David Thewlis

He appeared in films such as Black Beauty (1994), Restoration (1995), James and the Giant Peach (1996), Dragonheart (1996), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), Gangster No. 1 (2000), and as Remus Lupin in the Harry Potter franchise (2004–2011). 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), Wonder Woman (2017), I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), and Enola Holmes 2 (2022). Thewlis's most notable television roles include V. Varga in the third season of FX's Fargo (2017), the voice of the Shame Wizard in the Netflix animated sitcoms Big Mouth (2017–2025) and Human Resources (2022–2023), Christopher Edwards in the HBO miniseries Landscapers (2021), John Dee in the Netflix drama series The Sandman (2022), and Fagin in the Disney+ TV series The Artful Dodger (2023). His performance in Fargo earned him nominations for an Emmy, a Golden Globe, and a Critics' Choice Award.

Thewlis was born David Wheeler in Blackpool on 20 March 1963, the middle child of Maureen (née Thewlis) and Alec Raymond Wheeler. His parents ran a toy and wallpaper shop. As a teenager, he played in a rock band called QED and played lead guitar with a punk rock band called Door 66. He was educated at Highfield High School in Blackpool's Marton area. He later joined London's Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1984.

Wheeler decided to use his mother's maiden name, Thewlis, for his stage name after attempting to register with the actors' union and discovering that his birth name, David Wheeler, was already used by someone else. His first professional role after doing so was in the play Buddy Holly at the Regal in Greenwich and in a commercial for Kellogg's Bran Flakes. In theatre, Thewlis has starred in Sam Mendes' The Sea at the Royal National Theatre, Max Stafford-Clark's Ice Cream at the Royal Court Theatre, The Ruffian on the Stairs/The Woolley at Farnham, and The Lady and the Clarinet at the King's Head Theatre. He went on to play small roles in high-profile series such as BBC's Only Fools and Horses (1985), and The Singing Detective (1986), before being offered a more significant part in Alan Clarke's Road, and in the ITV sitcom Valentine Park (1987). That same year, Thewlis made his film debut in Little Dorrit. His first big-screen leading role was opposite Clive Owen in Vroom, directed by Beeban Kidron in 1988, and he starred in Paul Greengrass's anti-Falkland War drama Resurrected (1989), playing a presumed-dead soldier who returns to Britain. He collaborated with Mike Leigh on Life Is Sweet (1990), in which he played Jane Horrocks' character's lover. He continued playing low-key supporting roles in films such as Damage (1992), directed by Louis Malle, and the David Hugh Jones directed film The Trial (1993). Thewlis's breakout role was in the film Naked (1993), directed by Mike Leigh, as the main character Johnny, a homeless, highly intelligent, embittered, rambling street philosopher, for which Thewlis was named Best Actor by the National Society of Film Critics, the London Film Critics Circle, the Evening Standard, the New York Film Critics' Circle and the Cannes Film Festival. That same year, he appeared on television as a sexual predator named James Jackson opposite Helen Mirren and Ciarán Hinds in Prime Suspect 3. During the 1990s, Thewlis appeared in a variety of films, mostly fantasy and period pieces, including Restoration (1995), Black Beauty (1994), Total Eclipse (1995) with Leonardo DiCaprio, The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996), Dragonheart (1996), and Seven Years in Tibet (1997), opposite Brad Pitt. He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award, for Divorcing Jack (1998), and played Clov in a television film of Samuel Beckett's Endgame (2000). Notable appearances included Bernardo Bertolucci's Besieged (1998), the Coen brothers' The Big Lebowski (1998), and opposite Paul Bettany and Malcolm McDowell in Paul McGuigan's Gangster No. 1 (2000). Thewlis auditioned for the role of Quirinus Quirrell in the Chris Columbus directed film Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, but the part went to Ian Hart. Despite missing out on the first film, he was cast in 2004 as Professor Remus Lupin in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. He did not have to audition as he was director Alfonso Cuarón's first choice for the role. Thewlis reprised the role in four other films in the series. Thewlis appeared as an SS Commandant of a Nazi death camp and father of the main character in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, which was well received. His other credits include Ridley Scott's Kingdom of Heaven (2005), Terrence Malick's The New World (2005), and The Omen (2006). Thewlis played Dr Michael Aris, husband of Aung San Suu Kyi, with Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh as Suu Kyi, in the biopic The Lady (2011), directed by Luc Besson. In 2012, he received an International Festival of Independent Cinema Off Plus Camera Award. In the same year, he played in Separate We Come, Separate We Go, directed by Bonnie Wright. In June 2015, Thewlis was reported to be filming scenes for a Donald Crowhurst biopic, The Mercy, on the beach at Teignmouth, Devon, playing Donald Crowhurst's press agent, Rodney Hallworth, while Colin Firth would play Donald Crowhurst. He starred in Regression, a thriller released in autumn 2015. In September 2015, Thewlis starred as Inspector Goole in Helen Edmundson's BBC TV adaptation of J. B. Priestley's An Inspector Calls. In October 2015, he played King Duncan in the film Macbeth (2015). Thewlis portrayed Ares in Wonder Woman (2017), the DC Comics film featuring the character Wonder Woman. He briefly reprised his role as Ares in Justice League (2017). That same year, he appeared as V. M. Varga, the main antagonist of the third season of Fargo. His performance was critically acclaimed, and earned him nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award, Critics' Choice Television Award and Golden Globe Award as a supporting actor. He has voiced the Shame Wizard in the Netflix animated sitcom Big Mouth (2017–2025), and its spin-off Human Resources (2022–2023). Thewlis starred in the Netflix film I'm Thinking of Ending Things (2020), the HBO miniseries Landscapers (2021), the Netflix drama series The Sandman (2022), the Netflix film Enola Holmes 2 (2022), and the animated film The Amazing Maurice (2022). In 2023, he played Fagin in The Artful Dodger, and in 2024, Hades in Kaos.

Thewlis's black comedy novel set in the art world, The Late Hector Kipling, was published by Simon & Schuster in 2007. His second book, Shooting Martha, was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2021.

Thewlis married Welsh director and actress Sara Sugarman in 1992 and they divorced in 1994. He later dated English actress Kate Hardie for three years. He began a relationship with English actress Anna Friel in 2000, and they had a daughter in 2005 before they split up in 2010. Thewlis married French designer and artist Hermine Poitou on 6 August 2016. They live in Sunningdale.