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IMDbPro

John Lithgow(I)

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Writer
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000253
John Lithgow
Take a closer look at the various roles John Lithgow has played throughout his acting career.
Play clip1:06
John Lithgow: Movie & TV Moments
99+ Videos
99+ Photos
If "born to the theater" has meaning in determining a person's life path, then John Lithgow is a prime example of this truth. He was born in Rochester, New York, to Sarah Jane (Price), an actress, and Arthur Washington Lithgow III, who was both a theatrical producer and director. John's father was born in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic, where the Anglo-American Lithgow family had lived for several generations.

John moved frequently as a child, while his father founded and managed local and college theaters and Shakespeare festivals throughout the Midwest of the United States. Not until he was 16, and his father became head of the McCarter Theater in Princeton New Jersey, did the family settle down. But for John, the theater was still not a career. He won a scholarship to Harvard University, where he finally caught the acting bug (as well as found a wife). Harvard was followed by a Fulbright scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Returning from London, his rigorous dramatic training stood him in good stead, and a distinguished career on Broadway gave him one Tony Award for "The Changing Room", a second nomination in 1985 for "Requiem For a Heavyweight", and a third in 1988 for "M. Butterfly". But with critical acclaim came personal confusion, and in the mid 1970s, he and his wife divorced. He entered therapy, and in 1982, his life started in a new direction, the movies - he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp (1982). A second Oscar nomination followed for Terms of Endearment (1983), and he met a UCLA economics professor who became his second wife. As the decade of the 1990s came around, he found that he was spending too much time on location, and another career move brought him to television in the hugely successful series 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996).

This production also played a role in bringing him back together with the son from his first marriage, Ian Lithgow, who has a regular role in the series as a dimwitted student.
BornOctober 19, 1945
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BornOctober 19, 1945
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,000253
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 2 Oscars

Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

Double Take: Showstopping Biopic Transformations

We've rounded up some of the best biopic transformations, including Naomi Ackie in I Wanna Dance With Somebody.
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[object Object]
Photos

Photos1191

John Lithgow in IV (2022)
John Lithgow and Alia Shawkat in III (2022)
John Lithgow in II (2022)
John Lithgow in I (2022)
John Lithgow in I (2022)
John Lithgow in I (2022)
John Lithgow in The Old Man (2022)
John Lithgow in Perry Mason (2020)
John Lithgow, Jane Curtin, Kristen Johnston, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and French Stewart in 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996)
John Lithgow in 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996)
John Lithgow in John Lithgow (2019)
John Lithgow in John Lithgow (2019)

Known for

The World According to Garp (1982)
The World According to Garp
7.1
  • Roberta Muldoon
  • 1982
Cliffhanger (1993)
Cliffhanger
6.5
  • Eric Qualen
  • 1993
Jeff Goldblum, Ellen Barkin, Christopher Lloyd, Peter Weller, and John Lithgow in The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension
6.2
  • Lord John Whorfin
  • Dr. Emilio Lizardo
  • 1984
Alfred Molina and John Lithgow in Love Is Strange (2014)
Love Is Strange
6.7
  • Ben Hull
  • 2014

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actor

  • Sharper
    • Post-production
  • The Untitled Cabrini Film
    • Post-production
  • Conclave
    • In Production
  • Killers of the Flower Moon
    • Post-production
  • Spellbound
    • (voice)
    • In Production
  • Jeff Bridges in The Old Man (2022)
    The Old Man
  • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
    The Simpsons
    • (voice)
  • David Duchovny, Leslie Mann, Fred Armisen, Pedro Pascal, Keegan-Michael Key, Karen Gillan, Iris Apatow, Ben Ashenden, Alexander Owen, and Guz Khan in The Bubble (2022)
    The Bubble
  • Michael C. Hall in Dexter: New Blood (2021)
    Dexter: New Blood
  • The Guilty (2021)
    The Guilty
  • Kassian Shae Akhtar in Wolfboy and the Everything Factory (2021)
    Wolfboy and the Everything Factory
    • (voice)
  • Perry Mason (2020)
    Perry Mason
  • Stephen Colbert in The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (2015)
    The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
  • Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, and Margot Robbie in Bombshell (2019)
    Bombshell
  • Imelda Staunton, Dominic West, and Elizabeth Debicki in The Crown (2016)
    The Crown
  • The Tale of Timmy Baterman (2019)
    The Tale of Timmy Baterman
  • The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts (2019)
    The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts
  • Live in Front of a Studio Audience
  • John Lithgow, Jason Clarke, Amy Seimetz, and Jeté Laurence in Pet Sematary (2019)
    Pet Sematary
  • Blythe Danner and John Lithgow in The Tomorrow Man (2019)
    The Tomorrow Man

Producer

  • Five Days Gone (2010)
    Five Days Gone
  • Don Quixote (2000)
    Don Quixote
  • Kid-Size Concert (1990)
    Kid-Size Concert

Writer

  • Storyline Online (2002)
    Storyline Online
  • Kid-Size Concert (1990)
    Kid-Size Concert

Videos122

How Gallows Humor Helped Charlize Theron Make 'Bombshell' Feel Real
Clip 2:45
How Gallows Humor Helped Charlize Theron Make 'Bombshell' Feel Real
'Bombshell' May Be a Story You Know, But Not Like This.
Clip 3:29
'Bombshell' May Be a Story You Know, But Not Like This.
Is SXSW 2019 the Best Fest for Horror?
Clip 2:25
Is SXSW 2019 the Best Fest for Horror?
John Lithgow: Movie & TV Moments
Clip 1:06
John Lithgow: Movie & TV Moments
'Love Is Strange' - Secrets of Movie Magic with John Lithgow
Clip 0:48
'Love Is Strange' - Secrets of Movie Magic with John Lithgow
Dexter Finale
Clip 0:45
Dexter Finale
The Campaign
Clip 1:15
The Campaign
The Campaign
Clip 1:21
The Campaign
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Clip 0:48
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Clip 1:01
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Clip 1:41
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Footloose: Blu-Ray
Clip 0:27
Footloose: Blu-Ray

Personal details

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  • Official sites
    • Facebook
    • Official Site
    • October 19, 1945
    • Rochester, New York, USA
    • December 12, 1981 - present (2 children)
    • Ian Lithgow
  • Other works
    Designed necktie for Stonehenge, Ltd's "Christopher Reeve Collection" (exclusive to JCPenney), with four percent of sales benefiting the Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation.
  • Publicity listings
    • 9 Interviews
    • 6 Articles
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 3 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    He attended Harvard College and graduated with a Bachelor's degree magna cum laude in history and literature (1967). He lived in Adams House as an undergraduate. Lithgow later served on Harvard's Board of Overseers.
  • Quotes
    [on the constant time-slot changes and ultimate cancellation of 3rd Rock from the Sun (1996)] If NBC had set out to ruin it, they couldn't have done a better job. They kept trying to use us as a weapon instead of a show to be taken care of. It would have been nice to have stayed a big hit, but I'd rather be a great show that nobody was watching than a lousy show that was a big hit, which is the case for most of the others.
    • Distinctive dramatic voice
    • 3rd Rock from the Sun
      (1996)
      $75,000 /episode (1996-1997 season)

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