John Lithgow

October 19, 1945 (age 80) Rochester, New York, USA
IMDb

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).

Their titles like Interstellar, Shrek, and Rise of the Planet of the Apes - their biggest roles first.
Last updated: June 14, 2026

91 titles
Community avg: 8.35 /10
  • 1
    1
    2014November 2014 by Christopher Nolan
    Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
    Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
    9.42 Masterpiece++
  • 2
    2
    2001May 2001 by Andrew Adamson
    Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
    Animation, Comedy, Fantasy
    8.69 Masterpiece--
  • 3
    3
    2011August 2011 by Rupert Wyatt
    Thriller, Action, Drama
    Thriller, Action, Drama
    8.27 Excellent+
  • 4
    4
    2016October 2016 by Gavin O'Connor
    Crime, Thriller, Drama
    Crime, Thriller, Drama
    8.07 Excellent
  • 5
    5
    2019April 2019 by Dennis Widmyer
    Horror
    Horror
    6.72 Good-
  • 6
    6
    2024October 2024 by Edward Berger
    Drama, Thriller
    Drama, Thriller
    8.12 Excellent+
  • 7
    7
    1993May 1993 by Renny Harlin
    Action, Adventure, Thriller
    Action, Adventure, Thriller
    7.46 Good++
  • 8
    8
    2023October 2023 by Martin Scorsese
    Crime, History, Drama
    Crime, History, Drama
    8.32 Excellent++
  • 9
    9
    2019December 2019 by Jay Roach
    Drama
    Drama
    7.71 Excellent-
  • 10
    10
    2017November 2017 by Sean Anders
    Comedy
    Comedy
    7.25 Good+
  • 11
    11
    2012December 2012 by Judd Apatow
    Comedy
    Comedy
    6.88 Good-
  • 12
    12
    1984February 1984 by Herbert Ross
    Drama, Romance
    Drama, Romance
    7.63 Excellent--
  • 13
    13
    2009February 2009 by P.J. Hogan
    Comedy, Romance
    Comedy, Romance
    7.43 Good++
  • 14
    14
    2010January 2010 by Anand Tucker
    Romance, Comedy
    Romance, Comedy
    7.83 Excellent-
  • 15
    15
    1981July 1981 by Brian De Palma
    Crime, Mystery, Thriller
    Crime, Mystery, Thriller
    8.27 Excellent+
  • 16
    16
    2017December 2017 by Trish Sie
    Music, Comedy
    Music, Comedy
    7.45 Good++
  • 17
    17
    1984December 1984 by Peter Hyams
    Thriller, Science Fiction
    Thriller, Science Fiction
    7.60 Excellent--
  • 18
    18
    1987June 1987 by William Dear
    Comedy, Family, Fantasy
    Comedy, Family, Fantasy
    7.13 Good+
  • 19
    19
    2012August 2012 by Jay Roach
    Comedy
    Comedy
    6.82 Good-
  • 20
    20
    1996–2001 by Terry Turner
    Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy
    Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Comedy
    8.39 Excellent++
  • 21
    21
    2016November 2016 by John Madden
    Thriller, Drama, Crime
    Thriller, Drama, Crime
    8.32 Excellent++
  • 22
    22
    1993September 1993 by Alan J. Pakula
    Thriller, Crime, Drama
    Thriller, Crime, Drama
    7.54 Excellent--
  • 23
    23
    1983June 1983 by John Landis
    Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction
    Horror, Fantasy, Science Fiction
    7.45 Good++
  • 24
    24
    1992August 1992 by Brian De Palma
    Horror, Thriller, Crime
    Horror, Thriller, Crime
    7.12 Good+
  • 25
    25
    1984August 1984 by W.D. Richter
    Science Fiction, Comedy, Adventure
    Science Fiction, Comedy, Adventure
    7.00 Good
  • 26
    26
    1983November 1983 by James L. Brooks
    Drama, Comedy
    Drama, Comedy
    8.05 Excellent
  • 27
    27
    2022–2024 by Jonathan E. Steinberg
    Action & Adventure, Drama
    Action & Adventure, Drama
    8.12 Excellent+
  • 28
    28
    2014August 2014 by Ira Sachs
    Drama
    Drama
    7.33 Good++
  • 29
    29
    2014May 2014 by Tommy Lee Jones
    Western, Drama
    Western, Drama
    7.49 Good++
  • 30
    30
    2023February 2023 by Benjamin Caron
    Thriller, Crime
    Thriller, Crime
    7.78 Excellent-
  • 31
    31
    2019January 2019 by Nisha Ganatra
    Comedy, Drama
    Comedy, Drama
    7.35 Good++
  • 32
    32
    2006December 2006 by Bill Condon
    Drama, Music
    Drama, Music
    7.66 Excellent--
  • 33
    33
    1991October 1991 by Russell Mulcahy
    Crime, Thriller, Action
    Crime, Thriller, Action
    7.15 Good+
  • 34
    34
    2002January 2002 by Jake Kasdan
    Comedy, Drama
    Comedy, Drama
    7.04 Good
  • 35
    35
    2000November 2000 by Stig Bergqvist
    Adventure, Animation, Comedy
    Adventure, Animation, Comedy
    7.63 Excellent--
  • 36
    36
    2004September 2004 by Bill Condon
    Drama
    Drama
    7.56 Excellent--
  • 37
    37
    1985October 1985 by Jeannot Szwarc
    Family, Fantasy, Adventure
    Family, Fantasy, Adventure
    7.33 Good++
  • 38
    38
    1983December 1983 by Nicholas Meyer
    Science Fiction, Drama
    Science Fiction, Drama
    7.74 Excellent-
  • 39
    39
    1982July 1982 by George Roy Hill
    Drama, Comedy
    Drama, Comedy
    7.63 Excellent--
  • 40
    40
    1998December 1998 by Steven Zaillian
    Drama
    Drama
    7.45 Good++
  • 41
    41
    1976August 1976 by Brian De Palma
    Thriller, Mystery, Drama
    Thriller, Mystery, Drama
    7.67 Excellent--
  • 42
    42
    2025March 2025 by James Ashcroft
    Horror, Thriller
    Horror, Thriller
    7.33 Good++
  • 43
    43
    2004April 2004 by Simon J. Smith
    Fantasy, Animation, Comedy
    Fantasy, Animation, Comedy
    7.09 Good
  • 44
    44
    2017June 2017 by Miguel Arteta
    Comedy, Drama
    Comedy, Drama
    6.95 Good
  • 45
    45
    1990September 1990 by Michael Caton-Jones
    Drama, War, Action
    Drama, War, Action
    7.70 Excellent-
  • 46
    46
    1986June 1986 by Marshall Brickman
    Science Fiction, Thriller
    Science Fiction, Thriller
    7.36 Good++
  • 47
    47
    2004October 2004 by Stephen Hopkins
    Drama, Comedy, Romance
    Drama, Comedy, Romance
    7.59 Excellent--
  • 48
    48
    2024November 2024 by Vicky Jenson
    Animation, Fantasy, Family
    Animation, Fantasy, Family
    7.57 Excellent--
  • 49
    49
    2024March 2024 by Alejandro Monteverde
    History, Drama
    History, Drama
    8.53 Masterpiece--
  • 50
    50
    2015July 2015 by Morgan Neville
    Documentary, History
    Documentary, History
    8.03 Excellent
  • 51
    51
    2019May 2019 by Noble Jones
    Drama, Romance
    Drama, Romance
    7.19 Good+
  • 52
    52
    2013–2014 by Edward Kitsis
    Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
    Sci-Fi & Fantasy, Drama
    7.77 Excellent-
  • 53
    53
    1994October 1994 by Bruce Beresford
    Drama, Thriller, Mystery
    Drama, Thriller, Mystery
    6.90 Good
  • 54
    54
    1995August 1995 by Robert Markowitz
    War, History, Drama
    War, History, Drama
    7.97 Excellent
  • 55
    55
    2001November 2001 by Andrew Adamson
    Animation, Comedy, Music
    Animation, Comedy, Music
    7.45 Good++
  • 56
    56
    2000April 2000 by Peter Yates
    Adventure, Comedy
    Adventure, Comedy
    7.58 Excellent--
  • 57
    57
    1991December 1991 by Héctor Babenco
    Drama, Romance
    Drama, Romance
    7.65 Excellent--
  • 58
    58
    1989March 1989 by Malcolm Mowbray
    Comedy, Drama, Thriller
    Comedy, Drama, Thriller
    7.52 Excellent--
  • 59
    59
    1985November 1985 by Michael Laughlin
    Drama
    Drama
    7.22 Good+
  • 60
    60
    1998April 1998 by Stephen Gyllenhaal
    Drama, Action, Comedy
    Drama, Action, Comedy
    7.14 Good+
  • 61
    61
    1996October 1996 by Sidney J. Furie
    Action, Comedy, Thriller
    Action, Comedy, Thriller
    7.16 Good+
  • 62
    62
    1993December 1993 by William Curran
    Thriller, Crime, Drama
    Thriller, Crime, Drama
    7.13 Good+
  • 63
    63
    1986April 1986 by John Korty
    Drama
    Drama
    7.70 Excellent-
  • 64
    64
    2026April 2026 by Eliot Rausch
    Documentary
    Documentary
    8.25 Excellent+
  • 65
    65
    2011 by Ken Burns
    Documentary
    Documentary
    8.35 Excellent++
  • 66
    66
    1994September 1994 by Michael Austin
    Comedy, Drama, History
    Comedy, Drama, History
    7.40 Good++
  • 67
    67
    1988November 1988 by Rick Rosenthal
    Drama
    Drama
    7.57 Excellent--
  • 68
    68
    2014 by Ken Burns
    Documentary, History, War & Politics
    Documentary, History, War & Politics
    8.20 Excellent+
  • 69
    69
    1998January 1998 by John Raffo
    Thriller, Crime, Drama
    Thriller, Crime, Drama
    7.47 Good++
  • 70
    70
    1979August 1979 by Robert M. Young
    Comedy, Drama
    Comedy, Drama
    7.40 Good++
  • 71
    71
    1996
    Documentary
    Documentary
    8.27 Excellent+
  • 72
    72
    1989June 1989 by Irvin Kershner
    Comedy
    Comedy
    7.62 Excellent--
  • 73
    73
    1994
    War & Politics, Drama, Reality
    War & Politics, Drama, Reality
    7.85 Excellent-
  • 74
    74
    2014August 2014 by Julien Fournet
    Family, Animation, Adventure
    Family, Animation, Adventure
    7.73 Excellent-
  • 75
    75
    1972February 1972 by Paul Williams
    Drama, Comedy
    Drama, Comedy
    7.71 Excellent-
  • 76
    76
    1994–1996
    Documentary
    Documentary
    7.95 Excellent
  • 77
    77
    2005October 2005 by Gary Johnstone
    Documentary, Drama
    Documentary, Drama
    7.96 Excellent
  • 78
    78
    2007April 2007 by Dori Berinstein
    Documentary
    Documentary
    7.93 Excellent
  • 79
    79
    2006 by Michael J. Leeson
    Comedy
    Comedy
    Needs more reviews
  • 80
    80
    2021December 2021 by James Burrows
    Comedy
    Comedy
    7.93 Excellent
  • 81
    81
    2026February 2026 by Sophie Hyde
    Drama
    Drama
    7.94 Excellent
  • 82
    82
    2017July 2017 by Kirk Simon
    Documentary
    Documentary
    7.82 Excellent-
  • 83
    83
    2019October 2019 by Oren Jacoby
    Documentary
    Documentary
    7.97 Excellent
  • 84
    84
    1977January 1977 by Peter Levin
    Drama
    Drama
    Needs more reviews
  • 85
    85
    1991April 1991 by Glenn Jordan
    Comedy, Drama
    Comedy, Drama
    Needs more reviews
  • 86
    86
    2013October 2013 by Dori Berinstein
    Documentary, Music
    Documentary, Music
    8.03 Excellent
  • 87
    87
    2026July 2026 by Nicholas Hytner
    Drama
    Drama
    Not released yet
  • 88
    88
    1980December 1980 by Kirk Browning
    no additional tags
    no additional tags
    Needs more reviews
  • 89
    89
    Airing since 2026
    Action & Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
    Action & Adventure, Family, Sci-Fi & Fantasy
    Not released yet
  • 90
    90
    2026May 2026 by Vicky Jenson
    Comedy, Animation, Fantasy
    Comedy, Animation, Fantasy
    Needs more reviews
  • 91
    91
    1994May 1994 by Gary R. Benz
    Documentary
    Documentary
    Needs more reviews