I hated acting for years, admits Bill Nighy
BILL Nighy has said he frequently con- sidered quitting acting because he ‘just hated’ it for years.
The Bafta winner, 68, admitted he thought about giving up his television and film career on a weekly basis – but stuck with it because he did not know what to do instead.
He told Radio Times magazine: ‘I thought of quitting, if not daily, then weekly. I was so unhappy. I just hated it, for years. It’s not unpleasant all the time, and you work with great people and I am proud of some of the things I’ve done. You get a degree of satisfaction when it’s over, but the actual process is never satisfactory.’
Nighy said he kept going because he ‘couldn’t think of anything else to do’ adding: ‘I flunked school – not that that would prevent you from doing anything in life – but I didn’t have any other ideas.’
The Love Actually star also avoids watching himself on television. He said: ‘I was third bank robber in Softly, Softly: Task Force (1976). I was staying in digs with some people – they were all crowded in the front room, and then I came on TV. I walked out, it was so terrible. I had a phoney accent, which was just not committed enough, and my hair, obviously. Oh!’
Nighy said the scenes came back to haunt him during an appearance on Richard and Judy, when the presenters surprised him with a clip.
‘So I was on TV, watching myself on TV,’ he said. ‘It was horrible.’
The Radio Times is out today.