John Arthur Lithgow (born October 19, 1945) is an American actor, musician, and author.
Lithgow has received acclaim and many accolades in his career including two Tony Awards, five Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, an American Comedy Award, four Drama Desk Awards and was also nominated for two Academy Awards and four Grammy Awards. Lithgow received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was inducted into American Theater Hall of Fame.
Lithgow is well known for his television roles as Dick Solomon in 3rd Rock from the Sun and Arthur Mitchell in Dexter as well as for his roles in films Obsession, Blow Out, The World According to Garp, Terms of Endearment, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Footloose, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension, Harry and the Hendersons, Raising Cain, Cliffhanger, The Pelican Brief, Shrek, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers, Kinsey, Rise of the Planet of the Apes, The Homesman, Love Is Strange and Interstellar.
On the stage, he appeared in many Broadway productions including the musical adaptation of Sweet Smell of Success and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. In 2007, he made his Royal Shakespeare Company debut as Malvolio in Neil Bartlett’s production of Twelfth Night. He has also recorded music, such as the 1999 album of children’s music, Singin’ in the Bathtub, and has written poetry and short stories, such as Marsupial Sue, for children. His work for children earned him Grammy Award nominations and two Parents’ Choice Silver Honor Awards.