John Lithgow

John Lithgow

78 · Born: Oct 19, 1945

Personal Details

Official Socials
Born Oct 19, 1945 Rochester, New York, USA
Spouse
  • Mary Yeager

    ( Dec 12, 1981 to Mar 29, 2024 )
  • Jean Taynton

    ( Sep 10, 1966 to Dec 31, 1969 )
Parents
  • Sarah Jane Lithgow (Price)
  • Arthur Washington Lithgow III

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. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Lithgow, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Career

2024
Cabrini
Cabrini as Mayor Gould
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Conclave
Conclave as Cardinal Tremblay
2023
Killers of the Flower Moon
Killers of the Flower Moon as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
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Sharper
Sharper as Richard Hobbes
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2022
The Old Man
The Old Man as Harold Harper
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Emily @ the Edge of Chaos
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
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Dexter: New Blood
Dexter: New Blood as Arthur Mitchell
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2020
Perry Mason
Perry Mason as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
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2019
Bombshell
Bombshell as Roger Ailes
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The Tale of Timmy Baterman
The Tale of Timmy Baterman as Jud Crandall
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The Tomorrow Man
The Tomorrow Man as Ed Hemsler
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Pet Sematary
Pet Sematary as Jud Crandall
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The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts as President Donald J. Trump
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Late Night
Late Night as Walter Newbury
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2018
The Simpsons
The Simpsons
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2017
Daddy's Home 2
Daddy's Home 2 as Don Whitaker
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Beatriz at Dinner
Beatriz at Dinner as Doug Strutt
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Trial & Error
Trial & Error as Larry Henderson
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2016
Miss Sloane
Miss Sloane as Senator Ronald Sperling
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The Accountant
The Accountant as Lamar Black
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The Crown
The Crown as Winston Churchill
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2014
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest as Maurice (voice)
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Interstellar
Interstellar as Donald
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Love Is Strange
Love Is Strange as Ben
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The Homesman
The Homesman as Reverend Alfred Dowd
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The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History as James Roosevelt (voice)
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2013
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland as The White Rabbit (voice)
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2012
Shrek's Thrilling Tales
Shrek's Thrilling Tales as Lord Farquad
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This Is 40
This Is 40 as Oliver
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The Campaign
The Campaign as Glen Motch
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2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Rise of the Planet of the Apes as Charles Rodman
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Prohibition
Prohibition as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
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2010
Leap Year
Leap Year as Jack Brady
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How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother as Jerry Whittaker
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2009
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Confessions of a Shopaholic as Edgar West
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Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn as Narrator
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The Macabre World of Lavender Williams
The Real Revolutionaries
The Real Revolutionaries as William Shockley
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2006
Twenty Good Years
Twenty Good Years
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2004
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers as Blake Edwards
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Shrek 4-D
Shrek 4-D as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
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Kinsey
Kinsey as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
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2002
Orange County
Orange County as Bud Brumder
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2001
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
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Shrek
Shrek as Lord Farquaad (voice)
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Nova
Nova as Narrator
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2000
95 Worlds and Counting
95 Worlds and Counting as Narrator
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Don Quixote
Don Quixote as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
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Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie as Jean-Claude (voice)
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1999
1998
Homegrown
Homegrown as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
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A Civil Action
A Civil Action as Judge Walter J. Skinner
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Johnny Skidmarks
Johnny Skidmarks as Sergeant Larry Skovik
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1997
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Officer Buckle and Gloria as Narrator (voice)
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1996
Hollow Point
Hollow Point as Thomas Livingston
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Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
3rd Rock from the Sun
3rd Rock from the Sun as Dick Solomon
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1995
My Brother's Keeper
My Brother's Keeper as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
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The Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen as Senator Conyers
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American Cinema
American Cinema as Narrator
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Redwood Curtain
Redwood Curtain as Laird Riordan
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1994
Princess Caraboo
Princess Caraboo as Professor Wilkinson
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A Good Man in Africa
A Good Man in Africa as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
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Silent Fall
Silent Fall as Dr. Rene Harlinger
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Frasier
Frasier as Madman Martinez (voice)
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Tales from the Crypt
Tales from the Crypt as Dr. Oscar Charles
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1993
The Wrong Man
The Wrong Man as Phillip Mills
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The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale
Love, Cheat & Steal
Love, Cheat & Steal as Paul Harrington
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Cliffhanger
Cliffhanger as Eric Qualen
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1992
Raising Cain
Raising Cain as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
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1991
Ricochet
Ricochet as Earl Talbott Blake
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At Play in the Fields of the Lord
At Play in the Fields of the Lord as Leslie Huben
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The Boys
The Boys
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1990
Kid-Size Concert
Kid-Size Concert
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Ivory Hunters
Ivory Hunters as Robert Carter
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1989
Traveling Man
Traveling Man as Ben Cluett
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Out Cold
Out Cold as Dave
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1988
Distant Thunder
Distant Thunder as Mark Lambert
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1987
Baby Girl Scott
Baby Girl Scott as Neil Scott
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Harry and the Hendersons
Harry and the Hendersons as George Henderson
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The Amazing Bone
The Amazing Bone as Narrator
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1986
The Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project as John Mathewson
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Resting Place
Resting Place as Maj. Kendall Laird
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1985
Santa Claus: The Movie
Santa Claus: The Movie as B.Z.
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Mesmerized
Mesmerized as Oliver Thompson
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Amazing Stories
Amazing Stories as John Walters
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Hallmark Hall of Fame
Hallmark Hall of Fame as Major Kendall Laird
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1984
2010: The Year We Make Contact
2010: The Year We Make Contact as Dr. Walter Curnow
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The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Faerie Tale Theatre
Faerie Tale Theatre as Goldilocks' Father
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The Glitter Dome
The Glitter Dome as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
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Footloose
Footloose as Reverend Shaw Moore
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Faerie Tale Theatre
Faerie Tale Theatre as Goldilocks' Father
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1983
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Twilight Zone: The Movie as John Valentine (segment "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet")
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Terms of Endearment
Terms of Endearment as Sam Burns
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The Day After
The Day After as Joe Huxley
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1982
The World According to Garp
The World According to Garp as Roberta Muldoon
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I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can as Mr. Brunner
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1981
Blow Out
Blow Out as Burke
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1980
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
Mom, the Wolfman and Me as Wally
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The Oldest Living Graduate
The Oldest Living Graduate as Clarence
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1979
Rich Kids
Rich Kids as Paul Philips
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1978
The Big Fix
The Big Fix as Sam Sebastian
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1977
Great Performances
Great Performances as Capt. Thorne
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Great Performances
Great Performances as Capt. Thorne
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1976
Obsession
Obsession as Robert Lasalle
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Spellbound
Spellbound as Minister Bolinar (voice)
2021
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2020
Give My Regards to Broadway
2019
On Broadway
On Broadway
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The Great Celebrity Bake Off for SU2C
2018
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
2017
The Pulitzer at 100
Close Up with the Hollywood Reporter
2016
Into the 8th Dimension
2015
Best of Enemies
Best of Enemies
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Projections of America
2002
Buckaroo Banzai Declassified
1996
The West
The West
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1985
Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie