Billy Boyd's Main TV Roles Show Character(s) Empty (UK) Tony Player$ Billy Boyd

Main Movie Roles 2009 - Jusqu'a toi 2008 - Stone of Destiny 2006 - The Flying Scotsman 2004 - Seed of Chucky 2003 - Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World 2003 - The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2002 - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2001 - The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

BIOGRAPHY:

Born in Glasgow, Scotland in 1968, this talented young boy, inspired by Star Wars to try acting, got his first taste of it in his school's production of Oliver Twist when he was 10. Boyd's parents were extremely supportive, driving over two hours to get him to the performances, but sadly they passed away when he was 12. He was thereafter raised by his grandmother. He realized that he enjoyed acting very much and told his school counselor that was what he wanted to be, but the counselor discouraged this choice and told him to "keep it secret". When he was 17 he left school and went to work in a book-binding workshop. He worked there 4 years as an apprentice and 2 years as a workman. Ironically, during the years he worked at the book-binders, the Lord of the Rings trilogy was printed and bound there, many copies bound by his hands. After the 6 years as a book-binder, he was thoroughly sick of it. Billy planned on going to America for a year, but before he went he called the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and asked about applying for when he got back. But it so happened that they still had space for this year and they asked him if he wanted to apply and he did. He was at the drama school in a 3-year course for his bachelor of arts degree, meanwhile studying everything from Shakespeare to puppet-making. During this time Billy had a few small roles in TV series such as "Down Amongst The Boys" and "Taggart". After graduating he performed in many plays like 'The Slab Boys', 'The Diary of Adrian Mole' etc. at The St. Andrews theatre which were his first paying roles.

He then received a call from his agent about the Lord of the Rings movies and if he would like to audition for them. He went along not expecting much, but within a few months Peter Jackson came out to Scotland to meet him and to audition him personally. While rehearsing for a show he received a call from his agent who said that the part of Pippin had been offered to him - if he wanted it. The rest is history.


TRIVIA:

• Has a band in Scotland named Beecake and an album out called Just B.
• He's a talented singer; a strong tenor / light baritone voice, F# to A above middle C over 2 octaves. He also plays the guitar, the bass, and the drums.
• He was the teens choice for host of the European MTV awards in 2002.
• Likes porridge for breakfast.
• Began working with 'Dominic Monaghan' (qv) on a script about two English lads who open a scuba diving school in Miami. "We started writing when we were stuck up Treebeard during the second movie [_The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)_ (qv)]," Boyd told a reporter for the Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) [December 14, 2003].
• 12/1/2002: Topped list of top 100 Most Eligible Men in Scotland
• Wrote and sang a song called 'The Steward of Gondor' in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He wanted it to sound Scottish, somber and very different than the kind of thing that Pippin and Merry were singing at Edoras earlier in the movie.
• When he was first cast in The Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson asked him to tone down his Scottish accent, but found that the funny parts just weren't as funny without it, so Boyd was allowed to use his regular Scottish accent. Jackson and the writers then consulted The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins's mother was a Took, and one of their ancestors had, according to the book, invented the game of golf. Since golf is of Scottish origin, they reasoned that Tolkien must have, therefore, intended for the Tooks to be Scottish.