THINGS YOU DON’T KNOW ABOUT
BRIT Bill Nighy has earned critical acclaim for his role as a bureaucrat facing terminal cancer in Living. But the recently released period drama is just the latest project for the longtime entertainment veteran. Bill, 73, had more than two decades under his belt when he scored his most widely known part as rocker Billy Mack in 2003’s Love Actually. Though the Christmasthemed flick has been slammed as schmaltzy, the good-natured guy admits he’ll “never be sick” of people talking about the rom-com because “it was a big and important thing for me.” Here are ten things you don’t know about Bill.
1 He was brought up Roman Catholic and served as an altar boy.
2 He once dreamed of becoming a writer and shares, “I had, and I still do have, a completely romantic view of being a journalist.”
3 At age 15, he ran off to Paris to emulate his literary hero Ernest Hemingway. But after failing to “write the great English novel” — or get a paying job — he recalls, “I came back to mum and dad’s house in disgrace.”
4 He voiced hobbit Samwise Gamgee in the 1981 BBC radio production of Lord of the Rings.
5 He has Dupuytren’s contracture, a hereditary condition that can cause fingers to bend toward the palm and prevent them from straightening completely.
6 He’s a big fan of The Rolling Stones and Bob Dylan.
7 Often seen in suits, the insecure actor explains he’s fond of formalwear for its coverage “because I hate my body.”
8 He admits he can procrastinate at an “Olympic level.”
9 He claims there’s “no limit” to how much ice cream he can eat in one sitting — and his favorite flavors are strawberry and honeycomb.
10 He does not intend to retire from acting anytime soon because “I’m in a job which you can do fortunately as long as you can remain upright.”