John Lithgow is an American actor. Over his extensive career with diverse roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including four Actor Awards, two Critics' Choice Awards, seven Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, a Laurence Olivier Award, and three Tony Awards, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award and four Grammy Awards.Alvin Powell, "Lithgow to speak at Afternoon Exercises: Actor, writer, humanitarian to grace Tercentenary Theatre", Harvard Gazette, 2005-04-07.HFPA Nominations and Winners HFPA Nominations and Winners Lithgow has received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and has been inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Lithgow received Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor nominations for his performances as a transsexual ex-football player in the comedy-drama The World According to Garp (1982) and a lonely banker in the family drama Terms of Endearment (1983). He portrayed Roger Ailes in the political drama Bombshell (2019) and prosecutor Peter Leaward in the western crime drama Killers of the Flower Moon (2023). For both films, Lithgow along with ensemble received nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture.
On television, he has received six Primetime Emmy Awards. He won his first for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series playing lonely man in Amazing Stories (1986), followed by three wins for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Dick Solomon in the NBC sitcom 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996–2001). He later won for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series for playing a serial killer in the crime series Dexter (2010), and for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series playing Winston Churchill in the Netflix historical drama series The Crown (2017).
Lithgow started his career acting in numerous productions at The Public Theater and off Broadway. He gained acclaim for his extensive work on Broadway, where he has received two Tony Awards. He won his first for Best Featured Actor in a Play for playing a rugby player in The Changing Room (1973), and Best Actor in a Musical playing newspaper columnist J.J. Hunsecker in Sweet Smell of Success (2002). Lithgow was also Tony-nominated for his roles in Requiem for a Heavyweight (1985), M. Butterfly (1988), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005), and The Columnist (2012). On the West End he portrayed Roald Dahl in the Mark Rosenblatt play Giant (2024) for which he won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor.
Major associations Academy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1983Best Supporting Actor The World According to Garp 1984 Terms of Endearment
Actor Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1997 Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series3rd Rock from the Sun Outstanding Actor in a Comedy Series 1998 Outstanding Ensemble in a Comedy Series 2000 2001 Outstanding Actor in a Miniseries or Television Film Don Quixote 2010 Outstanding Ensemble in a Drama Series Dexter 2017The Crown Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series 2020 Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture Bombshell 2024 Killers of the Flower Moon 2025 Conclave
BAFTA Awards Year Category Nominated work Result British Academy Television Awards 2017 Best Supporting Actor The Crown
Critics' Choice Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2020Best Acting Ensemble Bombshell 2024 Killers of the Flower Moon 2025 Conclave Critics' Choice Television Awards 2016Best Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesThe Crown 2021 Perry Mason 2023The Old Man 2025
Emmy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result Primetime Emmy Awards1984 Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or a Special The Day After 1986 Outstanding Guest Performer in a Drama Series Amazing Stories (episode: "The Doll") Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Special Resting Place 1995 My Brother's Keeper 1996 Outstanding Lead Actor in a Comedy Series 3rd Rock from the Sun (episode: "Dick, Smoker") 1997 3rd Rock from the Sun (episode: "See Dick Continue to Run") 1998 3rd Rock from the Sun (episode: "Stuck with Dick") 1999 3rd Rock from the Sun (episode: "What's Love Got to Do with Dick?") 2000 3rd Rock from the Sun (episode: ""Frankie Goes to Rutherford") 2001 3rd Rock from the Sun (episode: "Red, White, and Dick") 2010 Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series Dexter (episode: "Road Kill") 2017Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series The Crown (episode: "Assassins") 2021 Perry Mason (episode: "Chapter 4") Children's and Family Emmy Awards2025 Outstanding Single Voice Role Performer Spellbound
Golden Globe Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1997Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy3rd Rock from the Sun 1998 1999 2010Best Supporting Actor – Television Dexter 2017The Crown 2023The Old Man
Grammy Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2002Best Spoken Word Album for ChildrenOgden Nash's the Christmas that Almost Wasn't2004Carnival of the AnimalsBest Spoken Word AlbumThe World According to Mr. Rogers2006Best Musical Album for ChildrenThe Sunny Side of the Street
Laurence Olivier Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 2025 Best Actor Giant
Tony Awards Year Category Nominated work Result 1973 Best Featured Actor in a Play The Changing Room 1985Best Leading Actor in a PlayRequiem for a Heavyweight 1988 M. Butterfly 2002Best Leading Actor in a Musical Sweet Smell of Success 2005 Dirty Rotten Scoundrels 2012Best Leading Actor in a Play The Columnist 2026 Giant
Theatre awards Organizations Year Category Work Result Drama Desk Awards 1973 Outstanding Performance The Changing Room 1985 Outstanding Actor in a Play Requiem for a Heavyweight 1988 M. Butterfly 2002 Outstanding Actor in a Musical Sweet Smell of Success 2004 Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play Mrs. Farnsworth 2026Outstanding Lead Performance in a PlayGiant Outer Critics Circle Awards 2002 Best Actor in a MusicalSweet Smell of Success2018Outstanding Solo PerformanceJohn Lithgow: Stories by Heart2026Outstanding Lead Performer in a Broadway PlayGiant Dorian Award2026Outstanding Lead Performance in a Broadway Play
Miscellaneous awards Organizations Year Category Work Result AACTA Awards 2020 Best International Supporting Actor – CinemaBombshell Independent Spirit Award 2014 Best Male Lead Love is Strange Los Angeles Film Critics Association 1982Best Supporting Actor The World According to Garp 1983 Terms of Endearment / Twilight Zone: The Movie New York Film Critics Circle 1982Best Supporting Actor The World According to Garp 1983 Terms of Endearment / Twilight Zone: The Movie People's Choice Awards 1996Favorite Male Television Performer3rd Rock from the Sun 1997 1998 1999 Satellite Awards 1997Best Actor – Television Series Musical or Comedy 3rd Rock from the Sun 1998 2009 Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Dexter Saturn Awards 1984 Best Supporting Actor Twilight Zone: The Movie 1985 Best Supporting Actor The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai 1993 Best Actor Raising Cain 2010 Best Guest Starring Role on Television Dexter 2019 Best Supporting Actor Pet Sematary
Honorary awards Organizations Year Award Result Hollywood Walk of Fame 2001 Motion Picture Star American Theater Hall of Fame 2005 Inductee Harvard University 2005 Honorary Doctorate American Academy of Arts and Sciences 2010 Fellow Harvard University 2017 Harvard Arts Medal London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art 2025 Master of Dramatic Art
References
External links John Lithgow at FEARnet Profile of John Lithgow – Downstage Center 2006 bio article on Lithgow Razor and Tie Artist Page Razor and Tie Media Page TonyAwards.com Interview with John Lithgow
NYPL gallery of selected stage production photographs, 1967-1988