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Born
December 12, 1949 · Caterham, Surrey, England, UK

Birth name
William Francis Nighy

QUOTES:

I don’t smoke now, which is marvellous. My only addictions are caffeine and sugar.

I even wear a suit for improvisation workshops, rolling around. Well, acting’s a white-collar job, you know? You wear a suit.

I hate design which has nothing to do with function. When I first went to work and had digs, I would arrange that there was nothing in my room, just a bed and a chair. It was like a cell. And I once saw this thing on the telly where there were these two guys who lived in a minimalist house. Absolutely nothing in it, but they had a deal that if they left their shoes on the stairs in an interesting shape, and they both agreed, they could leave them there. I understand that.

There was a time when you were supposed to question everything the director said, to create some kind of conflict, out of which creativity would be born. But I love it when they tell you what to do, you know: “Start there, walk over there, say the line and I’ll shout: Cut!” I think it’s groovy. When we were filming with Stephen Poliakoff, his first note to me – he prefaced it with: “That was marvellous”, which is always a good start – anyway, his note was: “Don’t wiggle your eyes about so much,” and you know, my heart leapt. Because I know that. I know how to not make my eyes wiggle about.