Audiences worldwide know Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor John Lithgow from his delightful performances across stage and screen. In a lively discussion, Lithgow reflects on the iconic roles that comprise his decades-long career, from cultural touchstones like The World According to Garp and 3rd Rock from the Sun to his more recent SAG-award-winning role as Winston Churchill in the smash-hit Netflix original series The Crown. Lithgow places social and political advocacy at the forefront of his public speaking, with an emphasis on the importance of the arts and education, as well as his recent forays into the world of political satire with the publishing of the New York Times best-selling Dumpty trilogy of books. Ever charming, John Lithgow dazzles audiences with his trademark wit and conversations full of heart.

More About John Lithgow

John Lithgow has long been regarded as one of America's most distinguished performers. He has made an indelible impression on audiences with his work in film, television and the theater, receiving three Tonys, seven Emmys, two Golden Globes, four SAG Awards and two Oscar nominations. Lithgow has appeared in a long list of critically acclaimed films, as far back as The World According to Garp and as recent as Conclave. He most recently starred in The Rule of Jenny Pen with Geoffrey Rush, and in the title role of JIMPA with Olivia Colman, which debuted at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival.

Lithgow has starred in the hit TV shows 3rd Rock from the Sun, Dexter, The Crown, and the recent The Old Man on FX. On stage, he has appeared on Broadway twenty-five times, including award-winning appearances in The Changing Room, M. Butterfly, Requiem for a Heavyweight, and the musicals Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and The Sweet Smell of Success. Lithgow was also casted as ‘Dumbledore’ in the Harry Potter series for HBO.

In 2024, Lithgow concluded a sold-out run of Giant at London’s Royal Court Theatre, where he starred as Roald Dahl. The production then transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre on the West End for a limited run in Spring 2025. Lithgow won an Olivier Award for Best Actor for his performance, with Giant also earning the award for Best New Play. Giant opened on Broadway in March this year earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Play. John received an individual nomination for his performance and took home the 2026 Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in a Play, marking his third Tony win.

For children, Lithgow has written several best-selling children’s picture books for Simon & Schuster. His recordings for kids have landed him four Grammy nominations, and he has appeared with a dozen major American orchestras in children’s concerts that feature many of his own songs. He wrote the narration for the New York City Ballet’s Carnival of the Animals in 2003 and danced the role of The Elephant.

In 2011, a warm reception greeted Lithgow’s memoir Drama: An Actor’s Education, published by Harper Collins. Since 2019, he has written and illustrated the Dumpty Trilogy, three books of political satire from Chronicle Prism which achieved the remarkable feat of landing Lithgow on the New York Times non-fiction bestseller list for three consecutive years. Mr. Lithgow recently completed his term as co-chair of the Commission on the Arts of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, producing authoritative reports on America’s creative workforce and arts in education. The Commission’s deliberations also spawned Art Happens Here, a PBS documentary which highlights the importance of all the arts in the lives of young people.