When it comes to grumpy but lovable men, Bill Nighy has it nailed. He plays Simon Pegg’s grumpy zombie step-dad in Shaun of the Dead with lovable charm, and washed-up grumpy rockstar Billy Mack in Love Actually, for which he won a Bafta for best supporting actor. In 2006, he won a Golden Globe for TV movie Gideon’s Daughter where he plays an, um, grumpy publicist on the verge of a nervous breakdown. In 2022, he was nominated for an Oscar for Living in which he plays an, erm, grumpy 1950s bureaucrat. He plays a grumpy vampire elder in the Underworld series and, less grumpy because he’s near immortal, Davy Jones in Pirates of the Caribbean. He’s fairly grumpy also in the new Netflix football film The Beautiful Game.
Of course, there’s more to him. On stage, he’s done Shakespeare, Chekhov and Pinter. On TV, he’s been in Bergerac, Auf Wiedersehen Pet and Doctor Who. He supports Crystal Palace, was in a band called the Love Ponies, and was once listed as one of the best-dressed over-50s in the Guardian. Oh and apparently he’s a big fan of Pokémon.
He now stars in supernatural horror film The First Omen as a senior member of the Catholic church, with grumpiness levels still unknown. So, what would you like to ask him? It’s a quick turnaround so please get your answers in by 10am GMT on Thursday 14 March and we’ll print his answers on 29 March.
• The First Omen is in cinemas from 5 April
