John Lithgow

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).

Known For

The Simpsons

The Simpsons

The Crown

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon

Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen

Late Night with Seth Meyers

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

All Movies (146)

• Giant2026 · as Roald Dahl
• GIANT - The Play2026 · as Roald Dahl
• Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic2026 · as Self
• Jimpa2026 · as Jimpa
• The Rule of Jenny Pen2025 · as Dave Crealy
• Spellbound2024 · as Bolinar (voice)
• Conclave2024 · as Tremblay
• Art Happens Here with John Lithgow2024 · as Self
• Cabrini2024 · as Mayor Gould
• Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic2023 · as Self
• Killers of the Flower Moon2023 · as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
• Sharper2023 · as Richard Hobbes
• Chez Bob2022
• The Bubble2022 · as Tom the Studio Chairman
• Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes2021 · as Philip Drummond
• Show of Titles2021 · as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
• Emily @ the Edge of Chaos2021 · as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
• Myths and Hymns2021
• Give My Regards to Broadway2020 · as Self
• Bombshell2019 · as Roger Ailes
• On Broadway2019 · as Self
• The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts2019 · as President Donald J. Trump
• The Tomorrow Man2019 · as Ed Hemsler
• Pet Sematary2019 · as Jud Crandall
• Late Night2019 · as Walter Lovell
• Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman2018 · as Jud Crandall
• Mister Rogers: It's You I Like2018 · as Self
• Pitch Perfect 32017 · as Fergus
• Daddy's Home 22017 · as Don
• The Pulitzer At 1002017 · as Self
• Beatriz at Dinner2017 · as Doug Strutt
• Hickory Dickory Doc2017 · as Himself
• They All Saw a Cat2017
• Miss Sloane2016 · as Senator Ronald Sperling
• The Accountant2016 · as Lamar Blackburn
• Shakespeare Live! From the RSC2016 · as Self - Performer
• Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 92016 · as Narrator
• Best of Enemies2015 · as Voice of Gore Vidal
• Lord John2015
• Inside 'Interstellar'2015 · as Self
• Projections of America2015 · as Self - Narrator (voice)
• Interstellar2014 · as Donald
• The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest2014 · as Maurice (voice)
• Love Is Strange2014 · as Ben
• The Homesman2014 · as Reverend Alfred Dowd
• 9 Kisses2014 · as Man in Club
• Timms Valley2013 · as Ol' Gregory Timms
• Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love2013 · as Self
• Shrek Stories2013 · as Lord Farquaad (voice)
• National Theatre Live: The Magistrate2013 · as Posket
• This Is 402012 · as Oliver
• Casting By2012 · as Self
• The Campaign2012 · as Glen Motch
• Shrek: Once Upon a Time2011 · as Self
• New Year's Eve2011 · as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
• Rise of the Planet of the Apes2011 · as Charles Rodman
• Leap Year2010 · as Jack Brady
• Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn2009 · as Narrator
• The Macabre World of Lavender Williams2009 · as God
• Confessions of a Shopaholic2009 · as Edgar West
• Car of the Future2008 · as Narrator
• ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway2007 · as Self
• Dreamgirls2006 · as Jerry Harris
• The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays2006 · as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
• The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge2006 · as Narrator
• Sangre2006 · as Cafe chef and owner
• Einstein's Big Idea2005 · as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
• The Life and Death of Peter Sellers2004 · as Blake Edwards
• Footloose: A Modern Musical2004 · as Self
• Kinsey2004 · as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
• Shrek 3-D2004 · as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
• Dogs and More Dogs2004 · as Narrator
• Bark, George2003
• Orange County2002 · as Bud Brumder
• Buckaroo Banzai Declassified2002 · as Self
• Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party2001 · as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
• Shrek2001 · as Lord Farquaad (voice)
• Rugrats in Paris: The Movie2000 · as Jean-Claude (voice)
• Don Quixote2000 · as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
• 95 Worlds and Counting2000 · as Narrator
• Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection1999 · as Dr. Oscar Charles
• A Civil Action1998 · as Judge Walter J. Skinner
• Homegrown1998 · as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
• Johnny Skidmarks1998 · as Sergeant Larry Skovik
• Officer Buckle and Gloria1997 · as Narrator (voice)
• Hollow Point1996 · as Thomas Livingston
• Special Effects: Anything Can Happen1996 · as Narrator
• The Tuskegee Airmen1995 · as Senator Conyers
• Redwood Curtain1995 · as Laird Riordan
• My Brother's Keeper1995 · as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
• Silent Fall1994 · as Dr. Rene Harlinger
• Princess Caraboo1994 · as Professor Wilkinson
• A Good Man in Africa1994 · as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
• Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects1994 · as Self
• The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale1993 · as Alexander (voice)
• Love, Cheat & Steal1993 · as Paul Harrington
• The Pelican Brief1993 · as Smith Keen
• The Wrong Man1993 · as Phillip Mills
• Cliffhanger1993 · as Qualen
• Sylvester and the Magic Pebble1993 · as Narrator
• Raising Cain1992 · as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
• At Play in the Fields of the Lord1991 · as Leslie Huben
• Ricochet1991 · as Earl Talbott Blake
• The Boys1991 · as Artie Margulies
• Amazing Stories: The Movie II1990 · as John Walters (archive footage)
• Memphis Belle1990 · as Bruce Derringer
• Ivory Hunters1990 · as Robert Carter
• John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert1990
• Night of 100 Stars III1990 · as Self
• Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years1990 · as Self
• Traveling Man1989 · as Ben Cluett
• Out Cold1989 · as Dave
• Distant Thunder1988 · as Mark Lambert
• Harry and the Hendersons1987 · as George Henderson
• The Amazing Bone1987 · as Narrator
• Baby Girl Scott1987 · as Neil Scott
• The Manhattan Project1986 · as John Mathewson
• Resting Place1986 · as Maj. Kendall Laird
• Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie1985 · as Self
• Mesmerized1985 · as Oliver Thompson
• Santa Claus: The Movie1985 · as B.Z.
• 20101984 · as Dr. Walter Curnow
• The Glitter Dome1984 · as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
• The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension1984 · as Lord John Whorfin
• Footloose1984 · as Rev. Shaw Moore
• Goldilocks and the Three Bears1984 · as Goldilocks' Father
• 2010 : The Odyssey Continues1984 · as Himself
• The Day After1983 · as Joe Huxley
• Terms of Endearment1983 · as Sam Burns
• Twilight Zone: The Movie1983 · as Valentine
• Not in Front of the Children1982 · as Richard Carruthers
• The World According to Garp1982 · as Roberta Muldoon
• I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can1982 · as Mr. Brunner
• Blow Out1981 · as Burke
• Big Blonde1980 · as Herbie Morse
• Mom, the Wolfman and Me1980 · as Wally
• The Oldest Living Graduate1980 · as Clarence
• All That Jazz1979 · as Lucas Sergeant
• Rich Kids1979 · as Paul Philips
• The Big Fix1978 · as Sam Sebastian
• Secret Service1977 · as Capt. Thorne
• Obsession1976 · as Robert Lasalle
• The Country Girl1974 · as Paul Unger
• Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues1972 · as John
• Broadway: The Next Generation— · as Self
• Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger— · as Self

All TV Shows (77)

• Harry Potter2026 · as Albus Dumbledore
• Finding Harry: The Craft Behind The Magic2026 · as Himself
• Dexter: Resurrection2025 · as Arthur Mitchell
• SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night2025 · as Self
• Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled2023 · as Self
• Sherri2022 · as Self - Guest
• The Old Man2022 · as Harold Harper
• Dexter: New Blood2021 · as Arthur Mitchell
• Perry Mason2020 · as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
• Stars in the House2020 · as Self - Special Guest
• The Kelly Clarkson Show2019 · as Self
• Firing Line with Margaret Hoover2018
• James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction2018 · as Self
• The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer2018 · as Self - Guest
• Trial & Error2017 · as Larry Henderson
• The Crown2016 · as Winston Churchill
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self - Guest
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015
• The Late Show with Stephen Colbert2015 · as Self
• Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter2015 · as Self
• The Late Late Show with James Corden2015 · as Self - Guest
• Variety Studio: Actors on Actors2014 · as Self
• The Roosevelts: An Intimate History2014 · as James Roosevelt (voice)
• Late Night with Seth Meyers2014 · as Self
• The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon2014 · as Self - Guest
• Once Upon a Time in Wonderland2013 · as The White Rabbit (voice)
• Finding Your Roots2012 · as Self
• Prohibition2011 · as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
• Conan2010 · as Self
• Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen2009 · as Self - Guest
• The Graham Norton Show2007 · as Self
• Twenty Good Years2006 · as John Mason
• 30 Rock2006 · as John Lithgow
• Dexter2006 · as Arthur Mitchell
• The One Show2006 · as Self
• The Colbert Report2005
• The Apprentice: Martha Stewart2005
• How I Met Your Mother2005 · as Jerry Whittaker
• The Tony Danza Show2004 · as Self
• VH1 Goes Inside2003
• DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection2003 · as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
• Jimmy Kimmel Live!2003 · as Self - Guest
• Live from E!2002 · as Self
• The Early Show1999 · as Self
• The View1997 · as Self
• The View1997 · as Self - Guest
• Cosby1996 · as John Lithgow
• The West1996 · as Self
• The West1996 · as Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
• The Daily Show1996 · as Self
• The Rosie O'Donnell Show1996 · as Self - Guest
• 3rd Rock from the Sun1996 · as Dick Solomon
• World War II: When Lions Roared1994 · as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
• American Cinema1994 · as Self - Host
• Frasier1993 · as Madman Martinez (voice)
• Late Night with Conan O'Brien1993 · as Self - Guest
• The Simpsons1989 · as Gus (voice)
• The Simpsons1989 · as John Lithgow (voice)
• Tales from the Crypt1989 · as Dr. Oscar Charles
• Amazing Stories1985 · as John Walters
• Faerie Tale Theatre1982 · as Goldilocks' Father
• Saturday Night Live1975 · as Self - Host
• NOVA1974 · as Narrator
• Great Performances1971 · as Capt. Thorne
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962 · as Self
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Winner
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Nominee
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Presenter
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Nominee / Performer
• The Oscars1953 · as Self - Presenter
• Today1952 · as Self
• Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Paul Unger
• Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Major Kendall Laird
• Hallmark Hall of Fame1951 · as Laird Riordan
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Nominee
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Presenter
• Golden Globe Awards1944 · as Self - Winner