John Lithgow: movies and TV shows
John Lithgow has 228 credits in the archive: 149 films and 79 TV series, from 1944 to 2026. Highest rated: Hallmark Hall of Fame (8.8/10).
Career timeline
1944 – 2026 · busiest year: 2014 (9 credits)
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Full filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Type | Rating | Age then |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | Harry Potter | Albus Dumbledore | TV | — | 80 |
| 2026 | Finding Harry: The Craft Behind the Magic | Self | Film | 7.6 | 80 |
| 2026 | Jimpa | Jimpa | Film | 8.1 | 80 |
| 2026 | Finding Harry: The Craft Behind The Magic | Himself | TV | — | 80 |
| 2026 | Giant | Roald Dahl | Film | — | 80 |
| 2025 | Dexter: Resurrection | Arthur Mitchell | TV | 8.6 | 79 |
| 2025 | SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night | Self | TV | 8.0 | 79 |
| 2025 | The Rule of Jenny Pen | Dave Crealy | Film | 6.2 | 79 |
| 2025 | The Rule of Jenny Pen | Film | 6.2 | 79 | |
| 2024 | Conclave | Tremblay | Film | 7.2 | 78 |
| 2024 | Spellbound | Bolinar (voice) | Film | 6.6 | 78 |
| 2024 | Cabrini | Mayor Gould | Film | 7.7 | 78 |
| 2024 | Art Happens Here with John Lithgow | Self | Film | — | 78 |
| 2024 | Art Happens Here with John Lithgow | Film | — | 78 | |
| 2023 | Killers of the Flower Moon | Prosecutor Peter Leaward | Film | 7.4 | 77 |
| 2023 | Sharper | Richard Hobbes | Film | 6.9 | 77 |
| 2023 | Liv Ullmann: A Road Less Travelled | Self | TV | 7.7 | 77 |
| 2023 | Dick Van Dyke: 98 Years of Magic | Self | Film | 7.0 | 77 |
| 2022 | Sherri | Self - Guest | TV | 2.6 | 76 |
| 2022 | The Old Man | Harold Harper | TV | 7.2 | 76 |
| 2022 | Black Tar | Dale Kemp | TV | — | 76 |
| 2022 | The Bubble | Tom the Studio Chairman | Film | 4.6 | 76 |
| 2022 | Chez Bob | Film | — | 76 | |
| 2021 | Dexter: New Blood | Arthur Mitchell | TV | 7.9 | 75 |
| 2021 | Show of Titles | "There's No Business Like Show Business" Performer | Film | — | 75 |
| 2021 | Emily @ the Edge of Chaos | Sir Isaac Newton (voice) | Film | — | 75 |
| 2021 | Live in Front of a Studio Audience: The Facts of Life and Diff'rent Strokes | Philip Drummond | Film | 7.5 | 75 |
| 2021 | Myths and Hymns | Film | — | 75 | |
| 2020 | Stars in the House | Self - Special Guest | TV | — | 74 |
| 2020 | Perry Mason | Elias Birchard 'E.B.' Jonathan | TV | 7.2 | 74 |
| 2020 | Give My Regards to Broadway | Self | Film | — | 74 |
| 2019 | The Kelly Clarkson Show | Self | TV | 6.3 | 73 |
| 2019 | Pet Sematary | Jud Crandall | Film | 5.7 | 73 |
| 2019 | Bombshell | Roger Ailes | Film | 6.8 | 73 |
| 2019 | Late Night | Walter Lovell | Film | 6.4 | 73 |
| 2019 | The Tomorrow Man | Ed Hemsler | Film | 5.7 | 73 |
| 2019 | On Broadway | Self | Film | 8.7 | 73 |
| 2019 | The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts | President Donald J. Trump | Film | 7.6 | 73 |
| 2018 | Firing Line with Margaret Hoover | TV | 8.0 | 72 | |
| 2018 | The Great Celebrity Bake Off for Stand Up To Cancer | Self - Guest | TV | 7.1 | 72 |
| 2018 | James Cameron's Story of Science Fiction | Self | TV | 6.9 | 72 |
| 2018 | Mister Rogers: It's You I Like | Self | Film | 7.9 | 72 |
| 2018 | Pet Sematary: The Tale of Timmy Baterman | Jud Crandall | Film | 7.0 | 72 |
| 2017 | Trial & Error | Larry Henderson | TV | 7.0 | 71 |
| 2017 | Daddy's Home 2 | Don | Film | 6.3 | 71 |
| 2017 | Pitch Perfect 3 | Fergus | Film | 6.5 | 71 |
| 2017 | Beatriz at Dinner | Doug Strutt | Film | 5.8 | 71 |
| 2017 | The Pulitzer At 100 | Self | Film | 6.0 | 71 |
| 2017 | Hickory Dickory Doc | Himself | Film | — | 71 |
| 2017 | They All Saw a Cat | Film | — | 71 | |
| 2016 | The Crown | Winston Churchill | TV | 8.2 | 70 |
| 2016 | The Accountant | Lamar Blackburn | Film | 7.1 | 70 |
| 2016 | Miss Sloane | Senator Ronald Sperling | Film | 7.4 | 70 |
| 2016 | Shakespeare Live! From the RSC | Self - Performer | Film | 7.2 | 70 |
| 2016 | Ode to Joy: Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 | Narrator | Film | — | 70 |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Self - Guest | TV | 6.1 | 69 |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | TV | 6.1 | 69 | |
| 2015 | The Late Show with Stephen Colbert | Self | TV | 6.1 | 69 |
| 2015 | The Late Late Show with James Corden | Self - Guest | TV | 5.1 | 69 |
| 2015 | Close Up with The Hollywood Reporter | Self | TV | 6.2 | 69 |
| 2015 | Inside 'Interstellar' | Self | Film | 6.9 | 69 |
| 2015 | Best of Enemies | Voice of Gore Vidal | Film | 7.2 | 69 |
| 2015 | Lord John | Film | — | 69 | |
| 2015 | Projections of America | Self - Narrator (voice) | Film | 5.0 | 69 |
| 2014 | The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon | Self - Guest | TV | 5.8 | 68 |
| 2014 | Late Night with Seth Meyers | Self | TV | 5.1 | 68 |
| 2014 | Interstellar | Donald | Film | 8.5 | 68 |
| 2014 | Variety Studio: Actors on Actors | Self | TV | 4.2 | 68 |
| 2014 | The Homesman | Reverend Alfred Dowd | Film | 6.5 | 68 |
| 2014 | The Roosevelts: An Intimate History | James Roosevelt (voice) | TV | 7.7 | 68 |
| 2014 | 9 Kisses | Man in Club | Film | 5.5 | 68 |
| 2014 | Love Is Strange | Ben | Film | 6.3 | 68 |
| 2014 | The Jungle Bunch 2: The Great Treasure Quest | Maurice (voice) | Film | 5.7 | 68 |
| 2013 | Once Upon a Time in Wonderland | The White Rabbit (voice) | TV | 6.8 | 67 |
| 2013 | Timms Valley | Ol' Gregory Timms | Film | 6.2 | 67 |
| 2013 | Shrek Stories | Lord Farquaad (voice) | Film | 8.1 | 67 |
| 2013 | Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love | Self | Film | 9.0 | 67 |
| 2013 | National Theatre Live: The Magistrate | Posket | Film | 6.0 | 67 |
| 2012 | Finding Your Roots | Self | TV | 6.5 | 66 |
| 2012 | The Campaign | Glen Motch | Film | 5.8 | 66 |
| 2012 | This Is 40 | Oliver | Film | 5.9 | 66 |
| 2012 | Casting By | Self | Film | 6.9 | 66 |
| 2011 | Rise of the Planet of the Apes | Charles Rodman | Film | 7.3 | 65 |
| 2011 | New Year's Eve | Jonathan Cox (uncredited) | Film | 5.9 | 65 |
| 2011 | Prohibition | Reader / H.L. Mencken (voice) | TV | 7.9 | 65 |
| 2011 | Shrek: Once Upon a Time | Self | Film | 7.5 | 65 |
| 2010 | Conan | Self | TV | 7.2 | 64 |
| 2010 | Leap Year | Jack Brady | Film | 6.9 | 64 |
| 2009 | Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen | Self - Guest | TV | 5.0 | 63 |
| 2009 | Confessions of a Shopaholic | Edgar West | Film | 6.5 | 63 |
| 2009 | The Macabre World of Lavender Williams | God | Film | 4.7 | 63 |
| 2009 | Miracle in a Box: A Piano Reborn | Narrator | Film | — | 63 |
| 2008 | Car of the Future | Narrator | Film | 6.0 | 62 |
| 2007 | The Graham Norton Show | Self | TV | 7.2 | 61 |
| 2007 | ShowBusiness: The Road to Broadway | Self | Film | 7.2 | 61 |
| 2006 | Dexter | Arthur Mitchell | TV | 8.2 | 60 |
| 2006 | The One Show | Self | TV | 4.4 | 60 |
| 2006 | 30 Rock | John Lithgow | TV | 7.5 | 60 |
| 2006 | Dreamgirls | Jerry Harris | Film | 6.7 | 60 |
| 2006 | Twenty Good Years | John Mason | TV | 8.5 | 60 |
| 2006 | Sangre | Cafe chef and owner | Film | — | 60 |
| 2006 | The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays | René Gallimard (segment "M. Butterfly") | Film | — | 60 |
| 2006 | The Great Robot Race: The DARPA Grand Challenge | Narrator | Film | — | 60 |
| 2005 | The Colbert Report | TV | 6.9 | 59 | |
| 2005 | How I Met Your Mother | Jerry Whittaker | TV | 8.1 | 59 |
| 2005 | Einstein's Big Idea | Narrator (voice) U.S. edition | Film | 7.3 | 59 |
| 2005 | The Apprentice: Martha Stewart | TV | 10.0 | 59 | |
| 2004 | The Tony Danza Show | Self | TV | 6.4 | 58 |
| 2004 | Shrek 3-D | Ghost of Farquaad (voice) | Film | 6.0 | 58 |
| 2004 | Kinsey | Alfred Seguine Kinsey | Film | 6.6 | 58 |
| 2004 | Footloose: A Modern Musical | Self | Film | — | 58 |
| 2004 | Footloose: A Modern Musical | Film | — | 58 | |
| 2004 | The Life and Death of Peter Sellers | Blake Edwards | Film | 6.6 | 58 |
| 2004 | Dogs and More Dogs | Narrator | Film | 5.2 | 58 |
| 2003 | Jimmy Kimmel Live! | Self - Guest | TV | 5.3 | 57 |
| 2003 | DreamWorks 6 Spooky Stories Collection | Ghost of Farquaad (voice) | TV | 7.0 | 57 |
| 2003 | VH1 Goes Inside | TV | 8.5 | 57 | |
| 2003 | Bark, George | Film | — | 57 | |
| 2002 | Live from E! | Self | TV | 3.7 | 56 |
| 2002 | Orange County | Bud Brumder | Film | 6.0 | 56 |
| 2002 | Buckaroo Banzai Declassified | Self | Film | 8.5 | 56 |
| 2001 | Shrek | Lord Farquaad (voice) | Film | 7.8 | 55 |
| 2001 | Shrek in the Swamp Karaoke Dance Party | Lord Farquaad (singing voice) | Film | 6.3 | 55 |
| 2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Jean-Claude (voice) | Film | 6.7 | 54 |
| 2000 | Don Quixote | Don Quixote de La Mancha / Alonso Quixano | Film | 6.3 | 54 |
| 2000 | Don Quixote | Film | 6.3 | 54 | |
| 2000 | 95 Worlds and Counting | Narrator | Film | 7.0 | 54 |
| 1999 | The Early Show | Self | TV | 6.3 | 53 |
| 1999 | Tales from the Crypt: The Robert Zemeckis Collection | Dr. Oscar Charles | Film | 8.7 | 53 |
| 1998 | A Civil Action | Judge Walter J. Skinner | Film | 6.5 | 52 |
| 1998 | Homegrown | Malcolm / Robert Stockman | Film | 5.6 | 52 |
| 1998 | Johnny Skidmarks | Sergeant Larry Skovik | Film | 5.5 | 52 |
| 1997 | The View | Self | TV | 4.3 | 51 |
| 1997 | The View | Self - Guest | TV | 4.3 | 51 |
| 1997 | Officer Buckle and Gloria | Narrator (voice) | Film | 8.5 | 51 |
| 1996 | The Daily Show | Self | TV | 6.4 | 50 |
| 1996 | 3rd Rock from the Sun | Dick Solomon | TV | 7.5 | 50 |
| 1996 | Cosby | John Lithgow | TV | 6.0 | 50 |
| 1996 | The Rosie O'Donnell Show | Self - Guest | TV | 4.1 | 50 |
| 1996 | The West | Self | TV | 8.4 | 50 |
| 1996 | The West | Self / Uriah Oblinger (voice) | TV | 8.4 | 50 |
| 1996 | Hollow Point | Thomas Livingston | Film | 5.3 | 50 |
| 1996 | Special Effects: Anything Can Happen | Narrator | Film | 10.0 | 50 |
| 1995 | Redwood Curtain | Laird Riordan | Film | 6.5 | 49 |
| 1995 | The Tuskegee Airmen | Senator Conyers | Film | 7.1 | 49 |
| 1995 | My Brother's Keeper | Tom Bradley / Bob Bradley | Film | 1.0 | 49 |
| 1994 | American Cinema | Self - Host | TV | 8.3 | 48 |
| 1994 | Princess Caraboo | Professor Wilkinson | Film | 5.5 | 48 |
| 1994 | A Good Man in Africa | Arthur Fanshawe, British High Commissioner | Film | 4.9 | 48 |
| 1994 | World War II: When Lions Roared | Franklin Delano Roosevelt | TV | 6.8 | 48 |
| 1994 | Silent Fall | Dr. Rene Harlinger | Film | 5.3 | 48 |
| 1994 | Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects | Self | Film | 9.0 | 48 |
| 1993 | Frasier | Madman Martinez (voice) | TV | 7.7 | 47 |
| 1993 | Late Night with Conan O'Brien | Self - Guest | TV | 7.3 | 47 |
| 1993 | Cliffhanger | Qualen | Film | 6.5 | 47 |
| 1993 | The Pelican Brief | Smith Keen | Film | 6.6 | 47 |
| 1993 | Love, Cheat & Steal | Paul Harrington | Film | 4.5 | 47 |
| 1993 | The Wrong Man | Phillip Mills | Film | 5.1 | 47 |
| 1993 | Sylvester and the Magic Pebble | Narrator | Film | 10.0 | 47 |
| 1993 | The Country Mouse & the City Mouse: A Christmas Tale | Alexander (voice) | Film | 8.0 | 47 |
| 1992 | Raising Cain | Carter Nix / Cain / Dr. Nix / Josh / Margo | Film | 6.1 | 46 |
| 1991 | Ricochet | Earl Talbott Blake | Film | 6.1 | 45 |
| 1991 | The Boys | Artie Margulies | Film | 7.0 | 45 |
| 1991 | At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Leslie Huben | Film | 6.5 | 45 |
| 1990 | Memphis Belle | Bruce Derringer | Film | 6.8 | 44 |
| 1990 | Night of 100 Stars III | Self | Film | 4.0 | 44 |
| 1990 | Amazing Stories: The Movie II | John Walters (archive footage) | Film | — | 44 |
| 1990 | Happy Birthday, Bugs! 50 Looney Years | Self | Film | 7.2 | 44 |
| 1990 | Ivory Hunters | Robert Carter | Film | 4.9 | 44 |
| 1990 | John Lithgow's Kid-Sized Concert | Film | 5.0 | 44 | |
| 1989 | The Simpsons | Gus (voice) | TV | 8.0 | 43 |
| 1989 | The Simpsons | John Lithgow (voice) | TV | 8.0 | 43 |
| 1989 | Tales from the Crypt | Dr. Oscar Charles | TV | 8.0 | 43 |
| 1989 | Traveling Man | Ben Cluett | Film | 4.0 | 43 |
| 1989 | Out Cold | Dave | Film | 5.9 | 43 |
| 1988 | Distant Thunder | Mark Lambert | Film | 5.8 | 42 |
| 1987 | Harry and the Hendersons | George Henderson | Film | 6.1 | 41 |
| 1987 | Baby Girl Scott | Neil Scott | Film | 7.5 | 41 |
| 1987 | The Amazing Bone | Narrator | Film | — | 41 |
| 1986 | Resting Place | Maj. Kendall Laird | Film | 6.3 | 40 |
| 1986 | The Manhattan Project | John Mathewson | Film | 6.2 | 40 |
| 1985 | Amazing Stories | John Walters | TV | 7.5 | 39 |
| 1985 | Santa Claus: The Movie | B.Z. | Film | 6.3 | 39 |
| 1985 | Mesmerized | Oliver Thompson | Film | 4.8 | 39 |
| 1985 | Santa Claus: The Making of the Movie | Self | Film | 5.4 | 39 |
| 1984 | 2010 | Dr. Walter Curnow | Film | 6.7 | 38 |
| 1984 | Footloose | Rev. Shaw Moore | Film | 6.7 | 38 |
| 1984 | The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension | Lord John Whorfin | Film | 6.0 | 38 |
| 1984 | The Glitter Dome | Sgt. Marty Wellborn | Film | 4.5 | 38 |
| 1984 | 2010 : The Odyssey Continues | Himself | Film | 10.0 | 38 |
| 1984 | Goldilocks and the Three Bears | Goldilocks' Father | Film | 6.7 | 38 |
| 1983 | Terms of Endearment | Sam Burns | Film | 7.1 | 37 |
| 1983 | Twilight Zone: The Movie | Valentine | Film | 6.5 | 37 |
| 1983 | The Day After | Joe Huxley | Film | 6.8 | 37 |
| 1982 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Goldilocks' Father | TV | 8.1 | 36 |
| 1982 | The World According to Garp | Roberta Muldoon | Film | 6.7 | 36 |
| 1982 | I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can | Mr. Brunner | Film | 7.3 | 36 |
| 1982 | Not in Front of the Children | Richard Carruthers | Film | 7.5 | 36 |
| 1981 | Blow Out | Burke | Film | 7.4 | 35 |
| 1980 | Big Blonde | Herbie Morse | Film | 6.0 | 34 |
| 1980 | Mom, the Wolfman and Me | Wally | Film | 7.0 | 34 |
| 1980 | The Oldest Living Graduate | Clarence | Film | 4.0 | 34 |
| 1979 | All That Jazz | Lucas Sergeant | Film | 7.5 | 33 |
| 1979 | Rich Kids | Paul Philips | Film | 4.9 | 33 |
| 1978 | The Big Fix | Sam Sebastian | Film | 5.8 | 32 |
| 1977 | Secret Service | Capt. Thorne | Film | 9.0 | 31 |
| 1976 | Obsession | Robert Lasalle | Film | 6.7 | 30 |
| 1975 | Saturday Night Live | Self - Host | TV | 6.9 | 29 |
| 1974 | NOVA | Narrator | TV | 7.0 | 28 |
| 1974 | The Country Girl | Paul Unger | Film | 10.0 | 28 |
| 1972 | Dealing: Or the Berkeley-to-Boston Forty-Brick Lost-Bag Blues | John | Film | 5.3 | 26 |
| 1971 | Great Performances | Capt. Thorne | TV | 6.1 | 25 |
| 1971 | Film '72 | Self | TV | 4.7 | 25 |
| 1962 | The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson | Self | TV | 7.5 | 16 |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Winner | TV | — | 10 |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Nominee | TV | — | 10 |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Presenter | TV | — | 10 |
| 1956 | Tony Awards | Self - Nominee / Performer | TV | — | 10 |
| 1953 | The Oscars | Self - Presenter | TV | 7.0 | 7 |
| 1952 | Today | Self | TV | 5.6 | 6 |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Paul Unger | TV | 8.8 | 5 |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Major Kendall Laird | TV | 8.8 | 5 |
| 1951 | Hallmark Hall of Fame | Laird Riordan | TV | 8.8 | 5 |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Nominee | TV | 7.1 | 1 |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Presenter | TV | 7.1 | 1 |
| 1944 | Golden Globe Awards | Self - Winner | TV | 7.1 | 1 |
| Broadway: The Next Generation | Self | Film | — | — | |
| Stallone on the Edge: The Making of Cliffhanger | Self | Film | — | — |