People

David Thewlis

Acting · follow into films and chains

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.

Notable films

Where to start

Highlights from credits and KinoChain journeys.

The Big Lebowski

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Avatar: Fire and Ash

As Peylak

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2

As Remus Lupin

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

As Remus Lupin

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

As Remus Lupin

Anomalisa

Appears in a KinoChain journey

The Mercy

Appears in a KinoChain journey

War Horse

Appears in a KinoChain journey

Chains

KinoChain journeys

Public chains that pass through their films — or name them as a bridge.

Browse all chains

Loyalty Beyond the Last Breath

From the Alaskan wilds to the trenches of war, a journey through films where the bond between soldier and dog faces the ultimate test.

8 films

Metamorphosis: Bodies in Flux

From Kafka's insect to Cronenberg's flesh, a journey through cinema's most profound transformations, where identity itself is the shape-shifter.

7 films

The Threshold of Nowhere

From a furniture store's hidden door to the endless corridors of the mind, this chain maps the liminal spaces where dread and wonder collide.

8 films

The Perfect Needledrop: Ten Moments That Own the Screen

From sudden silences to euphoric choruses, these are the film moments where a song doesn't just score the scene, it becomes the scene.

10 films

Backers and Believers

From a resurrected cult classic to a record-breaking indie sensation, these eight films prove that crowdfunding isn't just about money, it's about community.

7 films

Rewinding the Reel: How VHS Championed British Independents

From Thatcher's Britain to the video shop era, discover how VHS gave gritty, daring British films a second life and a devoted audience.

9 films

The Ghosts We Carry

A journey through stop-motion films that turn loss into art, from mainstream masterpieces to hidden gems.

8 films

Moana and the Sea as Mirror and Crucible

Taking the core premise of Moana (the ocean as a living force that tests, transforms, and reveals who you are) and steering it into far darker territory, this c...

8 films

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