Bill Nighy is far from a traditional fitness buff. His characters on screen and stage are more often tailored gentlemen than athletic performers, which is also true of his real-life persona.

In recent years, though, the 76-year-old has discovered the power of fitness – and it’s taken him completely by surprise. After initially struggling to find the motivation to start training, Nighy now travels to North London three times a week to work with a personal trainer. It’s a decision that ranks among the best of his hugely successful life.

‘When I tell people that I exercise, their first response is always to laugh, which I get because I’m old, lanky, and skinny,’ Nighy told GQ. ‘And then when they have finished laughing, they say, “But what do you wear?” Well, I wear a pair of training trousers and a T-shirt and a pair of pomegranate Pumas. Retro pomegranate Pumas.’

Why Bill Nighy Started Exercising at 76

It’s the euphoric post-training feeling that Nighy highlights as making his effort all worthwhile.

‘Exercise is one of the greatest things that has ever happened to me. I was never going to do any physical exercise,’ he added. ‘I was in a cult of one who considered that anything that was designed to prolong your life was vulgar and embarrassing. Like, “Who do you think you are that you need to live longer than everyone else?” But it changes the way you think. And the bit afterwards, when you walk towards the Tube, and you’ve got 20 minutes to walk and drink a cup of coffee – that’s as good as it gets.’

While exercise is the latest lever Nighy has pulled in pursuit of better health, he has paid attention to his health for more than three decades – whether he likes to admit it or not.

Bill Nighy’s Approach to Health and Fitness

The British actor stopped drinking alcohol in 1992, quit smoking 10 years later and understands the importance of eating a little bit healthier. After giving up alcohol, he found himself drinking 15 cans of Diet Coke a day alongside a packet of biscuits in order to curb his cravings. He quickly put a stop to that as well, limiting his sugar and caffeine intake as much as he could.

‘I used to drink and it was terrible and now I don’t. It’s marvellous when it stops,’ he told the BBC. ‘It’s not like having a drink in a normal way, you are in chemical thrall on a metabolic level. Alcohol is arguably the heavyweight champion drug of the world but nicotine is right up there, and it’s great to be liberated from nicotine because it’s a real bugger – it robs you of so much out of the day.’

If there’s one thing Kori Sampson knows, it’s how to optimise your body composition for performance. To tap into his knowledge as an elite athlete and coach, we asked him to create a 4-week plan to help you move faster, recover quicker and keep pushing when the fatigue sets in – all while improving your muscle-to-fat ratio.

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Ryan is a Senior Writer at Men’s Health UK with a passion for storytelling, health and fitness. Having graduated from Cardiff University in 2020, and later obtaining his NCTJ qualification, Ryan started his career as a Trainee News Writer for sports titles Golf Monthly, Cycling Weekly and Rugby World before progressing to Staff Writer and subsequently Senior Writer with football magazine FourFourTwo.

During his two-and-a-half years there he wrote news stories for the website and features for the magazine, while he also interviewed names such as Les Ferdinand, Ally McCoist, Jamie Redknapp and Antonio Rudiger, among many others. His standout memory, though, came when getting the opportunity to speak to then-Plymouth Argyle manager Steven Schumacher as the club won League One in 2023.

Having grown up a keen footballer and playing for his boyhood side until the age of 16, Ryan got the opportunity to represent Northern Ireland national futsal team eight times, scoring three goals against England, Scotland and Gibraltar. Now past his peak, Ryan prefers to mix weightlifting with running – he achieved a marathon PB of 3:31:49 at Manchester in April 2025, but credits the heat for failing to get below the coveted 3:30 mark…

You can follow Ryan on Instagram @ryan.dabbs or on X @ryandabbs_