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).
Known For
Not in library
Interstellar
2014
Not in library
Shrek
2001
Not in library
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
2011
Not in library
The Simpsons
1989
Not in library
The Simpsons
1989
Not in library
The Accountant
2016
Not in library
How I Met Your Mother
2005
Not in library
Dexter
2006
Not in library
Killers of the Flower Moon
2023
Not in library
Pitch Perfect 3
2017
Acting
2026
Jimpa
as Jimpa
2026
Harry Potter
as Albus Dumbledore
(1 episode)
2025
The Rule of Jenny Pen
as Dave Crealy
2025
Dexter: Resurrection
as Arthur Mitchell
(1 episode)
2025
SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night
as Self
(1 episode)
2024
Cabrini
as Mayor Gould
2024
Spellbound
as Bolinar (voice)
2024
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow
as Self
2024
Conclave
as Tremblay
2023
Sharper
as Richard Hobbes
2023
Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic
as Self
2023
Killers of the Flower Moon
as Prosecutor Peter Leaward
2023
Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled
as Self
(3 episodes)
2022
Chez Bob
2022
The Bubble
as Tom the Studio Chairman
2022
Sherri
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2022
The Old Man
as Harold Harper
(15 episodes)
2021
Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes
as Philip Drummond
2021
Myths and Hymns
2021
Emily @ the Edge of Chaos
as Sir Isaac Newton (voice)
2021
Show of Titles
as "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer
2021
Dexter: New Blood
as Arthur Mitchell
(1 episode)
2020
Give My Regards to Broadway
as Self
2020
Perry Mason
as Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan
(8 episodes)
2020
Stars in the House
as Self - Special Guest
(1 episode)
2019
Late Night
as Walter Lovell
2019
Pet Sematary
as Jud Crandall
2019
Bombshell
as Roger Ailes
2019
The Tomorrow Man
as Ed Hemsler
2019
The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
as President Donald J. Trump
2019
On Broadway
as Self
2019
The Kelly Clarkson Show
as Self
(1 episode)
2018
Mister Rogers: It's You I Like
as Self
2018
Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman
as Jud Crandall
2018
The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2018
James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction
as Self
(2 episodes)
2018
Firing Line with Margaret Hoover
2017
They All Saw a Cat
2017
Beatriz at Dinner
as Doug Strutt
2017
Daddy's Home 2
as Don
2017
The Pulitzer At 100
as Self
2017
Pitch Perfect 3
as Fergus
2017
Hickory Dickory Doc
as Himself
2017
Trial & Error
as Larry Henderson
(13 episodes)
2016
The Accountant
as Lamar Blackburn
2016
Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9
as Narrator
2016
Miss Sloane
as Senator Ronald Sperling
2016
Shakespeare Live! From the RSC
as Self - Performer
2016
The Crown
as Winston Churchill
(12 episodes)
2015
Inside 'Interstellar'
as Self
2015
Projections of America
as Self - Narrator (voice)
2015
Lord John
2015
Best of Enemies
as Voice of Gore Vidal
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self - Guest
(2 episodes)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
2015
Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter
as Self
(1 episode)
2015
The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
as Self
(2 episodes)
2015
The Late Late Show with James Corden
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2014
Interstellar
as Donald
2014
Love Is Strange
as Ben
2014
The Homesman
as Reverend Alfred Dowd
2014
The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest
as Maurice (voice)
2014
9 Kisses
as Man in Club
2014
Late Night with Seth Meyers
as Self
(2 episodes)
2014
The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon
as Self
(2 episodes)
2014
The Roosevelts: An Intimate History
as James Roosevelt (voice)
(7 episodes)
2014
Variety Studio: Actors on Actors
as Self
(1 episode)
2013
Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
as Self
2013
National Theatre Live: The Magistrate
as Posket
2013
Shrek Stories
as Lord Farquaad (voice)
2013
Timms Valley
as Ol' Gregory Timms
2013
Once Upon a Time in Wonderland
as The White Rabbit (voice)
(13 episodes)
2012
Casting By
as Self
2012
The Campaign
as Glen Motch
2012
This Is 40
as Oliver
2012
Finding Your Roots
as Self
(1 episode)
2011
Rise of the Planet of the Apes
as Charles Rodman
2011
New Year's Eve
as Jonathan Cox (uncredited)
2011
Shrek: Once Upon a Time
as Self
2011
Prohibition
as Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice)
(3 episodes)
2010
Leap Year
as Jack Brady
2010
Conan
as Self
(2 episodes)
2009
Confessions of a Shopaholic
as Edgar West
2009
Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn
as Narrator
2009
The Macabre World of Lavender Williams
as God
2009
Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2008
Car of the Future
as Narrator
2007
ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway
as Self
2007
The Graham Norton Show
as Self
(1 episode)
2006
Sangre
as Cafe chef and owner
2006
Dreamgirls
as Jerry Harris
2006
The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge
as Narrator
2006
The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
as René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly")
2006
Twenty Good Years
as John Mason
(13 episodes)
2006
30 Rock
as John Lithgow
(1 episode)
2006
Dexter
as Arthur Mitchell
(12 episodes)
2006
The One Show
as Self
(1 episode)
2005
Einstein's Big Idea
as Narrator (voice) U.S. edition
2005
How I Met Your Mother
as Jerry Whittaker
(4 episodes)
2005
The Apprentice: Martha Stewart
2005
The Colbert Report
2004
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
as Blake Edwards
2004
Kinsey
as Alfred Seguine Kinsey
2004
Dogs and More Dogs
as Narrator
2004
The Tony Danza Show
as Self
(3 episodes)
2003
The Ghost of Lord Farquaad
as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
2003
Bark, George
2003
Shrek 3-D
as Lord Farquaad
2003
VH1 Goes Inside
2003
DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection
as Ghost of Farquaad (voice)
(1 episode)
2003
Jimmy Kimmel Live!
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
2002
Orange County
as Bud Brumder
2002
Buckaroo Banzai Declassified
as Self
2002
Live from E!
as Self
(1 episode)
2001
Shrek
as Lord Farquaad (voice)
2001
Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party
as Lord Farquaad (singing voice)
2000
Rugrats in Paris: The Movie
as Jean-Claude (voice)
2000
95 Worlds and Counting
as Narrator
2000
Don Quixote
as Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano
1999
Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection
as Dr. Oscar Charles
1999
The Early Show
as Self
(1 episode)
1998
A Civil Action
as Judge Walter J. Skinner
1998
Homegrown
as Malcolm / Robert Stockman
1998
Johnny Skidmarks
as Sergeant Larry Skovik
1997
Officer Buckle and Gloria
as Narrator (voice)
1997
The View
as Self
(7 episodes)
1997
The View
as Self - Guest
(2 episodes)
1996
Hollow Point
as Thomas Livingston
1996
Special Effects: Anything Can Happen
as Narrator
1996
3rd Rock from the Sun
as Dick Solomon
(139 episodes)
1996
Cosby
as John Lithgow
(1 episode)
1996
The West
as Self
(9 episodes)
1996
The Daily Show
as Self
(1 episode)
1996
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
as Self - Guest
(1 episode)
1996
The West
as Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice)
(1 episode)
1995
The Tuskegee Airmen
as Senator Conyers
1995
Redwood Curtain
as Laird Riordan
1995
My Brother's Keeper
as Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley
1994
A Good Man in Africa
as Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner
1994
Princess Caraboo
as Professor Wilkinson
1994
Silent Fall
as Dr. Rene Harlinger
1994
Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects
as Self
1994
American Cinema
as Self - Host
(13 episodes)
1994
World War II: When Lions Roared
as Franklin Delano Roosevelt
(2 episodes)
1993
The Pelican Brief
as Smith Keen
1993
Cliffhanger
as Qualen
1993
The Wrong Man
as Phillip Mills
1993
Love, Cheat & Steal
as Paul Harrington
1993
Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
as Narrator
1993
The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale
as Alexander (voice)
1993
Frasier
as Madman Martinez (voice)
(1 episode)
1993
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
as Self - Guest
(4 episodes)
1992
Raising Cain
as Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo
1991
Ricochet
as Earl Talbott Blake
1991
At Play in the Fields of the Lord
as Leslie Huben
1991
The Boys
as Artie Margulies
1990
Memphis Belle
as Bruce Derringer
1990
Ivory Hunters
as Robert Carter
1990
Night of 100 Stars III
as Self
1990
Amazing Stories: The Movie II
as John Walters (archive footage)
1990
John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert
1989
Out Cold
as Dave
1989
Traveling Man
as Ben Cluett
1989
Tales from the Crypt
as Dr. Oscar Charles
(1 episode)
1989
The Simpsons
as Gus (voice)
(1 episode)
1989
The Simpsons
as John Lithgow (voice)
(1 episode)
1988
Distant Thunder
as Mark Lambert
1987
Harry and the Hendersons
as George Henderson
1987
Baby Girl Scott
as Neil Scott
1987
The Amazing Bone
as Narrator
1986
The Manhattan Project
as John Mathewson
1986
Resting Place
as Maj. Kendall Laird
1985
Santa Claus: The Movie
as B.Z.
1985
Mesmerized
as Oliver Thompson
1985
Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie
as Self
1985
Amazing Stories
as John Walters
(1 episode)
1984
Footloose
as Rev. Shaw Moore
1984
2010
as Dr. Walter Curnow
1984
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
as Lord John Whorfin
1984
The Glitter Dome
as Sgt. Marty Wellborn
1984
Goldilocks and the Three Bears
as Goldilocks' Father
1984
2010 : The Odyssey Continues
as Himself
1983
Terms of Endearment
as Sam Burns
1983
The Day After
as Joe Huxley
1983
Twilight Zone: The Movie
as Valentine
1982
The World According to Garp
as Roberta Muldoon
1982
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can
as Mr. Brunner
1982
Not in Front of the Children
as Richard Carruthers
1982
Faerie Tale Theatre
as Goldilocks' Father
(1 episode)
1981
Blow Out
as Burke
1980
The Oldest Living Graduate
as Clarence
1980
Big Blonde
as Herbie Morse
1980
Mom, the Wolfman and Me
as Wally
1979
All That Jazz
as Lucas Sergeant
1979
Rich Kids
as Paul Philips
1978
The Big Fix
as Sam Sebastian
1977
Secret Service
as Capt. Thorne
1976
Obsession
as Robert Lasalle
1975
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
(3 episodes)
1974
The Country Girl
as Paul Unger
1974
NOVA
as Narrator
(6 episodes)
1972
Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues
as John
1971
Great Performances
as Capt. Thorne
(1 episode)
1962
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
(1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner
(1 episode)
1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee
(2 episodes)
1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter
(7 episodes)
1956
Tony Awards
as Self - Nominee / Performer
(2 episodes)
1953
The Oscars
as Self - Presenter
(1 episode)
1952
Today
as Self
(1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Paul Unger
(1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Major Kendall Laird
(1 episode)
1951
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Laird Riordan
(1 episode)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee
(3 episodes)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Presenter
(1 episode)
1944
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Winner
(1 episode)
—
Broadway: The Next Generation
as Self
—
Sequestered - Inside Conclave
as Self
Production
2025
The Rule of Jenny Pen
Executive Producer
2024
Art Happens Here with John Lithgow
Executive Producer
2000
Don Quixote
Executive Producer