John Lithgow
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).
Available on CineVibes
Full Filmography
All Credits (208)
Broadway: The Next Generation
as Self
Harry Potter
as Albus Dumbledore
Giant
as Roald Dahl
Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic
as Self
Jimpa
as Jimpa
Dexter: Resurrection
as Arthur Mitchell
The Rule of Jenny Pen
as Dave Crealy
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night
as Self
Spellbound
as Bolinar (voice)
Conclave
as Tremblay
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow
as Self
Cabrini
as Mayor Gould
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
as Self
Killers of the Flower Moon
as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
as Self
Sharper
as Richard Hobbes
Chez Bob
as Unknown
Sherri
as Self - Guest
The Old Man
as Harold Harper
The Bubble
as Tom the Studio Chairman
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
as Philip Drummond
Dexter: New Blood
as Arthur Mitchell
Show of Titles
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos
as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
Myths and Hymns
as Unknown
Give My Regards to Broadway
as Self
Perry Mason
as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
Stars in the House
as Self - Special Guest
Bombshell
as Roger Ailes
On Broadway
as Self
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
as President Donald J. Trump
The Tomorrow Man
as Ed Hemsler
Pet Sematary
as Jud Crandall
Late Night
as Walter Lovell
Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman
as Jud Crandall
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
as Unknown
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
as Self
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
as Self
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
as Self - Guest
Pitch Perfect 3
as Fergus
Daddy's Home 2
as Don
The Pulitzer At 100
as Self
Beatriz at Dinner
as Doug Strutt
Trial & Error
as Larry Henderson
Hickory Dickory Doc
as Himself
They All Saw a Cat
as Unknown
Miss Sloane
as Senator Ronald Sperling
The Crown
as Winston Churchill
The Accountant
as Lamar Blackburn
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Self - Performer
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Unknown
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
as Self
Best of Enemies
as Voice of Gore Vidal
Inside 'Interstellar'
as Self
Projections of America
as Self - Narrator (voice)
The Late Late Show with James Corden
as Self - Guest
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
as Self
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
as James Roosevelt (voice)
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest
as Maurice (voice)
Love Is Strange
as Ben
The Homesman
as Reverend Alfred Dowd
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self - Guest
9 Kisses
as Man in Club
Timms Valley
as Ol' Gregory Timms
Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
as Self
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
as The White Rabbit (voice)
Shrek Stories
as Lord Farquaad (voice)
National Theatre Live: The Magistrate
as Posket
This Is 40
as Oliver
Casting By
as Self
The Campaign
as Glen Motch
Finding Your Roots
as Self
Shrek: Once Upon a Time
as Self
New Year's Eve
as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
Prohibition
as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
Conan
as Self
Leap Year
as Jack Brady
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
as Narrator
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
The Macabre World of Lavender Williams
as God
Confessions of a Shopaholic
as Edgar West
Car of the Future
as Narrator
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
as Self
The Graham Norton Show
as Self
Dreamgirls
as Jerry Harris
Twenty Good Years
as John Mason
30 Rock
as John Lithgow
The One Show
as Self
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge
as Narrator
The Colbert Report
as Unknown
Einstein's Big Idea
as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
How I Met Your Mother
as Jerry Whittaker
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
as Blake Edwards
Footloose: A Modern Musical
as Self
Kinsey
as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
Shrek 3-D
as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
VH1 Goes Inside
as Unknown
DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection
as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - Guest
Bark, George
as Unknown
Live from E!
as Self
Orange County
as Bud Brumder
Buckaroo Banzai Declassified
as Self
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
Shrek
as Lord Farquaad (voice)
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
as Jean-Claude (voice)
Don Quixote
as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
95 Worlds and Counting
as Narrator
The Early Show
as Self
Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special
as (archive footage)
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
as Dr. Oscar Charles
A Civil Action
as Judge Walter J. Skinner
Homegrown
as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
Johnny Skidmarks
as Sergeant Larry Skovik
The View
as Self
The View
as Self - Guest
Officer Buckle and Gloria
as Narrator (voice)
Hollow Point
as Thomas Livingston
Cosby
as John Lithgow
The West
as Self
The West
as Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
The Daily Show
as Self
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
as Narrator
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
as Self - Guest
3rd Rock from the Sun
as Dick Solomon
The Tuskegee Airmen
as Senator Conyers
Redwood Curtain
as Laird Riordan
Silent Fall
as Dr. Rene Harlinger
Princess Caraboo
as Professor Wilkinson
A Good Man in Africa
as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
as Self
World War II: When Lions Roared
as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
American Cinema
as Self - Host
The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale
as Alexander (voice)
Love, Cheat & Steal
as Paul Harrington
The Pelican Brief
as Smith Keen
Frasier
as Madman Martinez (voice)
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Guest
The Wrong Man
as Phillip Mills
Cliffhanger
as Qualen
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
as Narrator
Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger
as Self
Raising Cain
as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
as Leslie Huben
Ricochet
as Earl Talbott Blake
Amazing Stories: The Movie II
as John Walters
Memphis Belle
as Bruce Derringer
Ivory Hunters
as Robert Carter
John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
as Unknown
Night of 100 Stars III
as Self
Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years
as Self
The Simpsons
as Gus (voice)
The Simpsons
as John Lithgow (voice)
Traveling Man
as Ben Cluett
Tales from the Crypt
as Dr. Oscar Charles
Out Cold
as Dave
Distant Thunder
as Mark Lambert
Harry and the Hendersons
as George Henderson
The Amazing Bone
as Narrator
The Manhattan Project
as John Mathewson
Resting Place
as Maj. Kendall Laird
Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie
as Self
Mesmerized
as Oliver Thompson
Santa Claus: The Movie
as B.Z.
Amazing Stories
as John Walters
2010
as Dr. Walter Curnow
The Glitter Dome
as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
as Lord John Whorfin
Footloose
as Rev. Shaw Moore
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
as Goldilocks' Father
2010 : The Odyssey Continues
as Himself
The Day After
as Joe Huxley
Terms of Endearment
as Sam Burns
Twilight Zone: The Movie
as Valentine
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Goldilocks' Father
The World According to Garp
as Roberta Muldoon
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
as Mr. Brunner
Blow Out
as Burke
Big Blonde
as Herbie Morse
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
as Wally
The Oldest Living Graduate
as Clarence
All That Jazz
as Lucas Sergeant
Rich Kids
as Paul Philips
The Big Fix
as Sam Sebastian
Secret Service
as Capt. Thorne
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
NOVA
as Narrator
The Country Girl
as Paul Unger
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
as John
Great Performances
as Capt. Thorne
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee / Performer
The Oscars
as Self - Presenter
Today
as Self
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Paul Unger
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Major Kendall Laird
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Laird Riordan
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Presenter
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Winner