10 Underrated Films by Bill Nighy You Cannot Miss

Bill Nighy tends to glide through scenes rather than dominate them, letting wit, timing, and a sideways glance do the heavy lifting. Because his style is so effortless, some of his most satisfying work slips under the radar—films where he deepens the world around him, turns a supporting role into a small miracle, or anchors a story with quiet gravity.

This countdown gathers a set of under-sung gems that showcase the range behind the trademark deadpan: romance shaded with regret, thrillers cut with compassion, and character pieces that hum with lived-in detail. If you know him only from marquee turns like ‘Love Actually’ or ‘About Time’, these are the performances that reveal just how many colors his palette really has.

10. ‘Still Crazy’ (1998)

Rock comedies can lean on noise and nostalgia, but ‘Still Crazy’ lets its characters grow old with dignity and delusion in equal measure. Nighy’s frontman isn’t a cartoon; he’s a man measuring himself against the echo of past glory, and the result is melancholy wrapped in swagger.

What makes his work here underrated is its generosity. He never hogs the spotlight; he shares it, playing the ego and the insecurity so other characters can bounce off him. The film becomes a warm, ragged ensemble high note rather than a single, blaring riff.

9. ‘I Capture the Castle’ (2003)

Adaptations of beloved novels carry a burden of expectation, and ‘I Capture the Castle’ meets it with delicate assurance. Nighy’s performance adds texture without tipping the tone, threading whimsy with the ache of creative drought.

He’s all unfinished sentences and restless energy, a presence that quietly complicates the family dynamic. Instead of big speeches, he gives you small, revealing gestures—proof that restraint can be as vivid as fireworks.

8. ‘Glorious 39’ (2009)

‘Glorious 39’ braids domestic drama with shadowy intrigue, and Nighy plays calm at the center of gathering storm clouds. His serenity is never bland; it’s strategic, the kind of composure that makes you doubt whether anyone is truly safe.

The film’s pleasures are cumulative, and his scenes are pressure points—soft-spoken, precise, and loaded with implication. You feel the stakes rise whenever he enters, even if the volume never does.

7. ‘Wild Target’ (2010)

As a hitman with manners and mounting complications, Nighy turns ‘Wild Target’ into a droll ballet of near-misses and veiled affections. He walks the razor’s edge between menace and charm, somehow making both seem plausible in the same breath.

The comedy works because he plays it straight. Deadpan becomes its own punchline; elegance curdles into chaos; and you realize how much fun an action farce can be when every choice is executed with gentlemanly precision.

6. ‘Lawless Heart’ (2001)

‘Lawless Heart’ is a mosaic of grief and desire, and Nighy’s contribution is the kind of quiet masterclass that rewards close attention. He doesn’t command the film; he tunes it, giving scenes a human frequency that lingers after the cut.

What’s underrated is the humility of the performance. He yields space to others while still sketching a complete inner life, reminding you that the richest portraits are sometimes drawn in soft pencil, not ink.

5. ‘The Limehouse Golem’ (2016)

Victorian fog, theatrical flourishes, and a detective with more empathy than ego—’The Limehouse Golem’ gives Nighy a mystery that doubles as a study in compassion. He plays curiosity as a moral stance, not just a plot engine.

Even as the film delights in twists and grand guignol textures, his presence keeps it humane. The investigation matters because people matter, and that steady heartbeat under the macabre is his doing.

4. ‘Pride’ (2014)

‘Pride’ is crowd-pleasing without condescension, and Nighy’s underplayed turn is its secret ballast. In a story about solidarity, he embodies quiet courage—the small choices that, together, move mountains.

He rarely raises his voice, yet the performance resonates. A look across a table, a gently comic aside, a hand that steadies rather than steers—these become the film’s moral architecture, built one modest gesture at a time.

3. ‘The Bookshop’ (2017)

In ‘The Bookshop’, Nighy turns reserve into romance. His character’s hesitations feel like a language—pauses that say more than declarations, politeness that shelters longing.

The film’s gentleness can be deceptive; beneath it, he maps a whole coastline of feeling. You sense history, habit, and hope in the space between sentences, and the result is moving without ever pleading to be.

2. ‘Their Finest’ (2016)

‘Their Finest’ treats propaganda as craft and collaboration, and Nighy runs away with every scene without ever breaking the ensemble spell. As an actor within the film’s film, he satirizes vanity while honoring the work.

It’s a high-wire act: self-mockery with a heartbeat. The laughs arrive on schedule, but so does a surprising tenderness, making this one of his most purely enjoyable and quietly affecting turns.

1. ‘Sometimes Always Never’ (2018)

‘Sometimes Always Never’ is the kind of small treasure that can slip past you, and Nighy makes it unmissable. He gives a word-game obsessive the softness of a father and the sharpness of a competitor, knitting whimsy and wound into one lived-in soul.

The performance is a study in negative space—what’s unsaid, undone, unmatched. He leaves room for the viewer to meet him halfway, and that trust pays off in a finale that feels earned, not engineered.

Share your favorite under-the-radar Bill Nighy performances in the comments—what hidden gems did we miss?