If "born to the theater" has meaning in determining a person's life path, then John Lithgow is a prime example of this truth. Son of a retired actress and a father who was both a theatrical producer and director, he moved frequently as a child while his father founded and managed local and college theaters and Shakespeare festivals throughout the midwest of the United States. Not until he was 16, and his father became head of the McCarter Theater in Princeton New Jersey, did the family settle down. But for John, the theater was still not a career. He won a scholarship to Harvard University, where he finally caught the acting bug (as well as found a wife). Harvard was followed by a Fulbright scholarship to study at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Returning from London, his rigorous dramatic training stood him in good stead, and a distinguished career on Broadway gave him one Tony award for "The Changing Room", a second nomination in 1985 for "Requiem for a Heavyweight", and a third in 1988 for "M. Butterfly". But with critical acclaim came personal confusion, and in the mid '70s he and his wife divorced. He entered therapy, and in 1982 his life started in a new direction, the movies - he received an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of Roberta Muldoon in The World According to Garp. A second Oscar nomination followed for Terms of Endearment, and he met a UCLA economics professor who became his second wife. As the decade of the '90s came around he found that he was spending too much time on location, and another career move brought him to television in the hugely successful series 3rd Rock from the Sun. This production also played a role in bringing him back together with the son from his first marriage, Ian Lithgow, who has a regular role in the series as a dim-witted student.


Graduated from Princeton High School, Princeton, NJ. Studied at London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. Father of Ian Lithgow. Claims that his most difficult performance was in Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) because he had to portray fear of the monster, although he couldn't really see it. Was considered for the role of Hannibal Lector in The Silence of the Lambs (1991). Wife Mary is economics professor at UCLA. Parents are Sarah Jane Price (b. 1917) and theater director/producer Arthur Lithgow (1915-2004). Was considered for the role of Doc Brown in Back to the Future (1985). The role went to Christopher Lloyd instead. Has won two Tony Awards: in 1973, as Best Supporting or Featured Actor (Dramatic) for David Storey's "The Changing Room"; and in 2002, as Best Actor (Musical) for "Sweet Smell of Success." He has also been nominated on three occasions for Tonys -- two for Best Actor (Play): for "Requiem for a Heavyweight" (1985) and "M. Butterfly." (1988), and once for Best Actor (Musical): for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" (2005). Three of his non-film roles have been based on movies involving Frank Oz and Ian McDiarmid. Most of Oz's and McDiarmid's collaborations are the Star Wars films, in which they play Yoda and Darth Sidious, respectively. Lithgow played Yoda on the radio. Oz also directed McDiarmid in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988). Lithgow appeared in the stage musical. Is member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences (AMPAS). Is an accomplished guitar player. Lives in Los Angeles, California.