Bill Nighy, speaking from north-west London, is promoting the new film & Sons, in which he plays a reclusive, celebrated author. His character, AN Dyer, is presented as dormant and dishevelled, first seen refusing phone calls; the film introduces an eccentric twist to that familiar family-drama premise while avoiding plot details. Critics have noted echoes of JD Salinger in the reclusiveness and a touch of Catweazle in the appearance, but the production charts its own course.
Bill Nighy described his own relationship with communication as the inverse of his on-screen persona: he says he spends a great deal of time on the phone and is an enthusiastic texter. He recalled being quick on an early mobile, the Nokia, and outlined an idiosyncratic view of emojis, favouring the flamingo, the purple dahlia, a leaping shark sometimes paired with a dolphin, and occasionally the golfer in mid-swing, while dismissing generic smiley faces.
Bill Nighy has also reflected on earlier ambitions and episodes in his life, recounting a youthful move to Paris to pursue writing and describing how his path diverged from those plans. He has become known beyond film for his work as a podcast advice host, and in interviews he has spoken candidly about the unexpected turns of a long career in theatre and cinema. Journalists observed him browsing local bookshops during the promotional period, aligning his public presence with literary interests associated with his role.
& Sons is now in release and positions a central family figure against a partly speculative backdrop; the filmmakers have kept the film’s distinctive twist deliberately under wraps. Bill Nighy also commented on mundane professional details such as a dislike of working lunches and, more playfully, a wish to attempt the splits like the late artist Prince. The film and Nighy’s recent interviews continue to draw attention to the interplay between an actor’s private habits and the eccentricities of the characters he portrays.
