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 Nake...
Known For
Complete Filmography

Avatar: Fire and Ash
2025
as Peylak
In the wake of the devastating war against the RDA and the loss of their eldest son, Jake Sully and Neytiri face a new threat on Pandora: the Ash Peop...

The Thing with Feathers
2025
as Crow (voice)
A young father hold on reality crumbles following his wife’s death as a strange presence begins to stalk him from the shadowy recesses of the apartmen...

The Amazing Maurice
2022
as Boss Man / Rat King (voice)
Maurice is a streetwise ginger cat who comes up with a money-making scam by befriending a group of self-taught talking rats. When Maurice and the rode...

Enola Holmes 2
2022
as Grail
Now a detective-for-hire like her infamous brother, Enola Holmes takes on her first official case to find a missing girl, as the sparks of a dangerous...

Val
2021
as Self (archive footage)
For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood’s most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors has been documenting his own life and craft through film a...

Rare Beasts
2021
as Vic
Mandy is a mother, a writer, a nihilist. Mandy is a modern woman in a crisis. Raising a son in the midst of a female revolution, mining the pain of he...

Zack Snyder's Justice League
2021
as Ares
Determined to ensure Superman's ultimate sacrifice was not in vain, Bruce Wayne aligns forces with Diana Prince with plans to recruit a team of metahu...

I'm Thinking of Ending Things
2020
as Father
Nothing is as it seems when a woman experiencing misgivings about her new boyfriend joins him on a road trip to meet his parents at their remote farm.

Eternal Beauty
2020
as Mike
When Jane is rejected by life, she spirals into a chaotic, schizophrenic world where love and normality collide with humorous consequences.

Guest of Honour
2020
as Jim
Veronica wants to remain in jail for a sexual assault she knows she's been wrongfully indicted for. She and her father, Jim, find themselves acting ou...

Beyond Boundaries: The Harvey Weinstein Scandal
2018
as Self (archive footage)
Examine the rise and fall of Hollywood media mogul Harvey Weinstein following the scandal in 2017. Learn from exclusive interviews with those who knew...

The Mercy
2018
as Rodney Hallworth
In 1968, Donald Crowhurst, an amateur sailor, endangers the fate of his family and business, and his own life, blinded by his ambition to compete in t...

Justice League
2017
as Ares
Fuelled by his restored faith in humanity and inspired by Superman's selfless act, Bruce Wayne and Diana Prince assemble a team of metahumans consisti...

Harry Potter: A History Of Magic
2017
as Himself
A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story ...

Wonder Woman
2017
as Sir Patrick / Ares
An Amazon princess comes to the world of Man in the grips of the First World War to confront the forces of evil and bring an end to human conflict.

None of Them Are You: Crafting Anomalisa
2016
as Self
A behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of Charlie Kaufman and Duke Johnson's 2015 stop-motion animated drama Anomalisa.

Anomalisa
2015
as Michael Stone (voice)
An inspirational speaker becomes reinvigorated after meeting a lively woman who shakes up his mundane existence.

Regression
2015
as Professor Kenneth Raines
Minnesota, 1990. Detective Bruce Kenner investigates the case of young Angela, who accuses her father, John Gray, of an unspeakable crime. When John u...

Macbeth
2015
as Duncan
Feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's Scottish play about General Macbeth whose ambitious wife urges him to use wicked means in order to gain power...

An Inspector Calls
2015
as Inspector Goole - The Inspector
Northern England, 1912. The dinner of a wealthy family is interrupted by Inspector Goole, who only announces that a young woman has committed suicide....

Legend
2015
as Leslie Payne
Suave, charming and volatile, Reggie Kray and his unstable twin brother Ronnie start to leave their mark on the London underworld in the 1960s. Using ...

The Theory of Everything
2014
as Dennis Sciama
The Theory of Everything is the extraordinary story of one of the world’s greatest living minds, the renowned astrophysicist Stephen Hawking, who fall...

Stonehearst Asylum
2014
as Mickey Finn
An Oxford Medical School graduate takes a position at a mental institution and soon becomes obsessed with a female mental patient, but he has no idea ...

Queen & Country
2014
as Sargeant Major Bradley
In this sequel to Hope and Glory (1987), Bill Rohan has grown up and is drafted into the army, where he and his eccentric best mate, Percy, battle the...
Sunday Roast
2014
as Dick Puck
When a nervous young actor is sent to a mortuary to explore his fear of death, he is given the tour by a foul mouthed and bitter mortician who does ev...
Sunday Roast
2014
Writer
When a nervous young actor is sent to a mortuary to explore his fear of death, he is given the tour by a foul mouthed and bitter mortician who does ev...

Separate We Come, Separate We Go
2013
as Norman
Separate We Come, Separate We Go is the story of a 10-year-old girl, Thea who escapes her bleak domestic life to find sanctuary in the surreal desert ...

The Fifth Estate
2013
as Nick Davies
A look at the relationship between WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his early supporter and eventual colleague Daniel Domscheit-Berg, and how the ...

The Zero Theorem
2013
as Joby
A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they s...

RED 2
2013
as The Frog
Retired C.I.A. agent Frank Moses reunites his unlikely team of elite operatives for a global quest to track down a missing portable nuclear device.

Final Cut: Ladies and Gentlemen
2012
as (archive footage)
A film where anything can happen - the hero and the heroine changes their faces, age, look, names, and so on. The only same thing: The love between ma...

War Horse
2011
as Lyons
On the brink of the First World War, Albert's beloved horse Joey is sold to the Cavalry by his father. Against the backdrop of the Great War, Joey beg...

The Lady
2011
as Michael Aris
The story of Aung San Suu Kyi as she becomes the core of Burma's democracy movement, and her relationship with her husband, writer Michael Aris.

Anonymous
2011
as William Cecil
Set against the backdrop of the succession of Queen Elizabeth I, and the Essex Rebellion against her, the story advances the theory that it was in fac...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
2011
as Remus Lupin
Harry, Ron and Hermione continue their quest to vanquish the evil Voldemort once and for all. Just as things begin to look hopeless for the young wiza...

The Organ Grinder's Monkey
2011
as Pablo (voice)
A cockroach with artistic aspirations follows an angst-ridden and talentless artist from pub to studio in pursuit of his dream, and comes to a sticky ...

How to Get a Head in Sculpture
2011
as Self
From the heads of Roman Emperors to the 'blood head' of contemporary British artist Marc Quinn, the greatest figures in world sculpture have continual...

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1
2010
as Remus Lupin
Harry, Ron and Hermione walk away from their last year at Hogwarts to find and destroy the remaining Horcruxes, putting an end to Voldemort's bid for ...

London Boulevard
2010
as Jordan
A parolee falls for a reclusive movie star while trying to evade a ruthless gangster.

Mr. Nice
2010
as Jim McCann
Biopic about 1970s Welsh marijuana trafficker Howard Marks, whose inventive smuggling schemes made him a huge success in the drug trade, as well as le...

Athena
2010
as Chuck
Chuck, a loner who had better days, runs a Halliday store in the middle of Californian desert. Customers are rare and he has only one regular, old Bil...

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
2009
as Remus Lupin
As Lord Voldemort tightens his grip on both the Muggle and wizarding worlds, Hogwarts is no longer a safe haven. Harry suspects perils may even lie wi...

Veronika Decides to Die
2009
as Dr. Blake
After a frantic suicide attempt, Veronika awakens inside a mysterious mental asylum. Under the supervision of an unorthodox psychiatrist who specializ...

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas
2008
as Father
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of t...

The Inner Life of Martin Frost
2007
as Martin Frost
A writer awakens one day to find a strange but beautiful woman in bed with him. He quickly falls in love with her, thinking he has found his muse, but...

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
2007
as Remus Lupin
Returning for his fifth year of study at Hogwarts, Harry is stunned to find that his warnings about the return of Lord Voldemort have been ignored. Le...

The Omen
2006
as Keith Jennings
A diplomatic couple adopts the son of the devil without knowing it. A remake of the classic horror film of the same name from 1976.

Basic Instinct 2
2006
as Roy Washburn
Novelist Catherine Tramell is once again in trouble with the law, and Scotland Yard appoints psychiatrist Dr. Michael Glass to evaluate her. Though, l...

The New World
2005
as Wingfield
A drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.

All the Invisible Children
2005
as Jonathan (segment "Jonathan")
Seven short films - each one focused on the plight of a different child protagonist.

Kingdom of Heaven
2005
as Hospitaler
After his wife dies, a blacksmith named Balian is thrust into royalty, political intrigue and bloody holy wars during the Crusades.

The Magic Touch of Harry Potter
2004
as Self
A 2004 documentary on the first three “Harry Potter” films detailing the behind-the-scenes journey of making them.

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
2004
as Remus Lupin
Year three at Hogwarts means new fun and challenges as Harry learns the delicate art of approaching a Hippogriff, transforming shape-shifting Boggarts...

Little Wolf's Book of Badness
2003
as Mr. Twister (voice)
He washes his paws, brushes his teeth and goes to bed early. He is packed off to Uncle Bigbad's Cunning College, where he will learn the Nine Rules of...

Timeline
2003
as Robert Doniger
A group of archaeological students become trapped in the past when they go there to retrieve their professor. The group must survive in 14th century F...

Cheeky
2003
as Harry Sankey
Consumed with sadness after the death of his wife and subsequent rejection from his son, a widower, at the urging of his friends, opts to appear on a ...

Cheeky
2003
Director, Writer
Consumed with sadness after the death of his wife and subsequent rejection from his son, a widower, at the urging of his friends, opts to appear on a ...

D.I.Y. Hard
2002
as Man
A hostage situation takes an unusual turn.

Discovering Dinotopia
2002
as Cyrus
The citizens of Waterfall City flee for the tenuous safety of Earthfarm, abandoning their city to the dangerous Outsiders - who discover the key to Di...

Dinotopia
2002
as Cyrus Crabb
After a plane crash strands two brothers on a lost continent where dinosaurs and humans live together in harmony, they disagree over escape plans. (C...

Hamilton Mattress
2002
as Hamilton Mattress (voice)
Sludger the aardvark tries to make it big as a drummer in the big city.

Goodbye Charlie Bright
2001
as Charlie's Dad
Following Charlie Bright and his friends over one hot summer on the South London housing estate where they live. With Tommy about to join the army and...

Endgame
2000
as Clov
Hamm is blind and unable to stand; Clov, his servant, is unable to sit; Nagg and Nell are his father and mother, who are legless and live in dustbins....

Gangster No. 1
2000
as Freddie Mays
An old gangster is advised that Freddie Mays would leave jail after thirty years in prison. His mood changes and he recalls when he was a young punk a...

The Miracle Maker
2000
as Judas Iscariot (voice)
A mother and father in search of help for their sick daughter cross paths with an extraordinary carpenter named Jesus, who has devoted his life to spr...

Whatever Happened to Harold Smith?
2000
as Nesbit
It's 1976, and Vinny is a confused teenager who can't decide whether he is a disco king or a proto punk rocker.

Love Story
1999
as Dealer
Dave, a homeless man, shares a public toilet with narcotic users and alcoholics. Struggling to survive, he resorts to theft to provide for his pregnan...

Divorcing Jack
1998
as Dan Starkey
He's Irish, he's ageing, he drinks, is a touch cynical and when he has time writes a newspaper column. On the eve of the country's first election as a...

The Big Lebowski
1998
as Knox Harrington
Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker who only wants to bowl and drink White Russians, is mistaken for another Jeffrey Lebowski, a wheelc...

Besieged
1998
as Jason Kinsky
While in exile in Italy, an African woman finds herself trying to get back home and free her imprisoned husband. But the only man that can help her do...

Seven Years in Tibet
1997
as Peter Aufschnaiter
Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the...

American Perfekt
1997
as Santini
Criminal psychiatrist, Jake Nyman is taking a much needed vacation from responsibility. An experimental road trip during which ever decision will be m...

The Making of 'DragonHeart'
1997
as Self
This documentary was first released on the laserdisc for DragonHeart, and was then re-released on both the Collector's Edition and Franchise Collectio...

The Island of Dr. Moreau
1996
as Douglas
A plane crash surviving attorney stumbles upon a mysterious island and is shocked to discover that a brilliant scientist and his lab assistant have fo...

DragonHeart
1996
as King Einon
In an ancient time when majestic fire-breathers soared through the skies, a knight named Bowen comes face to face and heart to heart with the last dra...

James and the Giant Peach
1996
as Earthworm (voice)
When the young orphan boy James spills a magic bag of crocodile tongues, he finds himself in possession of a giant peach that flies him away to strang...

Restoration
1995
as John Pearce
An aspiring young physician, Robert Merivel found himself in the service of King Charles II and saves the life of someone close to the King. Merivel j...

Total Eclipse
1995
as Paul Verlaine
Young, wild poet Arthur Rimbaud and his mentor Paul Verlaine engage in a fierce, forbidden romance while feeling the effects of a hellish artistic lif...

Hello, Hello, Hello
1995
Director, Writer
An artist scavenging for rubbish meets a policeman with different views on what constitutes art.

Dreamtown: A Brief Anatomy of Blackpool
1994
as Self
A revealing and often ribald look at the seaside resort where people can let their hair down, whether in the sedate atmosphere of the Tower Ballroom o...

Black Beauty
1994
as Jerry Barker
The fates of horses, and the people who own and command them, are revealed as Black Beauty narrates the circle of his life.

Naked
1993
as Johnny
An unemployed Brit vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.

The Trial
1993
as Franz
Joseph K. awakes one morning, to find two strange men in his room, telling him he has been arrested. Joseph is not told what he is charged with, and d...

Damage
1992
as Detective
The life of a respected British politician at the height of his career crumbles when he becomes obsessed with his son's lover.
Black and Blue
1992
as Crematorium Attendant
When a local black politician is murdered an undercover police officer unveils a web of police corruption which puts lives at risk and threatens the w...

Swords at Teatime
1992
as Mike
Michael climbs on to the roof of the block of flats where he lives with his mother, and finds a world of make-believe, duels, and chickens existing ov...

Afraid of the Dark
1991
as Locksmith / Tom Miller
A little boy, obsessed with blindness and violence, slowly gets trapped in his own delusions.
Journey to Knock
1991
as Terry
Journey to Knock humourously follows three disabled men on their pilgrimage from the North of England to Knock shrine in Co. Mayo.

Filipina Dreamgirls
1991
as Tim Shanks
Several men from Wales travel to the Philippines on an arranged tour to meet Filipina women for romance and possible marriage. None of the women are t...
Skulduggery
1991
as Tony
Four lads decide to meet up and do a robbery planned by Sweeny, an angry, agressive but small young man who is like a time bomb waiting to go off. The...

Life Is Sweet
1990
as Nicola's Lover
Just north of London live Wendy, Andy, and their twenty-something twins, Natalie and Nicola. Wendy clerks in a shop, Andy is a cook who forever puts o...

Resurrected
1989
as Kevin Deakin
A Falklands War soldier missing, believed dead, turns up claiming amnesia.

Vroom
1988
as Ringe
Two young men and a sultry divorcee flee their drab hometown existence, taking to the road in a bubblegum pink chevrolet.

Deep Red Instant Love
1988
Budding romance and political subversion create a headache for the manager of Superstore in Rik Lander’s colourful satire on capitalism.

Little Dorrit
1987
as George Braddle
A drama based on the novel by Charles Dickens which tells the story of Arthur Clennam who is thrown into a debtor's prison. There he meets a young sea...

The Short & Curlies
1987
as Clive
A short comedy by Mike Leigh about the romance between a young woman and a man who communicates only through jokes and humor...

Road
1987
as Joey
A view of the inhabitants of a derelict road in Manchester, unsatisfied with their lives and routines. A young man locks himself away from the world. ...
Littlemouth
N/A
It tells the story of a computer scientist who is recruited by a tech billionaire to work on a project that could change humanity's place in the unive...