- Although he played the seemingly older Dr. Watson opposite Basil Rathbone as Sherlock Holmes, he was actually 2-1/2 years younger.
- Fought in the British army during World War I and was seriously wounded in action.
- Best known for playing Dr. Watson, he is fittingly also a cousin of Christopher Plummer, who went on to play Sherlock Holmes.
- Younger brother of Sir Michael William Selby Bruce, 11th Baronet of Stenhouse and Airth, a descendant of Robert the Bruce and of the Royal Stuarts. Source: "Tramp Royal" by Sir Michael Bruce of Stenhouse. Published 1945 by Elek Books Ltd, 14 Great James St, London.
- In May 1945 he underwent surgery for varicose veins in his legs as a result of his war injuries.
- Best known for his inimitable, forever-indelible portrayals of a most blithering Dr. John Watson opposite Basil Rathbone's Sherlock Holmes in Universal's World War II-era Holmes films.
- In late 1944 he began writing an autobiography entitled "Games, Gossip and Greasepaint" which was never published. However many extracts were published in "The Sherlock Holmes Journal" (London/Oxford, England) Winter issue 1998 Volume 19 Number 1.
- Began his acting career on stage in 1920.
- Two daughters: Jennifer and Pauline
- Nigel Bruce was of an old Scottish family; he was the younger brother of Sir Michael William Selby Bruce, 11th Baronet of Stenhouse, who was an author and soldier.
- Bruce and Rathbone were great friends off-screen. Rathbone's nicknames for Bruce were "Bunny" and "Willy".
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