Sir Nigel Hawthorne (April 5, 1929 - December 26, 2001) was a renowned British actor. He was born in Coventry, Warwickshire, in England, although he spent some of his formative years in South Africa. He returned to the UK in the 1950s.

In a long and varied career, which began with an advert for Mackeson stout and a bit part in Dad's Army, his most famous roles were as Sir Humphrey Appleby in the TV series Yes, Minister (and its sequel Yes, Prime Minister), and as George III in the film adaptation of Alan Bennett's The Madness of King George, for which he was nominated for an Oscar and awarded the Olivier Award. He was knighted in 1999.

An intensely private individual, he was deeply saddened when involuntarily outed as a homosexual in the run-up to the Oscars. While struggling with prostate cancer (though his eventual death was of a heart attack), however, he wrote a candid autobiography Straight Face, which was published posthumously.

Film and television appearances

• Call Me Claus (2001) (TV) .... Nick
• Victoria & Albert (2001) (TV) .... William Lamb, 2nd Viscount Melbourne
• The Clandestine Marriage (1999) .... Lord Ogleby
• A Reasonable Man (1999) .... Judge Wendon
• Tarzan (1999) (voice) .... Porter
• The Big Brass Ring (1999) .... Kim Mennaker
• The Winslow Boy (1999) .... Arthur Winslow
• At Sachem Farm (1998) .... Uncle Cullen
• Madeline (1998) .... Lord Covington (segment "Lord Cucuface")
• The Object of My Affection (1998) .... Rodney Fraser
• (1997) (TV) .... David Livingstone
• Amistad (1997) .... Martin Van Buren
• Murder in Mind (1997/I) .... Dr. Ellis
• Fragile Heart (1996) (TV) .... Edgar Pascoe
• Twelfth Night: Or What You Will (1996) .... Malvolio
• Inside (1996) (TV) .... Colonel Kruger
• Richard III (1995) .... George, Duke of Clarence
• The Madness of King George (1994) .... George III
• Demolition Man (1993) .... Dr. Raymond Cocteau
• Freddie as F.R.O.7 (1992) (voice) .... Brigadier G
• Flea Bites (1991) (TV) .... Kryst
• The Trials of Oz (1991) (TV) .... Brian Leary
• Relatively Speaking (1990) (TV) .... Philip Carter
• En Håndfull tid (1990) .... Ted Walker
• King of the Wind (1989) .... Achmet
• Spirit of Man (1989) (TV) .... Rev. Jonathan Guerdon (segment "From Sleep and Shadow")
• Rarg (1988) (voice)
• Yes, Prime Minister (1986) TV Series .... Sir Humphrey Appleby
• Jenny's War (1985) (TV) .... Colonel
• Turtle Diary (1985) .... The Publisher
• The Black Cauldron (1985) (voice) .... Fflewddur Fflam
• Mapp & Lucia (1985) TV Series .... Georgie Pillson
• The Barchester Chronicles (1984) (mini) TV Series .... Archdeacon Grantly
• The Chain (1984) .... Mr. Thorn
• The House (1984) (TV)
• Pope John Paul II (1984) (TV) .... Cardinal Stefan Wyszynski
• The Tartuffe or Imposter (1983) (TV) .... Orgon
• The Meaning of Life (1983) .... Man walking by Crimson Insurance building as anchor is raised
• The Critic (1982) (TV)
• Dead On Time (1982)
• (1982) (TV)
• Gandhi (1982) .... Kinnoch
• The Plague Dogs (1982) (voice) .... Dr. Robert Boycott
• Firefox (1982) .... Pyotr Baranovich
• A Woman Called Golda (1982) (TV) .... King Abdullah
• The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1982) (TV) .... Magistrate at Esmeralds's trial
• Memoirs of a Survivor (1981) .... Victorian Father
• History of the World: Part I (1981) .... Citizen Official
• A Brush with Mr. Porter on the Road to Eldorado (1981) (TV)
• Jukes of Piccadilly (1980) TV Series .... Brinsley Jukes
• Jessie (1980) (TV) .... Mr. Edmonds
• A Tale of Two Cities (1980) (TV) .... Mr. CJ Stryver
• The Tempest (1980/I) (TV) .... Stephano
• Yes, Minister (1980) TV Series .... Sir Humphrey Appleby
• Edward & Mrs. Simpson (1980) (mini) TV Series .... Walter Monkton
• Knowledge, The (1979) (TV) .... Mr. Burgess
• "Thomas and Sarah" (1979) TV Series .... Wilson
• Sailor's Return, The (1978) .... Mr. Fosse
• "Warrior Queen" (1978) TV Series .... Catus Decianus
• Sweeney 2 (1978) .... Dilke
• "Holocaust" (1978) (mini) TV Series .... Oldendorf
• Destiny (1978) (TV)
• Watership Down (1978) (voice) .... Campion
• "Marie Curie" (1977) (mini) TV Series .... Pierre Curie
• Eleanor Marx: Eleanor (1977) (TV)
• Eleanor Marx: Tussy (1977) (TV)
• Hiding Place, The (1975) .... Pastor De Ruiter
• Floater, The (1975) (TV)
• S*P*Y*S (1974) .... Croft
• Young Winston (1972) (uncredited) .... Boer Sentry
• Alma Mater (1971) (TV) .... Major
• Mrs. Wilson's Diary (1969) (TV) .... Roy Jenkins