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David Thewlis

David Thewlis

Acting

Born: March 20, 1963Blackpool, Lancashire, England, UK

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

Signal One

2026
Avatar: Fire and Ash

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Peylak

2025
The Thing with Feathers

The Thing with Feathers

Crow (voice)

2025
The Amazing Maurice

The Amazing Maurice

Boss Man / Rat King (voice)

2022
Enola Holmes 2

Enola Holmes 2

Grail

2022
Rare Beasts

Rare Beasts

Vic

2021
Zack Snyder's Justice League

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Ares

2021
I'm Thinking of Ending Things

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

Father

2020
Eternal Beauty

Eternal Beauty

Mike

2020
Guest of Honour

Guest of Honour

Jim

2020
Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal

Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal

Self (archive footage)

2018
The Mercy

The Mercy

Rodney Hallworth

2018
Justice League

Justice League

Ares

2017
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic

Himself

2017
Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

Sir Patrick / Ares

2017
None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa

None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa

Self

2016
Anomalisa

Anomalisa

Michael Stone (voice)

2015
Regression

Regression

Professor Kenneth Raines

2015
Macbeth

Macbeth

Duncan

2015
An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls

Inspector Goole - The Inspector

2015
Legend

Legend

Leslie Payne

2015
Queen & Country

Queen & Country

Sargeant Major Bradley

2015
The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything

Dennis Sciama

2014
Stonehearst Asylum

Stonehearst Asylum

Mickey Finn

2014

Sunday Roast

Dick Puck

2014
Separate We Come, Separate We Go

Separate We Come, Separate We Go

Norman

2013
The Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate

Nick Davies

2013
The Zero Theorem

The Zero Theorem

Joby

2013
RED 2

RED 2

The Frog

2013
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

(archive footage)

2012
War Horse

War Horse

Lyons

2011
The Lady

The Lady

Michael Aris

2011
Anonymous

Anonymous

William Cecil

2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Remus Lupin

2011
The Organ Grinder's Monkey

The Organ Grinder's Monkey

Pablo (voice)

2011
How to Get a Head in Sculpture

How to Get a Head in Sculpture

Self

2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Remus Lupin

2010
London Boulevard

London Boulevard

Jordan

2010
Mr. Nice

Mr. Nice

Jim McCann

2010
Athena

Athena

Chuck

2010
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Remus Lupin

2009
Veronika Decides to Die

Veronika Decides to Die

Dr. Blake

2009
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

Father

2008
The Inner Life of Martin Frost

The Inner Life of Martin Frost

Martin Frost

2007
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Remus Lupin

2007
The Omen

The Omen

Keith Jennings

2006
Basic Instinct 2

Basic Instinct 2

Roy Washburn

2006
All the Invisible Children

All the Invisible Children

Jonathan (segment "Jonathan")

2006
The New World

The New World

Wingfield

2005
Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven

Hospitaler

2005
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

Self

2004
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Remus Lupin

2004
Little Wolf's Book of Badness

Little Wolf's Book of Badness

Mr. Twister (voice)

2003
Timeline

Timeline

Robert Doniger

2003
Cheeky

Cheeky

Harry Sankey

2003
D.I.Y. Hard

D.I.Y. Hard

Man

2002
Discovering Dinotopia

Discovering Dinotopia

Cyrus

2002
Dinotopia

Dinotopia

Cyrus Crabb

2002
Hamilton Mattress

Hamilton Mattress

Hamilton Mattress (voice)

2002
Goodbye Charlie Bright

Goodbye Charlie Bright

Charlie's Dad

2001
Endgame

Endgame

Clov

2000
Gangster No. 1

Gangster No. 1

Freddie Mays

2000
The Miracle Maker

The Miracle Maker

Judas Iscariot (voice)

2000
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Nesbit

2000
Love Story

Love Story

Dealer

1999
Divorcing Jack

Divorcing Jack

Dan Starkey

1998
The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski

Knox Harrington

1998
Besieged

Besieged

Jason Kinsky

1998
Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet

Peter Aufschnaiter

1997
American Perfekt

American Perfekt

Santini

1997
The Making of 'DragonHeart'

The Making of 'DragonHeart'

Self

1997
The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau

Douglas

1996
DragonHeart

DragonHeart

King Einon

1996
James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach

Earthworm (voice)

1996
Restoration

Restoration

John Pearce

1995
Total Eclipse

Total Eclipse

Paul Verlaine

1995
Dreamtown: A Brief Anatomy of Blackpool

Dreamtown: A Brief Anatomy of Blackpool

Self

1994
Black Beauty

Black Beauty

Jerry Barker

1994
Naked

Naked

Johnny

1993
The Trial

The Trial

Franz

1993
Damage

Damage

Detective

1992

Black and Blue

Crematorium Attendant

1992
Swords at Teatime

Swords at Teatime

Mike

1992
Afraid of the Dark

Afraid of the Dark

Locksmith / Tom Miller

1991

Journey to Knock

Terry

1991
Filipina Dreamgirls

Filipina Dreamgirls

Tim Shanks

1991

Skulduggery

Tony

1991
Life Is Sweet

Life Is Sweet

Nicola's Lover

1990
Resurrected

Resurrected

Kevin Deakin

1989
Vroom

Vroom

Ringe

1988
Deep Red Instant Love

Deep Red Instant Love

1988
Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit

George Braddle

1987
The Short & Curlies

The Short & Curlies

Clive

1987
Road

Road

Joey

1987
Radio Pictures

Radio Pictures

JIM 'Grams'

1985