Bill Nighy on style, social media and holy socks: ‘I can’t operate in the wrong kind of trousers’
Bill Nighy is a man of many talents – but he knows his limitations – most specifically in the trouser department.
The 74-year-old actor tells Sky News he has very clear sartorial demands when it comes to his acting rider.
“It’s odd, people used to say: ‘There’s a significant lack of classical work on your CV’. And I would say something like: ‘The reason is, I can’t operate in those kind of trousers,’ which is a joke, but it’s also kind of true.
“If you want me at my best, put me in a decent lounge suit. It’s a stupid thing for an actor to say, but art does reflect life.”
And he’s not afraid to bring his own life quite literally into his films, adding: “If it’s a contemporary film and it’s an independent film and they haven’t got a lot of money, I just say, ‘Come to my flat,’ and I open the wardrobe and they can take out whatever they want for that movie. So, the two things do blend.”
He’s currently starring in underdog sports drama The Beautiful Game, playing a retired football talent scout coaching England’s team in the Homeless World Cup.
Founded in 2001, the real-life international tournament that inspired the movie now involves over 70 countries and has transformed the lives of more than one million homeless people.
Former Homeless World Cup players – who are no longer homeless – feature in the film, playing team members from other countries, which Nighy calls “a wonderful piece of symmetry”.
He of course wore a suit and tie for the majority of the film, despite it being shot in Rome during a heatwave. Scorching weather aside, he says: “It was quite fun to stand on the touchline and scream.”
Nighy as football talent scout Mal in The Beautiful Game. Pic: Netflix
While Nighy may not necessarily look the part of a stereotypical football coach, he does work on his fitness, training three times a week. It’s something he insists he won’t be “winning any prizes for”, and he certainly won’t be sharing snaps of his workouts on Instagram.
‘My iPhone doesn’t see a lot of action’
He explains: “I’ve never been on social media. I’m lucky in that regard because I’m of an age where I can just about get away with it.
“I nearly went on it. I got very close to, I think it was Instagram, but I didn’t in the end make that jump.
“I don’t have a laptop. I mean, I’m carrying a computer in my pocket, obviously, like everybody else, but I’ve never had a computer. I’ve never owned one, again because I’m fortunate. I don’t need one for anything. I’ve got an iPhone, but there’s not a lot of action on it apart from, you know, the obvious.”
I can only guess ‘the obvious’ is phoning his nearest and dearest, including his daughter and friends. Nighy keeps his romantic dealings close to his chest, and since splitting with his partner of 26 years, he hasn’t been publicly linked to anyone new – either in the public eye or out.
Nighy with friend Anna Wintour at the Met Gala last year. Pic: Reuters
As one of Britain’s most recognisable actors, he’s humble in his appraisal of his five decade career spanning theatre, TV and film – reaching to Hollywood and back.
‘I didn’t expect acting to last’
“I don’t know what I’m cut out to be, but it probably isn’t an actor, although I don’t know if anybody is. I think we all have to bend ourselves out of shape to do whatever it is we do.
“I didn’t expect to be an actor. I didn’t expect when I became an actor that it would last very long. I didn’t have a Plan B, it was all basically out of necessity.
“I flunked school, so I didn’t have any qualifications for anything, and I didn’t have a Plan B, so I had no safety net. But, you know, it gradually worked out.”
With two BAFTAs, a Golden Globe and Teen Choice Award (yes really) to name but a few of his accolades, he’s being modest.
And his acting career is about to take a step into the unknown, with his first big horror role in First Omen coming to the screen next month.
Nighy as Cardinal Lawrence in The First Omen. Pic: Disney/20th Century Studios
A prequel to the 1976 original, it returns to the very beginning of the story, with Nighy warning it’s not a film for the feint hearted: “The early signs suggest that it is truly horrible.”
Red satin and holy socks
He does have a wide experience of otherworldly roles, if not out and out horror. Nighy lists a few. “In Shaun Of The Dead I was a werewolf. Yeah, I was a werewolf.”
(Nighy was actually a zombie, but the movie was filmed 20 years ago, and who’s splitting hairs?)
He goes on: “And I’ve been a vampire several times. And I’ve been a squid. If you count animations, I’ve been a rattle snake with a machine gun in its tail. But they’re not straight horror. [First Omen] is really my first horror movie, like what you’d call straight horror. So, it is a departure.”
It goes without saying he was well suited and booted for the role.
“I was dressed by the Vatican tailor. So, you can see I look my best if you’re going to be a priest. And I’m drenched in red satin”.
Rumour has it he was given holy socks from the Vatican shop as part of his costume. Blessed beyond doubt.
Nighy ‘can’t stand’ his own films
He says it “will frighten the life” out of its viewers, adding “a few people I’ve met who’ve seen it and who are horror freaks were stunned. One journalist actually said [they were] traumatised.”
But he doesn’t have to worry about nightmares himself. “I’ve never seen it and I’m never going to see it because I don’t watch films I’m in because I can’t stand it.”
Pic: Netflix
Meanwhile, his latest offering, The Beautiful Game, is a very different prospect, crafted to leave the viewer uplifted rather than in pieces.
Nighy says it’s a feelgood nostalgia that takes him right back to his childhood. “The deal was when I was a kid, you went, you paid some money, you went to the cinema, and you came out feeling a bit better than you did when you went in. This is what [The Beautiful Game] is.”
The Beautiful Game is streaming now on Netflix, and The First Omen will be in cinemas from 5 April.
Legislation dubbed the “Taylor Swift bill” has passed in Minnesota in an effort to help people buy concert tickets.
The bill, officially called House File 1989 in reference to Taylor Swift’s hit album and the year she was born, was signed into Minnesota law on Tuesday.
It will require sellers offering tickets to people in the state or tickets for concerts being held there to disclose all fees up front and prohibit resellers from selling more than one copy of a ticket, among other measures.
Minnesota State Representative Kelly Moller, chief author of the bill, pushed for the legislation after she tried to get tickets to one of Swift’s concerts in 2022.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Ms Moller said she was among thousands of people who became stuck in ticket sales company Ticketmaster’s system after it crashed amid the huge demand for Swift concert tickets and attacks from bots, which tried to buy tickets for resale at inflated prices.
The situation led to congressional hearings but no federal legislation.
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Hidden meanings in Taylor Swift album?
Governor Tim Walz, who signed the bill into law at First Avenue, a popular concert venue in downtown Minneapolis, said it was “protection so you don’t get a bad ticket, a fraudulent ticket, and resellers can’t snatch them all up before you get an opportunity”.
Two young girls – one wearing a shirt that said “A LOT going on at the moment” in a nod to Swift, and another wearing a shirt that said “Iowa 22” in reference to basketball star Caitlin Clark – attended the bill signing with their dad, Mike Dean, who testified in support of it.
An eras tour ticket. Pic: Fernando Gens/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images
Mr Dean said his daughter came to him in December and said she wanted to see Clark play. He said the website initially showed the tickets would cost $300 total, but they ended up costing over $500 because of hidden fees.
The timer had begun in the online checkout process, so he had just minutes to decide whether to buy the tickets for the higher price or lose them.
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He ultimately bought them, but he told the Associated Press these practices mean customers can’t make informed decisions. The new law, he said, will bring transparency to the process.
Sky News contacted Ticketmaster for comment.
A spokesperson for fellow ticket sales giants StubHub said: “StubHub has long advocated for legislation that protects fans from anti-competitive and anti-consumer practices in the ticket buying process.
“We share the goals of HF1989 and look forward to continuing discussions with policymakers to advance policies that provide more transparency, more control, and more choice for ticket buyers.”
The law takes effect from 1 January 2025 and applies to tickets sold on or after that date.
Entertainment
Reality star Georgia Harrison says leaked sex video filmed without consent spread like ‘house fire’
Reality star Georgia Harrison has told MPs how the leaking of a video of herself having sex with Stephen Bear – filmed without her consent – spread like a “house fire”.
Former Celebrity Big Brother winner Bear left prison in January, having served 10-and-a-half months of his 21-month sentence for sharing a film of him having sex with Harrison on his OnlyFans site.
Harrison told MPs on the Women And Equalities Committee the video – recorded without her knowledge – “went viral to a point I can’t explain” as it spread round multiple sites and was circulated on WhatsApp.
She added: “It absolutely horrified me that an individual had done this to me but what most horrified me was that these platforms were hosting these videos that were unconsented.
“For many that I tried to reach out to I got an automated response saying we will get back to you within four to six days.
“When something like this is happening it really is like a house fire and the quicker you can put it out, the quicker you can stop it.
“Unfortunately, in four to six days your house has burnt down, everyone knows about this video – your family, your workplace, your peers, it’s too late.”
Stephen Bear outside court in March. Pic: PA
Discussing her ordeal, Harrison added: “I feel like one of the biggest challenges in general is these big social media companies who are hosting pornographic images and videos, they don’t have any way of us getting through to them to report it when there is something unconsented there.
“It shouldn’t be robots that you get through to when it’s this important a situation, it shouldn’t be that hard to get through to someone.
“I’m not saying delete it, I’m not saying take this person’s account down, I’m just saying can we pause it and then review it in a few weeks and I think that is the biggest issue we are dealing with at the moment.”
Harrison added: “But I think if something gets to the level where you say this is me in a sexually explicit act and I have not given permission, it should be paused that day, not in four to six days.”
‘I ended up being physically ill’
On discovering the video was online, she said: “For the first few days, I was really just going through waves of complete sorrow and shock.
“It got to the point where I was so emotionally affected by what happened to me that I ended up being physically ill as well to the point where I was in hospital for five days over Christmas a little bit after the incident because the stress took such an effect on my body.
“I ended up having a cyst burst and I got an infection and literally it was just like my body deteriorated with my emotions.”
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Harrison said the footage should be made illegal – and admitted it had given her “a lot of fear” over starting a family.
She said: “I know whenever I’m dating, meeting new people going into any sort of a new work opportunity, I am known as the person who has this sex tape which I never ever filmed and never consented to be out there.
“So it changed a lot for me and it definitely gives me a lot of fear for one day, if I do have a family, which is something that was always my intention, are my children going to be able to stumble across this footage?”
Entertainment
Eurovision facing controversy over contestants and political statements – as protests around event expected
The Eurovision Song Contest is already facing controversy over performers making political statements ahead of the big event in Sweden at the weekend.
Bambie Thug, who will represent Ireland, has criticised organisers for asking the performer to alter a pro-Palestinian message before their performance in the first semi-final last night.
Meanwhile, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has put out a statement expressing “regret” that former Swedish contestant Eric Saade, who is reportedly of Palestinian origin, was wearing a keffiyeh – a traditional scarf that has become a symbol of support – tied around his wrist as he sang.
He is not competing this year, but opened the first Eurovision semi-final show in his home country ahead of the finalists being chosen.
Eden Golan will compete for Israel. Pic: Sarah Louise Bennett/EBU
Eurovision bills itself as a non-political event and organisers have resisted calls to boycott Israel, sparking protests.
Israel’s Eden Golan will perform her song Hurricane in the second semi-final on Thursday, with bookmakers placing her among the top 10 most likely to win the competition.
Security is being ramped up in the Swedish host city of Malmo, which expects to welcome some 100,000 Eurovision fans – along with thousands of pro-Palestinian protesters, with demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war planned on Thursday and Saturday.
After making it through to the final with their song Doomsday Blue, Ireland’s Bambie Thug told reporters at a news conference that they had been forced to change writing painted on their body ahead of the semi-final performance.
The 31-year-old singer said the painted script in Ogham – an early Medieval alphabet – had translated to ‘ceasefire and freedom’.
Bambie Thug says she was forced to change her body paint. Pic: Reuters
“It was very important for me because I’m pro justice and pro peace,” they said. “Unfortunately, I had to change those messages today to ‘crown the witch’ only (which was an) order from the EBU.”
A spokesperson for the EBU said: “The writing seen on Bambie Thug’s body during dress rehearsals contravened contest rules that are designed to protect the non-political nature of the event.
“After discussions with the Irish delegation, they agreed to change the text for the live show.”
In a separate statement about Saade’s opening performance, an EBU spokesperson said the organisation “regrets” that he chose to wear the keffiyeh pattern material and “chose to compromise the non-political nature of the event”.
The UK’s Olly Alexander will perform Dizzy in the final on Saturday. Pic: Reuters
Elsewhere, UK entrant Olly Alexander also performed at the event to showcase his song, Dizzy, although he is already through to the final as the UK is one of the “big five” Eurovision donors.
The Years & Years singer has found himself facing criticism from some who called for him to withdraw over Israel’s inclusion amid the ongoing war.
He addressed the controversy in a documentary following him as he prepares for the show, describing some comments he and other contestants have received as “very extreme”.
In April, Eurovision organisers condemned the abuse and harassment of contestants over Israel’s inclusion in the competition as “unacceptable and totally unfair”.
Read more on Eurovision:
Who will win and the acts to look out for
Everything you need to know about this year’s show
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Speaking on Sky’s Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips, EBU deputy director general Jean Philip De Tender defended Israel’s inclusion.
“We do understand the concerns and deeply held views around the war in the Middle East,” he said.
“The song contest is a music event organised and co-produced by 37 public broadcasters, it’s not a competition between nations or governments.
“Our governing bodies reviewed the participation of Kan [Israel’s public broadcasting corporation] and found that they met all of the competing rules.”
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