Billy (I) Boyd filmography and biography

Date of birth: 28 August 1968, Glasgow, Scotland, UK

Billy (I) Boyd 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.

Billy (I) Boyd trivia

- Attended the Royal Scottish Academy of Music & Drama and graduated with a Diploma in Dramatic Arts.
- Sister: Margaret
- Parents: William and Mary (deceased)
- 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.
- 12/1/2002: Topped list of top 100 Most Eligible Men in Scotland
- Boyd and his sister were raised by their grandmother after the death of their parents.
- Likes porridge for breakfast.
- Wears a kilt on some formal occasions.
- Won a role as an astronaut by doing the best impression of weightlessness while sitting in a chair.
- 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.
- Is an avid surfer, and does so as often as possible.
- Began working with Dominic Monaghan 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]," Boyd told a reporter for the Sunday Herald Sun (Melbourne, Australia) [December 14, 2003].
- His favorite film is Bill Forsyth's 1981 comedy 'Gregory's Girl'.
- His favorite cartoon character is Daffy Duck
- In The Lord of the Rings, according to the book, Pippin is 28 years old, which makes him the youngest of the four lead hobbits. However, Boyd is actually the oldest of the four hobbit actors.
- He was the teens choice for host of the European MTV awards in 2002.
- During college, he worked in a pizza hut, a bar and a comedy club to make ends meet.
- 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.
- Hates cinnamon
- Has a home in Lesmahagow, Glasgow.
- He and long time girlfriend Ali became parents on April 26th 2006. Their son's name is Jack William Boyd.
- Has a band in Scotland named Beecake and an album out called Just B.

Billy (I) Boyd quotes

- 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.
- Hobbits are a lot like Scots. It's all about nature and enjoying their land, which is a very Scottish thing.
- "I realised that it was just about Pippin and some other people!" After reading 'Lord of the Rings' for the first time.
- 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."
- [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]
- [on filming LOTR:] "It was a tough shoot, you had to be there six days a week and it was absolutely exhausting. Peter Jackson (I) 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]
- [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]
- [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]
- [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]
- [on his favorite cartoon character] "Daffy Duck, because he's funny and sarcastic."
- My worst habit is whistling while I sleep.
- I think I have a gift... but I haven't really opened that gift yet and given it to myself