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
Filmography 209 credits
Upcoming
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
- Variety Studio: Actors on Actorsas Self4.5 ★
- Interstellaras Donald8.5 ★
- The Roosevelts: An Intimate Historyas James Roosevelt (voice)7.7 ★
- The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Questas Maurice (voice)
- Love Is Strangeas Ben6.3 ★
- The Homesmanas Reverend Alfred Dowd6.5 ★
- Late Night with Seth Meyersas Self5.2 ★
- The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallonas Self - Guest5.9 ★
- 9 Kissesas Man in Club
2013
2012
2011
2009
2006
- Dreamgirlsas Jerry Harris6.7 ★
- Twenty Good Yearsas John Mason
- 30 Rockas John Lithgow7.5 ★
- Dexteras Arthur Mitchell8.2 ★
- The One Showas Self4.4 ★
- The Best of The Tony Awards: The Playsas René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
- The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challengeas Narrator
- Sangreas Cafe chef and owner
2005
2004
2003
2001
2000
1998
1996
1995
1994
- Silent Fallas Dr. Rene Harlinger5.3 ★
- Princess Carabooas Professor Wilkinson5.6 ★
- A Good Man in Africaas Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner5.0 ★
- Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effectsas Self
- World War II: When Lions Roaredas Franklin Delano Roosevelt6.8 ★
- American Cinemaas Self - Host
1993
- The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Taleas Alexander (voice)
- Love, Cheat & Stealas Paul Harrington4.4 ★
- The Pelican Briefas Smith Keen6.6 ★
- Frasieras Madman Martinez (voice)7.7 ★
- Late Night with Conan O'Brienas Self - Guest7.3 ★
- The Wrong Manas Phillip Mills5.1 ★
- Cliffhangeras Qualen6.5 ★
- Sylvester and the Magic Pebbleas Narrator








