John Arthur Lithgow (/ˈlɪθɡoʊ/ LITH-goh; 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 transsexual 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).
Description above from the Wikipedia article John Lithgow, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Jimpa
Jimpa
2025
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Dave Crealy
2025
Spellbound
Bolinar (voice)
2024
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow
Self
2024
Cabrini
Mayor Gould
2024
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
Self
2023
Sharper
Richard Hobbes
2023
Chez Bob
2022
The Bubble
Tom the Studio Chairman
2022
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
Philip Drummond
2021
Give My Regards to Broadway
Self
2020
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
Self
2018
Pitch Perfect 3
Fergus
2017
Broadway: The Next Generation
Self
2017
Daddy's Home 2
Don
2017
The Pulitzer At 100
Self
2017
Beatriz at Dinner
Doug Strutt
2017
They All Saw a Cat
2017
Miss Sloane
Senator Ronald Sperling
2016
The Accountant
Lamar Blackburn
2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
Self - Performer
2016
Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
Narrator
2016
Best of Enemies
Self
2015
Lord John
2015
Inside 'Interstellar'
Self
2015
Projections of America
Self - Narrator (voice)
2015
9 Kisses
Man in Club
2014
Interstellar
Donald
2014
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest
Maurice (voice)
2014
Love Is Strange
Ben
2014
The Homesman
Reverend Alfred Dowd
2014
Timms Valley
Ol' Gregory Timms
2013
Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
Self
2013
Shrek Stories
Lord Farquaad (voice)
2013
National Theatre Live: The Magistrate
Posket
2013
This Is 40
Oliver
2012
Casting By
Self
2012
The Campaign
Glen Motch
2012
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
Charles Rodman
2011
Leap Year
Jack Brady
2010
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
Narrator
2009
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Edgar West
2009
Car of the Future
Narrator
2008
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
Self
2007
Dreamgirls
Jerry Harris
2006
Sangre
Cafe chef and owner
2006
Einstein's Big Idea
Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
2005
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Blake Edwards
2004
Kinsey
Alfred Seguine Kinsey
2004
Dogs and More Dogs
Narrator
2004
The Ghost of Lord Farquaad
Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
2003
Bark, George
2003
Orange County
Bud Brumder
2002
Buckaroo Banzai Declassified
Self
2002
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
2001
Shrek
Lord Farquaad (voice)
2001
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
Jean-Claude (voice)
2000
Don Quixote
Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
2000
95 Worlds and Counting
Narrator
2000
A Civil Action
Judge Walter J. Skinner
1998
Homegrown
Malcolm / Robert Stockman
1998
Johnny Skidmarks
Sergeant Larry Skovik
1998
Officer Buckle and Gloria
Narrator (voice)
1997
Hollow Point
Thomas Livingston
1996
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
Narrator
1996
The Tuskegee Airmen
Senator Conyers
1995
My Brother's Keeper
Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
1995
Redwood Curtain
Laird Riordan
1995
Silent Fall
Dr. Rene Harlinger
1994
Princess Caraboo
Professor Wilkinson
1994
A Good Man in Africa
Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
1994
Love, Cheat & Steal
Paul Harrington
1993
The Pelican Brief
Smith Keen
1993
The Wrong Man
Phillip Mills
1993
Cliffhanger
Eric Qualen
1993
Raising Cain
Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
1992
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
Leslie Huben
1991
Ricochet
Earl Talbott Blake
1991
Memphis Belle
Bruce Derringer
1990
Ivory Hunters
Robert Carter
1990
Night of 100 Stars III
Self
1990
Out Cold
Dave
1989
Distant Thunder
Mark Lambert
1988
Harry and the Hendersons
George Henderson
1987
Baby Girl Scott
Neil Scott
1987
The Manhattan Project
John Mathewson
1986
Resting Place
Maj. Kendall Laird
1986
Mesmerized
Oliver Thompson
1985
Santa Claus: The Movie
B.Z.
1985
2010
Dr. Walter Curnow
1984
The Glitter Dome
Sgt. Marty Wellborn
1984
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
Lord John Whorfin
1984
Footloose
Rev. Shaw Moore
1984
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
Goldilocks' Father
1984
Terms of Endearment
Sam Burns
1983
The Day After
Joe Huxley
1983
Twilight Zone: The Movie
Valentine
1983
The World According to Garp
Roberta Muldoon
1982
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
Mr. Brunner
1982
Blow Out
Burke
1981
The Oldest Living Graduate
Clarence
1980
All That Jazz
Lucas Sergeant
1979
Rich Kids
Paul Philips
1979
The Big Fix
Sam Sebastian
1978
Obsession
Robert Lasalle
1976
Amazing Stories: The Movie II
John Walters (archive footage)
Conclave
Tremblay
2024
Killers of the Flower Moon
Prosecutor Peter Leaward
2023
Show of Titles
"There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
2021
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos
Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
2021
Myths and Hymns
2021
Bombshell
Roger Ailes
2019
On Broadway
Self
2019
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
President Donald J. Trump
2019
The Tomorrow Man
Ed Hemsler
2019
Pet Sematary
Jud Crandall
2019
Late Night
Walter Lovell
2019
Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman
Jud Crandall
2018
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2018
Hickory Dickory Doc
Himself
2017
Finding Your Roots
Self · (1 episode)
2012
Shrek: Once Upon a Time
Self
2011
New Year's Eve
Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
2011
The Macabre World of Lavender Williams
God
2009
Twenty Good Years
(9 episodes)
2006
30 Rock
John Lithgow · (1 episode)
2006
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
2006
The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge
Narrator
2006
The Colbert Report
(1 episode)
2005
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
(1 episode)
2005
How I Met Your Mother
Jerry Whittaker · (4 episodes)
2005
The Tony Danza Show
Self · (3 episodes)
2004
VH1 Goes Inside
(1 episode)
2003
The Early Show
Self · (1 episode)
1999
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
Dr. Oscar Charles
1999
The View
Self · (7 episodes)
1997
Cosby
John Lithgow · (1 episode)
1996
3rd Rock from the Sun
Dick Solomon · (139 episodes)
1996
Tales from the Crypt: You, Murderer
Dr. Oscar Charles
1995
American Cinema
Narrator
1995
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
Self
1994
The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale
Alexander (voice)
1993
Frasier
Madman Martinez (voice) · (1 episode)
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Self - Guest · (4 episodes)
1993
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
Narrator
1993
The Boys
Artie Margulies
1991
John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
1990
Traveling Man
Ben Cluett
1989
Tales from the Crypt
Dr. Oscar Charles · (1 episode)
1989
The Amazing Bone
Narrator
1987
Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie
Self
1985
2010 : The Odyssey Continues
Himself
1984
Not in Front of the Children
Richard Carruthers
1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
Goldilocks' Father · (1 episode)
1982
Big Blonde
Herbie Morse
1980
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
Wally
1980
The Country Girl
Paul Unger
1974
Sequestered - Inside Conclave
Self
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night
Self · (4 episodes)
2025
Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
Self · (3 episodes)
2023
Sherri
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2022
The Old Man
Harold Harper · (15 episodes)
2022
Dexter: New Blood
Arthur Mitchell · (1 episode)
2021
Perry Mason
Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan · (8 episodes)
2020
Stars in the House
Self - Special Guest · (1 episode)
2020
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self · (1 episode)
2019
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
(1 episode)
2018
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
Self · (2 episodes)
2018
Trial & Error
Larry Henderson · (13 episodes)
2017
The Crown
Winston Churchill · (12 episodes)
2016
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
(1 episode)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
Self · (2 episodes)
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
Self · (1 episode)
2015
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
Self · (1 episode)
2014
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
James Roosevelt (voice) · (7 episodes)
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Self · (2 episodes)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
Self · (1 episode)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
(1 episode)
2014
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
The White Rabbit (voice) · (13 episodes)
2013
Prohibition
Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice) · (3 episodes)
2011
Conan
Self · (2 episodes)
2010
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
2009
The Graham Norton Show
Self · (1 episode)
2007
Dexter
Arthur Mitchell · (12 episodes)
2006
The One Show
Self · (1 episode)
2006
E! Live from the Red Carpet
Self · (1 episode)
2002
The View
Self - Guest · (2 episodes)
1997
The West
Self · (9 episodes)
1996
The West
Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice) · (1 episode)
1996
The Daily Show
Self · (1 episode)
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest · (1 episode)
1996
World War II: When Lions Roared
Franklin Delano Roosevelt · (2 episodes)
1994
American Cinema
(13 episodes)
1994
The Simpsons
Gus (voice) · (1 episode)
1989
The Simpsons
John Lithgow (voice) · (1 episode)
1989
Amazing Stories
John Walters · (1 episode)
1985
Secret Service
Capt. Thorne
1977
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · (3 episodes)
1975
NOVA
Narrator · (6 episodes)
1974
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
John
1972
Great Performances
Capt. Thorne · (1 episode)
1971
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · (7 episodes)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee & Performer · (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Winner · (1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee · (2 episodes)
1956
Tony Awards
Self - Nominee/Performer · (1 episode)
1956
The Oscars
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1953
Today
Self · (1 episode)
1952
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Paul Unger · (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Major Kendall Laird · (1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Laird Riordan · (1 episode)
1951
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · (2 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · (1 episode)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Winner · (1 episode)
1944
Harry Potter
Albus Dumbledore · (0 episode)