Bill Nighy: A Life In Pictures

Bill Nighy, much-loved BAFTA-winning star of Love Actually, shared how “he’s squeamish to the extreme” of seeing himself on screen.

At the Life in Pictures event Nighy, who has won BAFTAs for hit comedy Love Actually and cult TV show State of Play, explained how watching his films can be a harrowing experience.

“The harrowing thing was watching myself – which I don’t generally do,” he said.

“I am squeamish to the extreme at the sight of myself and the sound of myself. But most importantly it’s the acting I can’t bear. All I see is the violent disparity between what I had in mind and what has arrived on the screen.”

See pictures from the event on 14 June 2010, when actor Bill Nighy joined Francine Stock on stage to be interviewed as part of the Alfred Dunhill BAFTA A Life in Pictures series:

Nighy explained that he’d “floated through” drama school after surprising teachers by auditioning for a place by accidentally playing two female parts. After graduating, he appeared on stage in major plays like Tom Stoppard’s Arcadia, Harold Pinter’s Betrayal and David Hare’s Pravda.

After moving into film and TV in the nineties his early credits included Still Crazy, Guest House Paradiso and Blow Dry. However, it was his role as an aging rocker in Richard Curtis’ Love Actually that catapulted him to international stardom.

“They could have had anyone [in the role] and no one was more surprised than me,” he said.

“Rock and roll is relatively young – and there’s a great deal of affection for old rockers because they’re still standing, and because we grew up with them. Richard liked the idea they could say the thing you weren’t supposed to say.”

Nighy’s first BAFTA win was for his performance as a newspaper editor in 2003 political thriller State of Play. Since then he’s come back to TV for two films for director Stephen Poliakoff: The Lost Prince and Gideon’s Daughter.
But his biggest role so far has been as half-man half-octopus Davy Jones, playing opposite Johnny Depp and Keira Knightley in the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise.

“I’m covered in latex,” he told the audience.

“I was quite happy because it meant I could watch the movie. What are you going to say? That I’m a terrible squid?”

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