Born on August 28, 1969 in Glasgow, Scotland, Billy Boyd is an actor and musician perhaps singularly best known for his role as the hobbit Pippin in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Both his parents died when he was in his early teens, a year apart. Along with his older sister, Boyd was raised by his grandmother. He worked as a bookbinder for seven years before finally pursuing an acting career. Ironically, The Lord of the Rings was one of the books he found himself binding. He eventually graduated from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama with a diploma in Dramatic Arts.
As early as 16, Billy Boyd appeared in a local musical company’s production of Hans Anderson. This was 1984. His other screen credits include San Diego and The Ballad of Crazy Paola. He is also an accomplished musician, being able to sing, play the guitar, bass, and drums. In fact, he wrote the melody and sang The Steward of Gondor, which is part of the film The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. He is also the frontman and co-songwriter in a band called Beecake. In 2002, he topped the list of top 100 Most Eligible Men in Scotland.
Boyd’s band Beecake started out as "an excuse for four good friends to have some fun making music." It is said that having Boyd, who was very popular in light of The Lord of the Rings’ blockbuster status, opened doors for the band and gave them extensive media mileage. Their first gig was so successful that they decided to record some original music. In time, they became the number one unsigned artist in MySpace in England. To date, they have played live with the likes of Snadi Thom, Amy McDonald, and Eddie Reader. Boyd is also an avid suffer, spending a lot of time in New Zealand, also the primary filming location of Lord of the Rings.
