| Billy Boyd | |
|---|---|
Boyd at Ring*Con 2005 in Fulda, Germany |
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| Born | Billy Boyd 28 August 1968 Glasgow, Scotland |
| Other names | Billy |
| Years active | 1998 - present |
| Spouse | Ali McKinnon |
| Website | |
| http://www.billyboyd.net/ | |
Billy Boyd (born 28 August 1968) is a Scottish actor and musician most widely known for playing the character Peregrin "Pippin" Took in the film adaptations of The Lord of the Rings and Barret Bonden in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World.
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Boyd was born in Glasgow, Scotland to William and Mary Boyd,[1] who died, a year apart, when Boyd was in his early teens.[2] He was brought up, along with his elder sister, Margaret, by their grandmother. In 1984, at the age of 16, he appeared in local musical company Theatre Guild, Glasgow's production of Hans Andersen. He worked as a book-binder for seven years before pursuing an acting career. One of the books he bound was The Lord of the Rings. He graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, where he earned a diploma in Dramatic Arts.
As well as being a screen actor, he also appears on the stage. He has been in several plays; most recently, San Diego and The Ballad Of Crazy Paola and currently touring in the musical, Sunshine on Leith. He is also an accomplished musician, singing and also playing the guitar, bass and drums. He wrote the melody for and sang in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King a song called "The Edge of Night".[3]
He also starred as Glen, the son of Chucky (Brad Dourif) and Tiffany (Jennifer Tilly), in the Seed of Chucky in 2004.
He topped list of top 100 Most Eligible Men in Scotland in 2002. Currently, he is the lead singer and co-songwriter in the band, Beecake.[4] He has also made a cameo appearance in the popular Scottish comedy Still Game in the second episode of the first series.
He has recently performed at the Dundee Repertory Theatre as the role of Davie in Sunshine on Leith, as well as in Long Hong Jimmy, in which he was the lead actor.
Aside from his musical aspirations, Boyd is an avid surfer, and spent his free time surfing in New Zealand during the production for Lord of the Rings.[2] He also holds a Grade 7 in foil fencing. He trained in martial arts at the Krauseworld Academy in Glasgow under brothers Steve Krause and Mike Krause where he achieved Phase 4 rank in both Jeet Kune Do and Filipino Kali.[5]
He currently owns a house in Glasgow with his partner, Alison McKinnon. On 26 April 2006, he and McKinnon welcomed their first child, son Jack William Boyd.[6]
Billy and his long time girlfriend, Alison McKinnon were married in a small ceremony of only 30 guests at Oran Mor in Glasgow's West End on December 29, 2010. The wedding was attended by fellow cast mates, Elijah Wood and Dominic Monaghan. A reception was held after for about 130 guests.
Boyd has a tattoo of the English word "nine" written with the Tengwar script, a reference to his involvement in the Lord of the Rings and the fact that his character was one of the nine members of the Fellowship of the Ring. The other actors of "The Fellowship" (Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Sean Bean, Ian McKellen, Dominic Monaghan, Viggo Mortensen, and Orlando Bloom) got the same tattoo with the exception of John Rhys-Davies whose stunt double got the tattoo instead.[7]
He remains close with Lord of the Rings co-star Dominic Monaghan and they are writing a script together but at the moment there are no plans for it to be made. Dominic revealed in an interview for the national breakfast television show GMTV that he continues to see Billy on a regular basis, as he is 'essentially, kind of, godfather to his kids'.
Boyd is one of the patrons of Scottish Youth Theatre, Scotland's National Theatre 'for and by' young people.
Boyd is also the Patron of the National Boys' Choir of Scotland.
In 2008, Boyd fronted VisitScotland's Perfect Day Campaign, and talked particularly of his love of surfing in Scotland, particularly in Machrihanish near the town of Campeltown in the west coast of Scotland and Pease Bay and Coldingham Bay on Scotland's East coast. In an interview about the campaign with The Scotsman on 28 July he said "I don't really do much promotional stuff but felt that with this one I could be honest...I'm very proud of where I come from and I get very excited if a friend comes over and I can show them around."[8]
Boyd fronts a band called Beecake. [9][10] As well as topping some of the international MySpace charts, the band was recently awarded VisitScotland's award for Best Live Act at the Tartan Clef Music Awards. The award was created by VisitScotland to celebrate Scotland's great live music scene and Glasgow's new title of UNESCO City of Music. The Tartan Clef Music Awards raise money for Nordoff Robbins Music Therapy in Scotland - a charity which uses music to bring joy into the lives of children and adults who have been isolated by disability, trauma or illness.[11]
Beecake has recently released their new album, Soul Swimming. The band was named after Boyd's LOTR co-star Dominic Monaghan sent a picture of a cake covered in bees.[12]
Billy Boyd also made a guest appearance on Viggo Mortensen's 2003 album Pandemoniumfromamerica, where he played the bass on two songs, as well as drums on another.
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
| 1998 | The Soldier's Leap | Postman | Short film |
| Urban Ghost Story | Loan Shark | ||
| 1999 | Julie and the Cadillacs | Jimmy Campbell | |
| 2001 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Peregrin 'Pippin' Took | |
| 2002 | The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers | Peregrin 'Pippin' Took | |
| 2003 | Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World | Barret Bonden | |
| The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Peregrin 'Pippin' Took | ||
| 2004 | Seed of Chucky | Glen/Glenda Ray | Voice role |
| 2005 | On a Clear Day | Danny | |
| Stories of Lost Souls | The Gunner | Segment: Sniper 470 | |
| Midsummer Dream | Puck | Voice role | |
| 2006 | The Flying Scotsman | Malky | |
| 2007 | The Donald Gray Show | Vince Sandhurst | TV movie |
| 2008 | Stone of Destiny | Bill Craig | |
| 2009 | Jusqu'à toi | Rufus | |
| 2010 | Pimp | Chief | |
| Carmel | Bernie | ||
| The Witches of Oz | Nick Chopper | post-production | |
| Glenn, the Flying Robot | Jack | post-production | |
| 2011 | The Lion Inside | Nick Sutton | pre-production |
| 2011 | Irvine Welsh's Ecstasy | Woodsy | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1996 | Taggart | Jamie Holmes | Episode: Dead Man's Chest |
| 1999 | Coming Soon | Ross | Miniseries |
| 2002 | Still Game | Bearded Man | Episode: Faimly |
| 2004 | Instant Credit | Frankie | Short TV-film |
| 2008 | Empty | Tony | 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Moby Dick | Elijah | |
| Video games | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King | Peregrin 'Pippin' Took | |
| 2006 | The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-earth II: The Rise of the Witch-king | Peregrin 'Pippin' Took | |
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award
National Board of Review of Motion Pictures