David Niven, al secolo James David Graham Niven (Londra, 1º marzo 1910 – Château-d’Œx, 29 luglio 1983), è stato un attore britannico.

Arrivò a Hollywood durante gli anni trenta, iniziando a lavorare come comparsa in pellicole western. Firmò un contratto con il produttore Samuel Goldwyn e finalmente ebbe una parte più rilevante in La tragedia del Bounty (1935); da allora il suo successo crebbe grazie alle interpretazioni in La carica dei seicento (1936) e ne La voce nella tempesta (1939), e nelle commedie brillanti come L’ottava moglie di Barbablù (1938) e Situazione imbarazzante (1939).

Vinse l’Oscar al miglior attore protagonista per la sua interpretazione del timido e solitario maggiore Pollock in Tavole separate (1958), accanto a Deborah Kerr e Burt Lancaster, tratto dall’omonima commedia di Terence Rattigan.

Seguirono ruoli memorabili in drammi come Buongiorno tristezza (1958), in film bellici quali I cannoni di Navarone (1961) e I due nemici (1962), nel quale ebbe come partner Alberto Sordi, e in commedie sofisticate come La Pantera Rosa (1963) e James Bond 007 – Casino Royale (1967), commedia non appartenente alla serie ufficiale di film tratti dai romanzi di Ian Fleming, in cui interpretò il ruolo di James Bond.

Negli anni settanta venne acclamato da pubblico e critica per due brillanti libri autobiografici: La luna è un pallone (The Moon’s a Balloon) (1971) e Bring On the Empty Horses (1975), quest’ultimo mai tradotto in italiano. Nel 1981 pubblicò un romanzo d’amore e avventura ambientato a Londra durante la seconda guerra mondiale, Va piano, torna presto (Go Slowly, Come Back Quickly).

nella foto: David Niven con la seconda moglie Hjordis Paulina Tersmeden , in Belgio nel 1961

James David Graham Niven (1 March 1910 – 29 July 1983) was an English actor and novelist. His many roles included Squadron Leader Peter Carter in A Matter of Life and Death, Phileas Fogg in Around the World in 80 Days, and Sir Charles Lytton, (“the Phantom”) in The Pink Panther. He won the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in Separate Tables (1958).

Born in London, Niven attended Heatherdown Preparatory School and Stowe before gaining a place at the Royal Military College, Sandhurst. After Sandhurst, he joined the British Army and was gazetted a second lieutenant in the Highland Light Infantry. Having developed an interest in acting, he left the Highland Light Infantry, travelled to Hollywood, and had several minor roles in film. He first appeared as an extra in the British film There Goes the Bride (1932). From there, he hired an agent and had several small parts in films from 1933 to 1935, including a non-speaking part in MGM’s Mutiny on the Bounty. This brought him to wider attention within the film industry and he was spotted by Samuel Goldwyn. Upon the outbreak of the Second World War, Niven returned to Britain and rejoined the army, being recommissioned as a lieutenant.

Niven resumed his acting career after his demobilisation, and was voted the second-most popular British actor in the 1945 Popularity Poll of British film stars. He appeared in A Matter of Life and Death (1946), The Bishop’s Wife (1947), and Enchantment (1948), all of which received critical acclaim. Niven later appeared in The Elusive Pimpernel (1950), The Toast of New Orleans (1950), Happy Go Lovely (1951), Happy Ever After (1954) and Carrington V.C. (1955) before scoring a big success as Phileas Fogg in Michael Todd’s production of Around the World in 80 Days (1956). Niven appeared in nearly a hundred films, and many shows for television. He also began writing books, with considerable commercial success. In 1982 he appeared in Blake Edwards’ final “Pink Panther” films Trail of the Pink Panther and Curse of the Pink Panther, reprising his role as Sir Charles Lytton.

Alberto Sordi e David Niven nel film “I due Nemici”