David Thewlis

Acting

David Thewlis

Born March 20, 1963Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK118 credits

David Wheeler (born March 20, 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

Filmography

Dirty Business
2026Dirty Business
as Ash SmithTV
The Thing with Feathers
2025The Thing with Feathers
as Crow (voice)Movie
Sherlock & Daughter
2025Sherlock & Daughter
as Sherlock HolmesTV
KAOS
2024KAOS
as HadesTV
The Artful Dodger
2023The Artful Dodger
as Norbert FaginTV
The Amazing Maurice
2022The Amazing Maurice
as Boss Man / Rat King (voice)Movie
Enola Holmes 2
2022Enola Holmes 2
as GrailMovie
The Sandman
2022The Sandman
as John DeeTV
Human Resources
2022Human Resources
as Memory Bank Manager (voice)TV
Landscapers
2021Landscapers
as Christopher EdwardsTV
Rare Beasts
2021Rare Beasts
as VicMovie
Eternal Beauty
2020Eternal Beauty
as MikeMovie
Barkskins
2020Barkskins
as Claude TrepagnyTV
The Feed
2019The Feed
as Lawrence HatfieldTV
The Mercy
2018The Mercy
as Rodney HallworthMovie
Justice League
2017Justice League
as AresMovie
Big Mouth
2017Big Mouth
as Shame Wizard (voice)TV
Wonder Woman
2017Wonder Woman
as Sir Patrick / AresMovie
Anomalisa
2015Anomalisa
as Michael Stone (voice)Movie
Regression
2015Regression
as Professor Kenneth RainesMovie
Macbeth
2015Macbeth
as DuncanMovie
An Inspector Calls
2015An Inspector Calls
as Inspector Goole - The InspectorMovie
Legend
2015Legend
as Leslie PayneMovie
Queen & Country
2015Queen & Country
as Sargeant Major BradleyMovie
The Theory of Everything
2014The Theory of Everything
as Dennis SciamaMovie
Stonehearst Asylum
2014Stonehearst Asylum
as Mickey FinnMovie
Fargo
2014Fargo
as V.M. VargasTV
S
2014Sunday Roast
as Dick PuckMovie
The Fifth Estate
2013The Fifth Estate
as Nick DaviesMovie
RED 2
2013RED 2
as The FrogMovie
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
as (archive footage)Movie
War Horse
2011War Horse
as LyonsMovie
The Lady
2011The Lady
as Michael ArisMovie
Anonymous
2011Anonymous
as William CecilMovie
The Organ Grinder's Monkey
2011The Organ Grinder's Monkey
as Pablo (voice)Movie
London Boulevard
2010London Boulevard
as JordanMovie
Mr. Nice
2010Mr. Nice
as Jim McCannMovie
Athena
2010Athena
as ChuckMovie
The Omen
2006The Omen
as Keith JenningsMovie
The Street
2006The Street
as Joe Jennerson / Harry JennersonTV
Basic Instinct 2
2006Basic Instinct 2
as Roy WashburnMovie
All the Invisible Children
2006All the Invisible Children
as Jonathan (segment "Jonathan")Movie
The New World
2005The New World
as WingfieldMovie
Kingdom of Heaven
2005Kingdom of Heaven
as HospitalerMovie
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
2003Little Wolf's Book of Badness
as Mr. Twister (voice)Movie
Timeline
2003Timeline
as Robert DonigerMovie
Cheeky
2003Cheeky
as Harry SankeyMovie
D.I.Y. Hard
2002D.I.Y. Hard
as ManMovie
Dinotopia
2002Dinotopia
as Cyrus CrabbTV
Dinotopia
2002Dinotopia
as Cyrus CrabbMovie
Hamilton Mattress
2002Hamilton Mattress
as Hamilton Mattress (voice)Movie
Goodbye Charlie Bright
2001Goodbye Charlie Bright
as Charlie's DadMovie
Endgame
2000Endgame
as ClovMovie
Gangster No. 1
2000Gangster No. 1
as Freddie MaysMovie
The Miracle Maker
2000The Miracle Maker
as Judas Iscariot (voice)Movie
Love Story
1999Love Story
as DealerMovie
Divorcing Jack
1998Divorcing Jack
as Dan StarkeyMovie
The Big Lebowski
1998The Big Lebowski
as Knox HarringtonMovie
Besieged
1998Besieged
as Jason KinskyMovie
Seven Years in Tibet
1997Seven Years in Tibet
as Peter AufschnaiterMovie
American Perfekt
1997American Perfekt
as SantiniMovie
DragonHeart
1996DragonHeart
as King EinonMovie
James and the Giant Peach
1996James and the Giant Peach
as Earthworm (voice)Movie
Restoration
1995Restoration
as John PearceMovie
Total Eclipse
1995Total Eclipse
as Paul VerlaineMovie
Dandelion Dead
1994Dandelion Dead
as Oswald MartinTV
Black Beauty
1994Black Beauty
as Jerry BarkerMovie
Naked
1993Naked
as JohnnyMovie
The Trial
1993The Trial
as FranzMovie
Damage
1992Damage
as DetectiveMovie
B
1992Black and Blue
as Crematorium AttendantMovie
Afraid of the Dark
1991Afraid of the Dark
as Locksmith / Tom MillerMovie
Filipina Dreamgirls
1991Filipina Dreamgirls
as Tim ShanksMovie
S
1991Skulduggery
as TonyMovie
Prime Suspect
1991Prime Suspect
as James JacksonTV
Life Is Sweet
1991Life Is Sweet
as Nicola's LoverMovie
Resurrected
1989Resurrected
as Kevin DeakinMovie
Vroom
1988Vroom
as RingeMovie
Little Dorrit
1987Little Dorrit
as George BraddleMovie
Road
1987Road
as JoeyMovie
Radio Pictures
1985Radio Pictures
as JIM 'Grams'Movie
Screen Two
1985Screen Two
as FranzTV