Bill Nighy

From Tolkien Gateway
Bill Nighy
Bill Nighy
LifetimeDecember 12, 1949
PortrayedSamwise Gamgee in:
 The Lord of the Rings (1981 radio series)
IMDbProfile

William Francis "Bill" Nighy (born 1949) is an English actor.

History[edit | edit source]

Born in Caterham, Surrey in 1949, Nighy was the third child of mechanic Alfred Martin Nighy and nurse Catherine Josephine Whittaker. He was raised a catholic (his mother was Irish) and attended Guildford School of Drama. Toward the end of the seventies, he made his West End debut in Illuminatus!. He continued with roles in radio drama, stage and television, and though the role of Samwise Gamgee in BBC's 1981 radio production of The Lord of the Rings was among his larger roles, he did not get widespread attention in the world of drama until the 1991 serial The Men's Room. His fame as an on-screen actor came from Love Actually, and he has been cast in several big productions since.

Quotes[edit | edit source]

"Someone told me Peter Jackson distributed copies of the radio version to the cast and crew. And since I get 0.00001% in royalties every time someone buys the CD, I've been getting £40 instead of £20 over the last couple of years!"
― Bill Nighy on Peter Jackson, BBC interview.

External Links[edit | edit source]