David Thewlis
David Thewlis

David Thewlis

Born: March 20, 1963 (63 years)
Blackpool, 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.

Movies Directed (2)
Movies as Actor (96)
Signal One

Signal One

as Perry

Jun 5, 2026

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Avatar: Fire and Ash

as Peylak

Dec 17, 2025

The Thing with Feathers

The Thing with Feathers

as Crow (voice)

Oct 17, 2025

The Amazing Maurice

The Amazing Maurice

as Boss Man / Rat King (voice)

Dec 16, 2022

Enola Holmes 2

Enola Holmes 2

as Grail

Nov 3, 2022

Rare Beasts

Rare Beasts

as Vic

May 21, 2021

Zack Snyder's Justice League

Zack Snyder's Justice League

as Ares

Mar 18, 2021

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

I'm Thinking of Ending Things

as Father

Aug 28, 2020

Eternal Beauty

Eternal Beauty

as Mike

Aug 21, 2020

Guest of Honour

Guest of Honour

as Jim

Jul 9, 2020

Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal

Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal

as Self (archive footage)

Aug 21, 2018

The Mercy

The Mercy

as Rodney Hallworth

Feb 9, 2018

Justice League

Justice League

as Ares

Nov 15, 2017

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic

as Himself

Oct 28, 2017

Wonder Woman

Wonder Woman

as Sir Patrick / Ares

May 30, 2017

None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa

None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa

as Self

Jun 7, 2016

Anomalisa

Anomalisa

as Michael Stone (voice)

Dec 30, 2015

Regression

Regression

as Professor Kenneth Raines

Oct 1, 2015

Macbeth

Macbeth

as Duncan

Sep 22, 2015

An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls

as Inspector Goole - The Inspector

Sep 13, 2015

Legend

Legend

as Leslie Payne

Sep 9, 2015

Queen & Country

Queen & Country

as Sargeant Major Bradley

Jan 7, 2015

The Theory of Everything

The Theory of Everything

as Dennis Sciama

Nov 7, 2014

Stonehearst Asylum

Stonehearst Asylum

as Mickey Finn

Oct 23, 2014

Sunday Roast

Sunday Roast

as Dick Puck

Jan 1, 2014

Separate We Come, Separate We Go

Separate We Come, Separate We Go

as Norman

Oct 25, 2013

The Fifth Estate

The Fifth Estate

as Nick Davies

Oct 11, 2013

The Zero Theorem

The Zero Theorem

as Joby

Sep 20, 2013

RED 2

RED 2

as The Frog

Jul 18, 2013

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen

as (archive footage)

Feb 4, 2012

War Horse

War Horse

as Lyons

Dec 25, 2011

The Lady

The Lady

as Michael Aris

Nov 30, 2011

Anonymous

Anonymous

as William Cecil

Oct 21, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

as Remus Lupin

Jul 12, 2011

The Organ Grinder's Monkey

The Organ Grinder's Monkey

as Pablo (voice)

Jun 6, 2011

How to Get a Head in Sculpture

How to Get a Head in Sculpture

as Self

Feb 23, 2011

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

as Remus Lupin

Nov 17, 2010

London Boulevard

London Boulevard

as Jordan

Nov 10, 2010

Mr. Nice

Mr. Nice

as Jim McCann

Oct 7, 2010

Athena

Athena

as Chuck

Apr 21, 2010

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince

as Remus Lupin

Jul 15, 2009

Veronika Decides to Die

Veronika Decides to Die

as Dr. Blake

May 16, 2009

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

as Father

May 7, 2008

The Inner Life of Martin Frost

The Inner Life of Martin Frost

as Martin Frost

Oct 11, 2007

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

as Remus Lupin

Jul 8, 2007

The Omen

The Omen

as Keith Jennings

Jun 6, 2006

Basic Instinct 2

Basic Instinct 2

as Roy Washburn

Mar 29, 2006

All the Invisible Children

All the Invisible Children

as Jonathan (segment "Jonathan")

Mar 3, 2006

The New World

The New World

as Wingfield

Dec 25, 2005

Kingdom of Heaven

Kingdom of Heaven

as Hospitaler

May 3, 2005

The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

The Magic Touch of Harry Potter

as Self

Jun 11, 2004

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

as Remus Lupin

May 31, 2004

Little Wolf's Book of Badness

Little Wolf's Book of Badness

as Mr. Twister (voice)

Dec 8, 2003

Timeline

Timeline

as Robert Doniger

Nov 26, 2003

Cheeky

Cheeky

as Harry Sankey

Sep 8, 2003

Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film

Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film

as Self - Clov (archive footage)

Feb 5, 2003

D.I.Y. Hard

D.I.Y. Hard

as Man

Sep 30, 2002

Discovering Dinotopia

Discovering Dinotopia

as Cyrus

May 7, 2002

Dinotopia

Dinotopia

as Cyrus Crabb

Feb 12, 2002

Hamilton Mattress

Hamilton Mattress

as Hamilton Mattress (voice)

Jan 1, 2002

Goodbye Charlie Bright

Goodbye Charlie Bright

as Charlie's Dad

May 11, 2001

Endgame

Endgame

as Clov

Sep 10, 2000

Gangster No. 1

Gangster No. 1

as Freddie Mays

Jun 9, 2000

The Miracle Maker

The Miracle Maker

as Judas Iscariot (voice)

Mar 31, 2000

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?

as Nesbit

Mar 10, 2000

Love Story

Love Story

as Dealer

Jan 1, 1999

Divorcing Jack

Divorcing Jack

as Dan Starkey

Oct 1, 1998

The Big Lebowski

The Big Lebowski

as Knox Harrington

Mar 6, 1998

Besieged

Besieged

as Jason Kinsky

Feb 5, 1998

Seven Years in Tibet

Seven Years in Tibet

as Peter Aufschnaiter

Sep 12, 1997

American Perfekt

American Perfekt

as Santini

Jun 11, 1997

The Making of 'DragonHeart'

The Making of 'DragonHeart'

as Self

Jan 14, 1997

The Island of Dr. Moreau

The Island of Dr. Moreau

as Douglas

Aug 23, 1996

DragonHeart

DragonHeart

as King Einon

May 31, 1996

James and the Giant Peach

James and the Giant Peach

as Earthworm (voice)

Apr 12, 1996

Restoration

Restoration

as John Pearce

Dec 29, 1995

Total Eclipse

Total Eclipse

as Paul Verlaine

Nov 3, 1995

Dreamtown: A Brief Anatomy of Blackpool

Dreamtown: A Brief Anatomy of Blackpool

as Self

Aug 29, 1994

Black Beauty

Black Beauty

as Jerry Barker

Jul 29, 1994

Naked

Naked

as Johnny

Aug 6, 1993

The Trial

The Trial

as Franz

Jun 18, 1993

Damage

Damage

as Detective

Dec 2, 1992

Black and Blue

Black and Blue

as Crematorium Attendant

Sep 27, 1992

Swords at Teatime

Swords at Teatime

as Mike

Apr 14, 1992

Afraid of the Dark

Afraid of the Dark

as Locksmith / Tom Miller

Oct 10, 1991

Journey to Knock

Journey to Knock

as Terry

Sep 17, 1991

Filipina Dreamgirls

Filipina Dreamgirls

as Tim Shanks

Sep 15, 1991

Skulduggery

Skulduggery

as Tony

Jun 29, 1991

Life Is Sweet

Life Is Sweet

as Nicola's Lover

Mar 22, 1991

Resurrected

Resurrected

as Kevin Deakin

Mar 12, 1989

Vroom

Vroom

as Ringe

Nov 11, 1988

Deep Red Instant Love

Deep Red Instant Love

Jan 1, 1988

Little Dorrit

Little Dorrit

as George Braddle

Dec 11, 1987

The Short & Curlies

The Short & Curlies

as Clive

Dec 1, 1987

Road

Road

as Joey

Oct 7, 1987

Radio Pictures

Radio Pictures

as JIM 'Grams'

Jul 16, 1985