About
David Thewlis
Overview
David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis, is an English actor and filmmaker. He is known as a character actor and has appeared in a wide variety of genres in both film and television. He has received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor and nominations for two BAFTA Awards, Golden Globe Award, Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.
Thewlis made his film debut in Little Dorrit (1987) and acted in the Mike Leigh films Life is Sweet (1990) and Naked (1993), winning the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actor for the latter. He then appeared in films such as Black Beauty (1994), Restoration (1995), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Dragonheart (1996), and Seven Years in Tibet (1997). He became more widely known to film audiences for his roles as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter franchise (2004–2011) and Ares / Sir Patrick Morgan in Wonder Woman (2017). Other film roles include Kingdom of Heaven (2005), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), War Horse (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), Anomalisa (2015), I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), and Enola Holmes 2 (2022).
Thewlis' most notable television roles include V. M. Varga in the third season of FX's Fargo (2017), the voice of the Shame Wizard in the Netflix animated sitcoms Big Mouth (2017–present) and Human Resources (2022–present), Christopher Edwards in the HBO miniseries Landscapers (2021), and John Dee in the Netflix drama series The Sandman (2022). His performance in Fargo earned him nominations for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Critics' Choice Award.
Known for
Acting |
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2025 | Avatar: Fire and Ash | Actor | Peylak | N/A N/A |
2023 | The Artful Dodger | Actor | Norbert Fagin | 76 Good |
2022 | The Amazing Maurice | Actor | Boss Man / Rat King (voice) | 61 Fair |
2022 | Enola Holmes 2 | Actor | Grail | 69 Fair |
2022 | Human Resources | Actor | Lionel St. Swithens (voice) | 67 Fair |
2021 | Landscapers | Actor | Christopher Edwards | 67 Fair |
2021 | Val | Actor | Self (archive footage) | 61 Fair |
2021 | Rare Beasts | Actor | Vic | 58 Average |
2021 | Zack Snyder's Justice League | Actor | Ares | 79 Good |
2020 | I'm Thinking of Ending Things | Actor | Father | 64 Fair |
2020 | Eternal Beauty | Actor | Mike | 59 Average |
2020 | Guest of Honour | Actor | Jim | 58 Average |
2020 | Barkskins | Actor | Claude Trepagny | 67 Fair |
2019 | The Feed | Actor | Lawrence Hatfield | 69 Fair |
2018 | Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal | Actor | Self (archive footage) | 59 Average |
2018 | The Mercy | Actor | Rodney Hallworth | 58 Average |
2017 | Justice League | Actor | Ares | 60 Fair |
2017 | Harry Potter: A History Of Magic | Actor | Himself | 61 Fair |
2017 | Wonder Woman | Actor | Sir Patrick / Ares | 71 Good |
2016 | None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa | Actor | Self | N/A N/A |
2015 | Anomalisa | Actor | Michael Stone (voice) | 68 Fair |
2015 | Regression | Actor | Professor Kenneth Raines | 56 Average |
2015 | Macbeth | Actor | Duncan | 63 Fair |
2015 | An Inspector Calls | Actor | Inspector Goole - The Inspector | 63 Fair |
2015 | Legend | Actor | Leslie Payne | 69 Fair |
2015 | Queen & Country | Actor | Sargeant Major Bradley | 59 Average |
2014 | The Theory of Everything | Actor | Dennis Sciama | 77 Good |
2014 | Stonehearst Asylum | Actor | Mickey Finn | 65 Fair |
2014 | Sunday Roast | Actor | Dick Puck | N/A N/A |
2013 | Separate We Come, Separate We Go | Actor | Norman | 58 Average |
2013 | The Fifth Estate | Actor | Nick Davies | 59 Average |
2013 | The Zero Theorem | Actor | Joby | 60 Fair |
2013 | RED 2 | Actor | The Frog | 64 Fair |
2012 | Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen | Actor | (archive footage) | 60 Fair |
2011 | War Horse | Actor | Lyons | 71 Good |
2011 | The Lady | Actor | Michael Aris | 62 Fair |
2011 | Anonymous | Actor | William Cecil | 61 Fair |
2011 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 | Actor | Remus Lupin | 80 Very good |
2011 | The Organ Grinder's Monkey | Actor | Pablo (voice) | 59 Average |
2011 | How to Get a Head in Sculpture | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2010 | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 | Actor | Remus Lupin | 77 Good |
2010 | London Boulevard | Actor | Jordan | 58 Average |
2010 | Mr. Nice | Actor | Jim McCann | 59 Average |
2010 | Athena | Actor | Chuck | N/A N/A |
2009 | Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince | Actor | Remus Lupin | 76 Good |
2009 | Veronika Decides to Die | Actor | Dr. Blake | 58 Average |
2008 | The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas | Actor | Father | 77 Good |
2007 | The Inner Life of Martin Frost | Actor | Martin Frost | 58 Average |
2007 | Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix | Actor | Remus Lupin | 76 Good |
2006 | The Omen | Actor | Keith Jennings | 56 Average |
2006 | Basic Instinct 2 | Actor | Roy Washburn | 53 Average |
2005 | The New World | Actor | Wingfield | 63 Fair |
2005 | All the Invisible Children | Actor | Jonathan (segment "Jonathan") | 60 Fair |
2005 | Kingdom of Heaven | Actor | Hospitaler | 68 Fair |
2004 | The Magic Touch of Harry Potter | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
2004 | Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban | Actor | Remus Lupin | 79 Good |
2003 | Little Wolf's Book of Badness | Actor | Mr. Twister (voice) | 59 Average |
2003 | Timeline | Actor | Robert Doniger | 57 Average |
2003 | Cheeky | Actor | Harry Sankey | 59 Average |
2002 | D.I.Y. Hard | Actor | Man | 59 Average |
2002 | Dinotopia | Actor | Cyrus Crabb | 65 Fair |
2002 | Dinotopia | Actor | Cyrus Crabb | 58 Average |
2002 | Hamilton Mattress | Actor | Hamilton Mattress (voice) | 58 Average |
2001 | Goodbye Charlie Bright | Actor | Charlie's Dad | 59 Average |
2000 | Endgame | Actor | Clov | 59 Average |
2000 | Gangster No. 1 | Actor | Freddie Mays | 60 Fair |
2000 | The Miracle Maker | Actor | Judas Iscariot (voice) | 59 Average |
2000 | Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? | Actor | Nesbit | 59 Average |
1999 | Love Story | Actor | Dealer | N/A N/A |
1998 | Divorcing Jack | Actor | Dan Starkey | 59 Average |
1998 | The Big Lebowski | Actor | Knox Harrington | 77 Good |
1998 | Besieged | Actor | Jason Kinsky | 59 Average |
1997 | Seven Years in Tibet | Actor | Peter Aufschnaiter | 69 Fair |
1997 | American Perfekt | Actor | Santini | 59 Average |
1997 | The Making of 'DragonHeart' | Actor | Self | 59 Average |
1996 | The Island of Dr. Moreau | Actor | Douglas | 53 Average |
1996 | DragonHeart | Actor | King Einon | 63 Fair |
1996 | James and the Giant Peach | Actor | Earthworm (voice) | 63 Fair |
1995 | Restoration | Actor | John Pearce | 59 Average |
1995 | Total Eclipse | Actor | Paul Verlaine | 61 Fair |
1994 | Dandelion Dead | Actor | Oswald Martin | 69 Fair |
1994 | Black Beauty | Actor | Jerry Barker | 62 Fair |
1993 | Naked | Actor | Johnny | 66 Fair |
1993 | The Trial | Actor | Franz | 58 Average |
1992 | Damage | Actor | Detective | 62 Fair |
1992 | Black and Blue | Actor | Crematorium Attendant | N/A N/A |
1992 | Swords at Teatime | Actor | Mike | N/A N/A |
1991 | Afraid of the Dark | Actor | Locksmith / Tom Miller | 58 Average |
1991 | Journey to Knock | Actor | Terry | N/A N/A |
1991 | Filipina Dreamgirls | Actor | Tim Shanks | 59 Average |
1991 | Skulduggery | Actor | Tony | N/A N/A |
1990 | Life Is Sweet | Actor | Nicola's Lover | 61 Fair |
1990 | Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit | Actor | Doctor | 69 Fair |
1989 | Resurrected | Actor | Kevin Deakin | 58 Average |
1989 | A Bit of a Do | Actor | 70 Good |
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1988 | Vroom | Actor | Ringe | 59 Average |
1988 | Deep Red Instant Love | Actor | N/A N/A |
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1987 | Little Dorrit | Actor | George Braddle | 59 Average |
1987 | The Short & Curlies | Actor | Clive | 59 Average |
1987 | Road | Actor | Joey | 59 Average |
1987 | Valentine Park | Actor | Max | N/A N/A |
1986 | The Singing Detective | Actor | Second Soldier | 72 Good |
Littlemouth | Actor | N/A N/A |
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Sherlock & Daughter | Actor | Sherlock Holmes | N/A N/A |
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Directing |
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2003 | Cheeky | Directing | Director | 59 Average |
1995 | Hello, Hello, Hello | Directing | Director | 58 Average |
Writing |
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2014 | Sunday Roast | Writing | Writer | N/A N/A |
2003 | Cheeky | Writing | Writer | 59 Average |
1995 | Hello, Hello, Hello | Writing | Writer | 58 Average |