William Francis Nighy was born on 12 December 1949, in Caterham, Surrey, England, to Catherine, a psychiatric nurse of Scottish descent, and Alfred Nighy of English descent, who managed a car garage and ran the family chimney sweeping business. He is an actor, probably best known for his roles in the films “Love Actually”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest”, “Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” and the “Underworld” film series.
A noted actor, how rich is Bill Nighy? According to sources, Nighy has amassed a fortune of over $8 million as of early 2017. the main source being his acting career which began in the mid-1970s.
Bill Nighy Net Worth $8 Million
Nighy attended the John Fisher School in Purley, where he was active in the school’s theatre projects. He later worked as a messenger boy for The Croydon Advertiser and eventually began training for the stage at the Guildford School of Acting.
Soon after, he gained some experience at regional theatres, eventually co-founding a touring theatre company in Liverpool. He went on to regularly appear in the National Theatre, his most notable stage performances being in Tom Stoppard’s “Arcadia” and Joe Penhall’s “Blue/Orange”, paving his way to recognition and to a prolific career in film and television.
Nighy began landing smaller television gigs in the late ’70s, however, it wasn’t until the 1991 BBC television miniseries, “The Men’s Room”, that he earned a career-boosting success. Meanwhile, he started to appear on the big screen in the early ’80s, but it wasn’t until 2003 that he landed a major film role, playing pop star Billy Mack in the romantic comedy “Love Actually” – the role earned him a London Film Critics Award and a Best Supporting Actor BAFTA, considerably contributing to his popularity and to his net worth as well. The same year he played Cameron Foster in the television drama serial “State of Play”, receiving critical acclaim, and also in 2003, Nighy landed the role of vampire leader Victor in the action horror film “Underworld”. He would reprise this role in two more sequels, the 2006 “Underworld: Evolution” and the 2009 “Underworld: Rise of the Lycans”.
In the meantime, he portrayed the principal villain, pirate captain Davy Jones in the 2006 “Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest” and its 2009 sequel “Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World’s End”, for which he was nominated for Teen Choice Awards. Nighy’s roles in the two franchises secured his place among Hollywood stars, also improving his wealth in a great way.
Around this time, the actor was also involved in other projects such as playing the lead character Gideon in the BBC television drama “Gideon’s Daughter”, and the character of Lawrence in another BBC drama, “The Girl in the Café”, achieving rave reviews as well as a Golden Globe and a Satelite Award for his performance in the former.
Nighy landed a variety of television and film work in the following years. In 2010 he appeared as Rufus Scrimgeour in the seventh installment of the “Harry Potter” series, “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1”, and starred in the black comedy film “Wild Target”. He played the lead role of Johnny Worricker in the 2011 BBC political thriller “Page Eight” and its two 2014 sequels, “Turks & Caicos” and “Salting the Battlefield”. His most recent film appearances were in the 2016 films “Their Finest”, “The Limehouse Golem” and “The Bookshop”, with the latter being in post-production.
Nighy has also done some voice-over work, providing his voice for characters in the animated films such as “Flushed Away”, “Astro Boy”, “Rango” and “Arthur Christmas”. He has also lent his voice for video games like “”G-Force”, “Disney Infinity” and “Destiny”. All added to his wealth.
When speaking about his personal life, Nighy had a long relationship with actress Diana Quick; they separated in 2000, after 27 years together, and have a daughter, actress Mary Nighy. Sources believe he is single at present.
The actor is involved in philanthropy, serving as patron of several charities, such as Crystal Palace F.C. Fast Results & Information Service Children’s Charity, Ann Craft Trust and the London children’s charity Scene & Heard.
