Performer
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio rank
#343
of 909177 performers
Top 1%
Bill Nighy represents the rare performer whose career became more ambitious with every decade — 46 years in, and Bill is still choosing the harder script.
The essay
Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.
Bill Nighy appears in 62 films in the Nutevio catalogue, and none of them would work the same way without Bill. The Wild Robot is the clearest case: a film rated 8.4 by our editors, where the performance carries weight the script only implies.
The recognisable elements are versatility, transformation, quiet performance. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same instrument, tuned differently for drama, action, science fiction. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is played.
Working with Ben Wheatley, Pablo Trapero, Ric Roman Waugh and others, Bill Nighy helped set a standard other performers now audition against. Awards bodies have been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.
The Wild Robot (2024) as Longneck (voice) · About Time (2013) as Dad · Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) as Rufus Scrimgeour
Career snapshot
Ranked #343 of 909177 performers tracked in the Nutevio library.
Films in Nutevio
62
1980–2026
Career length
46 yrs
Measured across our catalogue
Academy Awards
—
Unknown
Oscar nominations
—
Unknown
Highest Nutevio score
8.4
The Wild Robot
Average Nutevio score
6.5
Across catalogue work
Highest IMDb rating
8.3
The Wild Robot
Most frequent director
Richard Curtis
4 films together
Longest collaboration
4×
With Richard Curtis
Most common genre
Drama
27 titles
Average runtime
1h 47m
Across catalogue work
Golden Globe wins
—
Unknown
Nutevio metric
Ten weighted categories, applied identically to everyone we cover.
Nutevio Performer Score
7.2
out of 10
A performer whose catalogue work here is strong, with the fuller case still to be made.
Nutevio metric
Cultural impact and legacy, measured separately from craft — how far the work travelled once it left the cinema.
Nutevio Influence Score
6.8
out of 10
A quieter influence — felt inside the films rather than across the industry.
How far the work travelled past the people who saw it first.
What survives once the release-week conversation has burned off.
Institutional acknowledgement, weighted but never decisive.
Years of chosen, relevant work rather than years merely employed.
Statuettes, read as evidence rather than verdict.
Roles named without needing the film named alongside them.
Directors who wrote parts because this performer existed.
The reading other performers now have to answer.
Actor DNA
A fingerprint derived from the roles themselves — register, range and the kind of film they carry.
The shape of a career
Every performance plotted in time. Hover a point to read the title behind it.
Peak years
Where the scores, the awards and the sheer volume of work agree with each other.
Best decade
1980s
7.1 average MV
The 1980s are where the work and the material meet. Eye of the Needle, Little Lord Fauntleroy — the run our editors reach for first when the argument is about range rather than fame.
Highest average Nutevio score
1980s
7.1
Across 2 catalogue films in this decade, our scores never drop below the level a career is judged on.
Highest average IMDb rating
1980s
7.0
The public agrees most strongly about this stretch — useful context, and occasionally a decade behind our own reading.
Most awarded era
1980s
0 Academy Awards
Statuettes for the films themselves, which is the honest way to read an ensemble career. Eye of the Needle, Little Lord Fauntleroy.
Most productive era
2010s
26 films
The busiest stretch of the catalogue — volume that reads as appetite rather than availability.
Range, mapped
Genres down the side, decades across the top. Warmer cells mean stronger titles.
| Genre | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s | 2010s | 2020s |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Drama | 7.12 films | — | 6.96 films | 6.712 films | 5.67 films |
| Action | — | — | 6.69 films | 6.37 films | 6.23 films |
| Thriller | 6.71 film | — | 6.85 films | 6.15 films | 7.71 film |
| Comedy | — | 6.11 film | 6.88 films | 6.512 films | 6.95 films |
| Crime | — | — | 7.71 film | — | 7.71 film |
| Romance | — | — | 7.22 films | 7.04 films | 6.52 films |
| Horror | — | — | 7.61 film | 5.82 films | 6.81 film |
Chronology
Firsts and peaks
The turning points, in the order they happened.
First film in Nutevio
Where our catalogue meets this career, as Officer.
Highest rated performance · Career peak
2024The Wild Robot
8.4 on the Nutevio scale, the top of the catalogue for this performer. Weighing billing against the film's own quality, this is the point where everything aligned at once.
Most recent film
2026Shelter
The current state of the argument, as Manafort.
Our order
Every performance in the catalogue, ordered by Nutevio Score.
Every title
Filter by genre or decade, and compare any two titles side by side.
62 of 62 films
as Longneck (voice)
Directed by Chris Sanders
as Dad
Directed by Richard Curtis
as Rufus Scrimgeour
Directed by David Yates
as Manafort
Directed by Ric Roman Waugh
From the library
Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.
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The defining work
#1
Longneck (voice)
The Wild Robot (2024)
Performance score8.3
The performance the rest of the career is read through. Longneck (voice) gives Bill Nighy a structure to work against, and the film hands over its centre of gravity without hesitation.
View movie#2
Dad
About Time (2013)
Performance score8.2
About Time asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Dad is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#3
Rufus Scrimgeour
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Performance score7.8
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Rufus Scrimgeour is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movie#4
Manafort
Shelter (2026)
Performance score7.7
Shelter asks for something the previous films did not, and gets it. Manafort is played without a single line of pleading for the audience's sympathy — which is exactly why it lands.
View movieStart here
A guided path through the work, ordered so each film explains the next.
Best entry point
as Longneck (voice)
Start here. The Wild Robot is the clearest statement of what Bill Nighy does — accessible, 102 minutes, and rated 8.4 by our editors. No context required.
Our editors order this path by accessibility first and chronology second. You meet Bill at the most legible performance, then move forward in time so each film reads as a response to the one before it rather than a repetition of it.
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010)
Keeps the adventure register of The Wild Robot but asks for a colder reading of it.
About Time (2013)
Keeps the fantasy register of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 but asks for a colder reading of it.
Pride (2014)
Keeps the drama register of About Time but asks for a colder reading of it.
Shelter (2026)
A deliberate change of key after Pride — same instrument, unfamiliar tuning, and the reason range gets mentioned.
Company kept
The directors and performers this career keeps returning to.
Richard Curtis
Director
4 films together
Notably About Time
Gore Verbinski
Director
3 films together
Notably Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
Len Wiseman
Director
3 films together
Notably Underworld
Edgar Wright
Director
3 films together
Notably Hot Fuzz
Bryan Singer
Director
2 films together
Notably Valkyrie
David Hare
Director
2 films together
Notably Page Eight
John Madden
Director
2 films together
Notably The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Lone Scherfig
Director
2 films together
Notably Their Finest
Jack Gold
Director
1 film together
Notably Little Lord Fauntleroy
Richard Marquand
Director
1 film together
Notably Eye of the Needle
Adrian Edmondson
Director
1 film together
Notably Guest House Paradiso
Paddy Breathnach
Director
1 film together
Notably Blow Dry
Garth Jennings
Director
1 film together
Notably The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
Fernando Meirelles
Director
1 film together
Notably The Constant Gardener
Geoffrey Sax
Director
1 film together
Notably Stormbreaker
Jonathan Lynn
Director
1 film together
Notably Wild Target
David Yates
Director
1 film together
Notably Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
Phil Traill
Director
1 film together
Notably Chalet Girl
Jonathan Liebesman
Director
1 film together
Notably Wrath of the Titans
Stuart Beattie
Director
1 film together
Notably I, Frankenstein
Oliver Parker
Director
1 film together
Notably Dad's Army
Juan Carlos Medina
Director
1 film together
Notably The Limehouse Golem
Isabel Coixet
Director
1 film together
Notably The Bookshop
William Nicholson
Director
1 film together
Notably Hope Gap
Rob Letterman
Director
1 film together
Notably Pokémon Detective Pikachu
Andrew Levitas
Director
1 film together
Notably Minamata
Oliver Hermanus
Director
1 film together
Notably Living
Thomas Vincent
Director
1 film together
Notably Role Play
Thea Sharrock
Director
1 film together
Notably The Beautiful Game
Ben Taylor
Director
1 film together
Notably Joy
Simon Otto
Director
1 film together
Notably That Christmas
Arkasha Stevenson
Director
1 film together
Notably The First Omen
Chris Sanders
Director
1 film together
Notably The Wild Robot
Ric Roman Waugh
Director
1 film together
Notably Shelter
Pablo Trapero
Director
1 film together
Notably & Sons
Ben Wheatley
Director
1 film together
Notably Bulk
Behind the camera
Who casts this performer, how often, and what the pairing produces.
Richard Curtis
Director
4 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 4 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
About TimeEdgar Wright
Director
3 films together · 7.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Hot FuzzGore Verbinski
Director
3 films together · 7.3 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's ChestLen Wiseman
Director
3 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 3 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
UnderworldJohn Madden
Director
2 films together · 6.7 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
The Best Exotic Marigold HotelBryan Singer
Director
2 films together · 6.5 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
ValkyrieLone Scherfig
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Their FinestDavid Hare
Director
2 films together · 6.4 avg MV
A working relationship rather than a booking — 2 films, and the register shifts each time.
Best film together
Page EightChris Sanders
Director
1 film together · 8.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Wild RobotDavid Yates
Director
1 film together · 8.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1Ric Roman Waugh
Director
1 film together · 7.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
ShelterJack Gold
Director
1 film together · 7.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Little Lord FauntleroySimon Otto
Director
1 film together · 7.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
That ChristmasOliver Hermanus
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
LivingFernando Meirelles
Director
1 film together · 7.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Constant GardenerBen Taylor
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
JoyAndrew Levitas
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
MinamataRob Letterman
Director
1 film together · 6.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Pokémon Detective PikachuArkasha Stevenson
Director
1 film together · 6.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The First OmenGarth Jennings
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the GalaxyRichard Marquand
Director
1 film together · 6.7 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Eye of the NeedleIsabel Coixet
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The BookshopJonathan Lynn
Director
1 film together · 6.5 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wild TargetWilliam Nicholson
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Hope GapPhil Traill
Director
1 film together · 6.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Chalet GirlThea Sharrock
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Beautiful GameJuan Carlos Medina
Director
1 film together · 6.3 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
The Limehouse GolemAdrian Edmondson
Director
1 film together · 6.1 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Guest House ParadisoThomas Vincent
Director
1 film together · 6.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Role PlayPaddy Breathnach
Director
1 film together · 5.9 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Blow DryJonathan Liebesman
Director
1 film together · 5.8 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Wrath of the TitansStuart Beattie
Director
1 film together · 5.4 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
I, FrankensteinGeoffrey Sax
Director
1 film together · 5.2 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
StormbreakerBen Wheatley
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
BulkOliver Parker
Director
1 film together · 5.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
Dad's ArmyPablo Trapero
Director
1 film together · 0.0 avg MV
One film, but the kind that reorganises how a performer is cast afterwards.
Best film together
& SonsSix degrees
Follow the thread outward — director, film, co-star, and the film after that.
Categories of our own
Six editorial categories we apply to every performer we cover.
Most rewatchable
The Wild Robot
as Longneck (voice)
The one that survives a fourth viewing. Nothing in the performance depends on surprise, which is why it keeps paying out.
Most emotional performance
About Time
as Dad
Grief played at conversational volume. The film never asks the audience to cry; the performance simply makes it difficult not to.
Most influential performance
The Wild Robot
as Longneck (voice)
You can hear this reading in other actors' auditions a decade later — the surest measure of influence there is.
Best ensemble performance
Hot Fuzz
as Met Chief Inspector
Work that makes everyone else in the frame better without ever pulling the camera towards itself.
Career defining performance
The Wild Robot
as Longneck (voice)
If the career had to be argued in a single scene, our editors would pick one from this film and rest the case.
In their films' words
“You can build a whole film around a performer who knows when not to speak. Bill Nighy has known it for a long time.”
Head to head
Put two careers on the same scale and see where the argument actually sits.
Ours alone
Recognitions handed out by this desk, on criteria no awards body uses.
Career Achievement
Awarded
46 years of relevant work — not merely a long career, but a long career of choices.
Modern Classic Performer
Awarded
Defining performances delivered inside the last twenty-five years, in films already being taught rather than merely remembered.
Drama Legend
Awarded
27 catalogue titles in drama, each one a reference point for the films that followed.
Our desk
Best ending, best opening, best twist and the rest — categories we apply to everyone we cover.
Best ending
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Rufus Scrimgeour
The last five minutes reorganise everything before them, and hold up when you already know what's coming.
Best opening
Shelter
as Manafort
A first sequence that states the rules of the film without explaining a single one of them.
Most emotional
About Time
as Dad
The film where the technique steps aside and lets the feeling arrive undefended.
Best twist
Page Eight
as Johnny Worricker
A reversal earned by information the film gave you and trusted you to misread.
Best visual achievement
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
as Davy Jones
Images that would survive with the sound switched off.
Best action sequence
Pokémon Detective Pikachu
as Howard Clifford
Geography, stakes and consequence held in the same frame — spectacle you can follow.
Best dialogue
Rango
as Rattlesnake Jake (voice)
Lines written to be spoken, staged so the pauses do half the work.
Most underrated film
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Rufus Scrimgeour
The public vote sits below ours on this one, and the direction is the reason for the gap.
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Have your say
Community
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