as Gus (voice) (1 episode)
1989
The Simpsons as John Lithgow (voice) (1 episode)
1989
Traveling Man as Ben Cluett
1989
Tales from the Crypt as Dr. Oscar Charles (1 episode)
1989
Out Cold as Dave
1988
Distant Thunder as Mark Lambert
1987
Harry and the Hendersons as George Henderson
1987
The Amazing Bone as Narrator
1987
Baby Girl Scott as Neil Scott
1986
The Manhattan Project as John Mathewson
1986
Resting Place as Maj. Kendall Laird
1985
Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie as Self
1985
Mesmerized as Oliver Thompson
1985
Santa Claus: The Movie as B.Z.
1985
Amazing Stories as John Walters (1 episode)
1984
2010 as Dr. Walter Curnow
1984
The Glitter Dome as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
1984
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension as Lord John Whorfin
1984
Footloose as Rev. Shaw Moore
1984
Goldilocks and the Three Bears as Goldilocks' Father
1983
The Day After as Joe Huxley
1983
Terms of Endearment as Sam Burns
1983
Twilight Zone: The Movie as Valentine
1982
Not in Front of the Children as Richard Carruthers
1982
Faerie Tale Theatre as Goldilocks' Father (1 episode)
1982
The World According to Garp as Roberta Muldoon
1982
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can as Mr. Brunner
1981
Blow Out as Burke
1980
Big Blonde as Herbie Morse
1980
Mom, the Wolfman and Me as Wally
1980
The Oldest Living Graduate as Clarence
1979
All That Jazz as Lucas Sergeant
1979
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 (3 episodes)
1974
NOVA as Narrator (6 episodes)
1974
The Country Girl as Paul Unger
1972
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues as John
1971
Great Performances as Capt. Thorne (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards as Self - Nominee (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards as Self - Nominee & Performer (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards as Self - Nominee/Performer (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards as Self - Presenter (6 episodes)
1956
Tony Awards as Self - Winner (1 episode)
1952
Today as Self (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame as Laird Riordan (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame as Major Kendall Laird (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame as Paul Unger (1 episode)
1944
Golden Globe Awards as Self - Nominee (2 episodes)

Production (2)

2024
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow • Executive Producer
• Executive Producer
2000
Don Quixote • Executive Producer
• Executive Producer