John Lithgow
3 FOLLOWERS • 77 CREDITS • OCT 19, 1945 • 79
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.
Known For
The Kelly Clarkson Show
The Simpsons
The Daily Show
How I Met Your Mother
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Tony Awards
Golden Globe Awards
The Early Show
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Finding Your Roots
The Graham Norton Show
Frasier
The Colbert Report
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Today
Tales from the Crypt
Faerie Tale Theatre
E! Live from the Red Carpet
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
30 Rock
Cosby
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
Amazing Stories
Dexter: New Blood
The Bubble
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
Dexter
The Crown
Dreamgirls
Pitch Perfect 3
Prohibition
Miss Sloane
Memphis Belle
All That Jazz
The Pelican Brief
Late Night
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
Interstellar
The Tuskegee Airmen
Perry Mason
The Campaign
Hallmark Hall of Fame
A Civil Action
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Terms of Endearment
Killers of the Flower Moon
The Accountant
The Day After
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Orange County
Sharper
World War II: When Lions Roared
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Bombshell
Daddy's Home 2
Leap Year
Shrek
Ultra City Smiths
This Is 40
Footloose
The Glitter Dome
Twenty Good Years
Trial & Error
2010
Saturday Night Live
Distant Thunder
Ricochet
Cliffhanger
The Old Man
Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Harry and the Hendersons
3rd Rock from the Sun
Love, Cheat & Steal
Originals for Peacock TV
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