Kenneth Glad
His latest film places a veteran performer in unfamiliar emotional territory. The role also connects unexpectedly with a path he considered decades ago.
Before acting became his profession, Bill Nighy imagined writing novels. In an interview with The Guardian, the 76-year-old actor recalls how encouragement from a teacher helped turn that possibility into a serious ambition.
Nighy says the idea took hold when he was about 14, after an English teacher at his Catholic grammar school suggested he might try writing a novel.
At 15, he took a job at The Field, a British hunting and fishing magazine. His duties were far removed from authorship. Among them was changing the roller towel in the women’s room, a task that became a source of embarrassment when staff members gathered to watch him struggle with it.
He eventually travelled to Paris hoping to pursue writing seriously. Nighy headed for Shakespeare and Company, imagining a bohemian life built around books, memorable sentences and romance. None of it unfolded as planned. “I ran away to be a writer,” Nighy says. “I ended up begging on the Trocadéro.”
Drama school changed his direction, and acting eventually became his career. His credits have since ranged from Love Actually and Pirates of the Caribbean to Living, which earned him an Academy Award nomination.
That early interest in writing now gives his new movie, & Sons, an unexpected personal connection. Nighy plays AN Dyer, an acclaimed novelist whose difficult relationship with his family forms the emotional centre of the film.
According to The Guardian, Dyer is a reclusive figure who has spent years emotionally distant from those closest to him. His former wife and children are left dealing with the consequences of a man who appears to believe his literary talent excuses some of his behaviour as a father.
Nighy firmly rejects that notion. “Give me a break. That’s anathema to me. I don’t believe it in the least.”
His priorities have changed
The abrasive Dyer also differs from many of the restrained or flawed characters audiences associate with Nighy. He told the newspaper that typecasting does not particularly concern him, pointing to his own enjoyment of Steve McQueen’s familiar screen presence.
Outside acting, Nighy has become comfortable refusing professional customs he no longer enjoys. Working lunches and Zoom calls are among them, while his answer when asked what might make him reject a film was considerably shorter: “Togas.”
Large social occasions have never held much attraction either. Nighy says that he once took particular satisfaction in throwing prestigious party invitations straight into the bin rather than feeling obliged to attend.
He still enjoys phone calls and texting, however, and now uses a small selection of emojis despite previously disliking them. His choices are unusually specific: Flamingos, flowers, sharks and dolphins can make an appearance, while a golfer in mid-swing is sometimes reserved for congratulations. Smiley faces remain off limits.
Nighy also hosts Ill-Advised, a podcast built around spontaneous answers to listeners’ questions. He does not see the questions before recording and has discussed subjects ranging from social etiquette to clothing, an area in which he admits having strong opinions about suits and shirt collars.
The program has more than 300,000 monthly listeners and won the Broadcasting Press Guild’s 2026 Podcast of the Year award.
The novels never arrived, but writing never disappeared entirely from Nighy’s story. With & Sons, the profession he once hoped to enter has resurfaced through the complicated fictional author he now plays.
Sources: The Guardian
