Until almost the end of 2008, British actor Bill Nighy was one of those faces you couldn't put a name to.

In his 50s, Nighy hails from the southern outskirts of London, where his father managed a garage in the bleak satellite town of Croydon and his mother was a psychiatric nurse. Bill's life partner is actress Diana Quick, who, though not as big a star, is perhaps more recognizable than he. Bill had asked Diana to marry him, but she declined the institution if not the man.

"I do quite nicely in Britain," states Nighy, to whom Hollywood has paid infrequent attention until recently.