David Thewlis
Biography
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
Fargo
2014
Avatar: Fire and Ash
2025
Big Mouth
2017
Big Mouth
2017
Big Mouth
2017
Screen Two
1985
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
Kingdom of Heaven
2005
The Sandman
2022
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
Filmography
Fargo
as V.M. Vargas · 2014
Avatar: Fire and Ash
as Peylak · 2025
Big Mouth
as Shame Wizard (voice) · 2017
Big Mouth
as Lionel St. Swithens (voice) · 2017
Big Mouth
as Actor (voice) · 2017
Screen Two
as Franz · 1985
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
as Remus Lupin · 2004
Kingdom of Heaven
as Hospitaler · 2005
The Sandman
as John Dee · 2022
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
as Remus Lupin · 2007
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
as Remus Lupin · 2011
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
as Remus Lupin · 2010
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
as Remus Lupin · 2009
ScreenPlay
as Joey · 1986
ScreenPlay
as Terry · 1986
The Singing Detective
as Soldier · 1986
Wonder Woman
as Sir Patrick · 2017
Zack Snyder's Justice League
as Ares · 2021
Prime Suspect
as James Jackson · 1991
Justice League
as Ares · 2017
The Artful Dodger
as Norbert Fagin · 2023
The Big Lebowski
as Knox Harrington · 1998
Only Fools and Horses
as Stew · 1981
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
as Father · 2008
Screen One
as Tim Shanks · 1989
Human Resources
as Memory Bank Manager (voice) · 2022
Human Resources
as Lionel St. Swithens (voice) · 2022
Sherlock & Daughter
as Sherlock Holmes · 2025
Enola Holmes 2
as Grail · 2022
Seven Years in Tibet
as Peter Aufschnaiter · 1997
The Theory of Everything
as Dennis Sciama · 2014
The Amazing Maurice
as Boss Man / Rat King (voice) · 2022
KAOS
as Hades · 2024
Stonehearst Asylum
as Mickey Finn · 2014
DragonHeart
as King Einon · 1996
War Horse
as Lyons · 2011
Legend
as Leslie Payne · 2015
Signal One
as Perry · 2026
RED 2
as The Frog · 2013
Basic Instinct 2
as Roy Washburn · 2006
The New World
as Wingfield · 2005
James and the Giant Peach
as Earthworm (voice) · 1996
The Street
as Joe Jennerson / Harry Jennerson · 2006
Damage
as Detective · 1992
Timeline
as Robert Doniger · 2003
Frank Stubbs Promotes
as Mike Bence · 1993
The Feed
as Lawrence Hatfield · 2019
Dinotopia
as Cyrus Crabb · 2002
The Fifth Estate
as Nick Davies · 2013
The Island of Dr. Moreau
as Douglas · 1996
The Mercy
as Rodney Hallworth · 2018
Barkskins
as Claude Trepagny · 2020
The Omen
as Keith Jennings · 2006
Landscapers
as Christopher Edwards · 2021
The Zero Theorem
as Joby · 2013
Black Beauty
as Jerry Barker · 1994
I'm Thinking of Ending Things
as Father · 2020
Total Eclipse
as Paul Verlaine · 1995
Naked
as Johnny · 1993
Regression
as Professor Kenneth Raines · 2015
The Thing with Feathers
as Crow (voice) · 2025
London Boulevard
as Jordan · 2010
Dirty Business
as Ash Smith · 2026
Val
as Self (archive) · 2021
Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit
as Doctor · 1990
Anomalisa
as Michael Stone (voice) · 2015
Summer Season
as Keith · 1985
Macbeth
as Duncan · 2015
Veronika Decides to Die
as Dr. Blake · 2009
Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
as (archive footage) · 2012
The Lady
as Michael Aris · 2011
A Bit of a Do
as Paul Simcock · 1989
Restoration
as John Pearce · 1995
How to Get a Head in Sculpture
as Self · 2011
Dandelion Dead
as Oswald Martin · 1994
The Miracle Maker
as Judas Iscariot (voice) · 2000
Eternal Beauty
as Mike · 2020
Anonymous
as William Cecil · 2011
Gangster No. 1
as Freddie Mays · 2000
An Inspector Calls
as Inspector Goole - The Inspector · 2015
Guest of Honour
as Jim · 2020
Life Is Sweet
as Nicola's Lover · 1991
Queen & Country
as Sargeant Major Bradley · 2015
All the Invisible Children
as Jonathan (segment "Jonathan") · 2006
Shrinks
as Terry Slater · 1991
Check the Gate: Putting Beckett on Film
as Self - Clov (archive footage) · 2003
Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
as Himself · 2017
The Trial
as Franz · 1993
Separate We Come, Separate We Go
as Norman · 2013
Valentine Park
as Max · 1987
Cheeky
as Harry Sankey · 2003
The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
as Self · 2004
Little Dorrit
as George Braddle · 1987
Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal
as Self (archive footage) · 2018
Divorcing Jack
as Dan Starkey · 1998
Besieged
as Jason Kinsky · 1998
Vroom
as Ringe · 1988
Rare Beasts
as Vic · 2021
Dinotopia
as Cyrus Crabb · 2002
Mr. Nice
as Jim McCann · 2010
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
as Nesbit · 2000
American Perfekt
as Santini · 1997
Afraid of the Dark
as Locksmith / Tom Miller · 1992
Skulduggery
as Tony · 1991
The Making of 'DragonHeart'
as Self · 1997
D.I.Y. Hard
as Man · 2002
Little Wolf's Book of Badness
as Mr. Twister (voice) · 2003
Naked
as Johnny · 1993
The Organ Grinder's Monkey
as Pablo (voice) · 2011
None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa
as Self · 2016
The Short & Curlies
as Clive · 1987
The Inner Life of Martin Frost
as Martin Frost · 2007
Goodbye Charlie Bright
as Charlie's Dad · 2001
Radio Pictures
as JIM 'Grams' · 1985
Athena
as Chuck · 2010
Discovering Dinotopia
as Cyrus · 2002
Resurrected
as Kevin Deakin · 1989
Deep Red Instant Love
· 1988
Road
as Joey · 1987
Hamilton Mattress
as Hamilton Mattress (voice) · 2002
Swords at Teatime
as Mike · 1992
Black and Blue
as Crematorium Attendant · 1992
Love Story
as Dealer · 1999
Endgame
as Clov · 2000
Filipina Dreamgirls
as Tim Shanks · 1991
Sunday Roast
as Dick Puck · 2014
Dreamtown: A Brief Anatomy of Blackpool
as Self · 1994
Journey to Knock
as Terry · 1991