Billy Boyd

Birthday: 28 August 1968, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Birth Name: William Boyd

Height: 169 cm

Billy Boyd was born in 1968 in Glasgow, Scotland, to Mary and William Boyd. The 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. Show less «

[on the bond between the four hobbit-actors:] We're really good friends. We spent last New Year toge...Show more »

[on the bond between the four hobbit-actors:] We're really good friends. We spent last New Year together. Sean's married and has children, so he has other things that he has to do, but me, Dom, and Elijah all spent New Year in the borders of Scotland and England. [December 14, 2003] Show less «

On being asked if he could relate to his character, Pippin: "Strangely enough, the first time I trie...Show more »

On being asked if he could relate to his character, Pippin: "Strangely enough, the first time I tried to read the book I was on holiday in Florida. I dropped it in the pool my first day there. If that's not a Pippin thing to do, I don't know what is." Show less «

"I realised that it was just about Pippin and some other people!" After reading 'Lord of the Rings' ...Show more »

"I realised that it was just about Pippin and some other people!" After reading 'Lord of the Rings' for the first time. Show less «

[on collaborating with Dominic Monaghan on a script:] I don't really think I'm a good writer. I thin...Show more »

[on collaborating with Dominic Monaghan on a script:] I don't really think I'm a good writer. I think I'm too lazy to be a writer. There's always a Playstation or a movie or something to pull me away. Dom's better at writing and being that kind of guy. When I was filming in Mexico, we did a lot of it on tape and then Dom would write it later. Now we're working with a writer called David Gregg to finish it off and polish it up a bit, I guess. It's looking really good, and there are a lot of people interested in making it, and that's even better. So, hopefully, I'd love to work with Dom again and do a couple of different characters. I think it could be fun if we manage to keep a career going, to have this kind of two actors working together, but always playing different parts. It would be fun, I think. [December 11, 2003] Show less «

My worst habit is whistling while I sleep.

To play one of the main characters in it, it's not the kind of thing you don't do. Oh, I'd rather no...Show more »

To play one of the main characters in it, it's not the kind of thing you don't do. Oh, I'd rather not play Pippin in Lord of the Rings..., In fact, what else would you rather do, you know? I can't actually think of another job that I'd rather do. Show less «

[on his favorite cartoon character] "Daffy Duck, because he's funny and sarcastic."

[on cast camraderie during shooting "The Lord of the Rings":] There was a lot of pranking, but that ...Show more »

[on cast camraderie during shooting "The Lord of the Rings":] There was a lot of pranking, but that was more Dom (Dominic Monaghan) and Viggo (Viggo Mortensen). With Viggo, they were normally quite violent, aggressive ones. You would see Sean Bean walking across to his caravan, and then see this figure of Viggo running across the plains and rugby tackling him. Dom and Viggo were attacking each other's trailers for quite a while, redecorating inside and out with whatever they got their hands on. It was a very happy set, a very constructive set. [December 14, 2003] Show less «

I think I have a gift... but I haven't really opened that gift yet and given it to myself

[teasing a journalist who asked about the hobbits' popularity in the gay community:] We had to learn...Show more »

[teasing a journalist who asked about the hobbits' popularity in the gay community:] We had to learn how to canoe. I don't know why, because we don't do it in the movie, but it was part of our training. And there was a group shower. All the Americans, though, they were quite scared. Elijah and Sean just, like, didn't have a shower and left, but me, Orlando and Dominic, in our British way, all got involved in showers. But it was just a shower. [December 18, 2003] Show less «

Hobbits are a lot like Scots. It's all about nature and enjoying their land, which is a very Scottis...Show more »

Hobbits are a lot like Scots. It's all about nature and enjoying their land, which is a very Scottish thing. Show less «

[on filming LOTR:] It was a tough shoot, you had to be there six days a week and it was absolutely e...Show more »

[on filming LOTR:] It was a tough shoot, you had to be there six days a week and it was absolutely exhausting. Peter Jackson has a really good bullshit monitor; if you're just acting that you're acting, he will know it, and he won't allow it. But that's great, because one of the main reasons that this film works is because, though it's a fantasy movie, it's so real. And although I'd do it all again tomorrow, by the end we were absolutely exhausted. I remember one time after doing a scene, an emotional scene, I was exhausted, having a headache and all, and coming in the next day, and Pete said, 'Okay, get yourself back to where you were yesterday', and I just thought that I could do anything but work myself up to that emotional peak again. [December 11, 2003] Show less «

Billy Boyd

Billy Boyd's FILMOGRAPHY

Billy Boyd'S roles

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