William Nathan Boyd (born 28 August 1968) is a Scottish actor and musician. He played Peregrin "Pippin" Took in

Peter Jackson Sir Peter Robert Jackson (born 31 October 1961) is a New Zealand filmmaker. He is best known as the director, writer, and producer of the ''Lord of the Rings'' trilogy (2001–2003) and the ''Hobbit'' trilogy (2012–2014), both of which ar ...

epic film Epic films have large scale, sweeping scope, and spectacle. The term is slightly ambiguous, sometimes designating a film genre and at other times simply big-budget films. Like epics in the classical literary sense, it is often focused on a her ...

trilogy ''

The Lord of the Rings ''The Lord of the Rings'' is an Epic (genre), epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually d ...

'' (2001–2003), Barret Bonden in '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'' (2003) and Glen and Glenda (later G.G. Valentine) in the '' Child's Play'' film ''

Seed of Chucky ''Seed of Chucky'' is a 2004 black comedy slasher film. It is the fifth film in the ''Child's Play'' series, following ''Bride of Chucky''. The film was written and directed by Don Mancini in his directorial debut, and stars Jennifer Tilly, R ...

'' (2004) and second season of the television series '' Chucky'' (2022).

Early life

Boyd was born in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, to William and Mary Boyd, who both died a year apart when Boyd was in his early teens. He worked as a bookbinder for six years before pursuing an acting career. After graduating from the

Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama The Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (), formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama () is a conservatoire of dance, drama, music, production, and film in Glasgow, Scotland. It is a member of the Federation of Drama Schools. Founde ...

, he went on to perform with St Andrews Repertory and the Traverse Theatre.

Career

Acting

Boyd started his career appearing in ''

Taggart ''Taggart'' is a Scottish detective fiction television programme created by Glenn Chandler, who wrote many of the episodes, and made by STV Studios for the ITV network. It originally ran as the miniseries ''Killer'' from 6 until 20 Septe ...

'' (1996), ''The Soldier's Leap'' (1998), and '' Urban Ghost Story'' (1998). He also appeared in the 7:84 Theatre Company Scotland production of ''Caledonia Dreaming'' by David Greig in 1997. His breakthrough, and most notable acting role, was Peregrin "Pippin" Took in ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy, from 2001 to 2003. Boyd wrote the melody for and sang the song "

The Edge of Night ''The Edge of Night'' is an American mystery crime drama soap opera, created by Irving Vendig and produced by Procter & Gamble Productions. It debuted on CBS on April 2, 1956, and ran as a live broadcast on that network for most of its ...

", which was featured in '' The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King''. The song was later used over the trailer for '' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies'' (2014), the final film in the ''Hobbit'' trilogy. Boyd also wrote and performed the song "The Last Goodbye", which is played during the ending credits of the film. In 2004, he starred as Glen and Glenda, Chucky's (

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Chucky in the ''Child's Play'' franchise (1988–present), portraying Gríma Wormtongue in ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series, and his Academy A ...

) and Tiffany's (

Jennifer Tilly Jennifer Tilly (born Jennifer Ellen Chan; September 16, 1958) is an American-Canadian actress and professional poker player. Known for her distinctive breathy voice and comedic timing, she is the recipient of a Saturn Award, and a GLAAD Award, ...

) offsprings in the '' Child's Play'' film ''

''. He has also made a cameo appearance in the popular Scottish comedy ''

Still Game ''Still Game'' is a Scotland, Scottish sitcom produced by Effingee Productions, The Comedy Unit and BBC Scotland. It was created by Ford Kiernan and Greg Hemphill, who played the lead characters, Jack Jarvis (Still Game character), Jack Jarvis, ...

'' in the second episode of the first series. As well as being a screen actor, he also appears on the stage. Boyd has been in several plays; including ''San Diego'' and ''The Ballad of Crazy Paola''. He performed at the

Dundee Repertory Theatre Dundee Repertory Theatre, better known simply as the Dundee Rep, is a theatre and arts company in Dundee, Scotland. It operates as both a producing house with some shows co-produced by other theatres and a receiving house – hosting work from ...

in the role of Davie in '' Sunshine on Leith'', as well as in ''Long Hong Jimmy'', in which he was the lead actor. He also starred (2007) as Richard MacDuff in the BBC Radio adaptation of the book: ''Dirk Gently′s Holistic Detective Agency'' written by

Douglas Adams Douglas Noel Adams (11 March 1952 – 11 May 2001) was an English author, humorist, and screenwriter, best known as the creator of ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy''. Originally a 1978 BBC radio comedy, ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the ...

. In 2011, his feature film ''Glenn, the Flying Robot'' was shown in the

Dawn Breakers International Film Festival Dawn Breakers International Film Festival (DBIFF) was an international travelling film festival held in various cities throughout the world from 2007 to 2015. The festival debuted in Phoenix, Arizona and was later held in San Diego, Houston and Z� ...

, and was followed by a

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

release. In June 2012, he appeared on stage as the voice of the guide in ''

The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy ''The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy'' is a Science fiction comedy, comedy science fiction franchise created by Douglas Adams. Originally a The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (radio series), radio sitcom broadcast over two series on BBC ...

'' live radio show. In 2013, Boyd played

Banquo Lord Banquo , the Thane (Scotland), Thane of Lochaber, is a semi-historical character in William Shakespeare's 1606 play ''Macbeth''. In the play, he is at first an ally of Macbeth (character), Macbeth (both are generals in the King's army) an ...

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', at the

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

alongside

Joseph Millson Joseph Millson (born 27 April 1974) is an English actor, writer, director and singer. He trained at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in Sidcup, London. He gained a master's degree in screenwriting from Falmouth University in 2023. ...

and

Samantha Spiro Samantha Spiro (born 20 June 1968) is an English actress and singer. She played Barbara Windsor in the stage play '' Cleo, Camping, Emmanuelle and Dick'' and the television films '' Cor, Blimey!'' and '' Babs'', D.I. Vivien Friend in '' M.I.T.: ...

. Boyd together with fellow ''The Lord of the Rings'' castmates

Sean Astin Sean Patrick Astin (; born February 25, 1971) is an American actor. His acting roles include Mikey Walsh in '' The Goonies'' (1985), Billy Tepper in '' Toy Soldiers'' (1991), Dave Morgan in '' Encino Man'' (1992), Daniel Ruettiger in '' Rudy'' ...

Sean Bean Sean Bean (born Shaun Mark Bean; 17 April 1959) is an English actor. After graduating from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he made his professional debut in a production of ''Romeo and Juliet'' in 1983 at The Watermill Theatre. Retaining his ...

Orlando Bloom Orlando Jonathan Blanchard Copeland Bloom (born 13 January 1977) is an English actor. He made his breakthrough as the character Legolas in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' film series (2001–03). He reprised his r ...

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

Dominic Monaghan Dominic Bernard Patrick Luke Monaghan (born 8 December 1976) is a British-Irish actor. He is best known for playing Meriadoc "Merry" Brandybuck in Peter Jackson's film trilogy ''The Lord of the Rings'' (2001–2003), and Charlie Pace on the ...

Viggo Mortensen Viggo Peter Mortensen Jr. (; born October 20, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has received nominations for three Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. Mortensen made his film debut with a small role in ...

Miranda Otto Miranda Otto (born 16 December 1967) is an Australian actress. She is the daughter of actors Barry Otto, Barry and Lindsay Otto and the paternal half-sister of actress Gracie Otto. Otto began her acting career in 1986 at age 18 and appeared in a ...

John Rhys-Davies John Rhys-Davies (born 5 May 1944) is a Welsh actor known for portraying Gimli (Middle-earth), Gimli in The Lord of the Rings (film series), ''The Lord of the Rings'' trilogy and Sallah in the ''Indiana Jones'' franchise. He has received three ...

Andy Serkis Andrew Clement Serkis (born 20 April 1964) is an English actor and filmmaker. He is best known for his motion capture roles comprising motion capture acting, animation and voice work for computer-generated characters such as Gollum in ''The Lo ...

Liv Tyler Liv Rundgren Tyler (born Liv Rundgren; July 1, 1977) is an American actress. She began her career as a model before making her film debut in '' Silent Fall'' (1994). She went on to receive critical recognition and attention after her starring ...

Karl Urban Karl-Heinz Urban (born 7 June 1972) is a New Zealand actor. His career began with appearances in New Zealand films and television series such as '' Xena: Warrior Princess''. His first Hollywood role was in the 2002 horror film ''Ghost Ship''. ...

, and

Elijah Wood Elijah Jordan Wood (born January 28, 1981) is an American actor and producer. Wood made his film debut with a minor part in ''Back to the Future Part II'' (1989) at the age of eight and achieved recognition in the early 1990s as a child acto ...

, plus writer Philippa Boyens and director

on 31 May 2020 joined

Josh Gad Joshua Ilan Gad (born February 23, 1981) is an American actor. He is known for voicing Olaf in the '' Frozen'' franchise and playing Elder Arnold Cunningham in the Broadway musical ''The Book of Mormon''. For his role as Olaf, Gad won two Annie ...

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

series ''Reunited Apart'' which reunites the cast of popular movies through video-conferencing, and promotes donations to non-profit charities. In 2022, he reprised his ''Child's Play'' role in the second season finale of the television series '' Chucky'', titled "Chucky Actually", as a merged incarnation of Glen and Glenda Tilly, known as G.G. Valentine. He made his stage debut in 2024 with ''The Lord of the Rings'' castmate Dominic Monaghan in the Canadian production of Tom Stoppard's ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Hamle ...

''.

Music

Boyd fronts a band called Beecake. The band was named after a time when Boyd's ''Lord of the Rings'' co-star

sent a picture of a cake covered in bees. Other members of the band included Paul Burke, Billy Johnston, and Rick Martin. Boyd made a guest appearance on

's 2003 album '' Pandemoniumfromamerica'', where he played the bass on two songs, as well as drums on another. In June 2010, Beecake released an album ''Soul Swimming''. As well as topping some of the international

MySpace Myspace (formerly stylized as MySpace, currently myspace; and sometimes my␣, with an elongated Whitespace character#Substitute images, open box symbol) is a social networking service based in the United States. Launched on August 1, 2003, it w ...

charts, the band was awarded VisitScotland's award for Best Live Act at the Tartan Clef Music Awards. The award was created by VisitScotland to celebrate Scotland's live music scene and Glasgow's new title of UNESCO City of Music. Beecake released the EP ''Please Stay'' on 4 June 2012. The music video for the song "Please Stay" from the EP was released to coincide with the release of the EP. The song's music video was directed by Michael Ferns, a graduate from the RSAMD where Boyd himself graduated. The group released their second album ''Blue Sky Paradise'' in December 2012. The band released a second EP titled ''Just B'' in July 2013. In 2014, Boyd wrote and performed the song "The Last Goodbye", which was played over the ending credits of the movie '' The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies''.

Personal life

Boyd is an avid surfer and spent his free time surfing in New Zealand during the production for ''The Lord of the Rings''. 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 Jeet Kune Do (/ˌdʒiːt kuːn ˈdoʊ/; zh, c=截拳道, l=stop fist way' or 'way of the intercepting fist, j=zit6 kyun4 dou6; abbreviated JKD) is a hybrid martial art conceived and practiced by martial artist Bruce Lee. It was formed from ...

and Filipino Kali. He topped a list of the 100 Most Eligible Men in Scotland in 2002. He owns a house in

with his wife, Alison McKinnon. The couple had their first child, a boy named Jack William Boyd, on 26 April 2006. He and McKinnon were married in a ceremony with 30 guests at

Òran Mór Òran Mór (Scottish Gaelic: "great melody of life" or "big song") is a theatre, restaurant, entertainment and music venue in Glasgow. From 1862 until 1978 the building was the Kelvinside Parish Church (Botanic Gardens) before becoming redunda ...

in Glasgow's West End on 29 December 2010. The wedding was attended by castmates

and

. A reception was held afterwards for about 130 guests. Boyd has a

tattoo A tattoo is a form of body modification made by inserting tattoo ink, dyes, or pigments, either indelible or temporary, into the dermis layer of the skin to form a design. Tattoo artists create these designs using several tattooing processes ...

of the Elvish word for "nine" written with the

Tengwar The Tengwar () script is an artificial script, one of Tolkien's scripts, several scripts created by J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of ''The Lord of the Rings''. Within the context of Tolkien's fictional world, the Tengwar were invented by the ...

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" (

, and

) got the same tattoo with the exception of

whose stunt double got the tattoo instead. He remains close with ''The Lord of the Rings'' co-star

. Monaghan revealed in an interview for the national breakfast television show ''

GMTV GMTV (an initialism for Good Morning Television), now legally known as ''ITV Breakfast, ITV Breakfast Broadcasting Limited'', was the name of the national ITV (TV network), ITV breakfast television contractor/licensee, broadcasting in the Uni ...

'' that he continues to see Boyd on a regular basis, as he is "essentially, kind of, godfather to his kid." Boyd and Monaghan co-host the podcast ‘The Friendship Onionʼ together. Boyd is one of the patrons of

Scottish Youth Theatre Scottish Youth Theatre is a national young artists' development organisation. It designs projects that offer artistic development opportunities for aspiring and early career artists, age 14 to 25. The company was established in 1976 and has a free- ...

, Scotland's National Theatre "for and by" young people. He is also the patron of the National Boys' Choir of Scotland.

Holidays in Scotland

In 2008, Boyd fronted

VisitScotland VisitScotland, formerly the Scottish Tourist Board (), is a national tourism organisation for Scotland. It is an executive non-departmental public body of the Scottish Government, with offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen, Inverness, and ...

's Perfect Day Campaign, and talked of his love of surfing in Scotland, particularly in

Machrihanish Machrihanish (, ) is a village in Argyll and Bute, on the west coast of Scotland. It is a short distance north of the tip of the Mull of Kintyre, which faces out towards Northern Ireland and the Atlantic. Machrihanish bay The main sandy beach ...

near the town of

Campbeltown Campbeltown (; or ) is a town and former royal burgh in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies by Campbeltown Loch on the Kintyre Peninsula. Campbeltown became an important centre for Scotch whisky, and a busy fishing port. The 2018 populatio ...

in Kintyre in the west coast of Scotland, and

Pease Bay Pease Bay is a bay situated around 9 miles southeast of Dunbar, in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, close to the border with East Lothian as well as Cockburnspath, Cove, Scottish Borders, Cove and Dunglass. The area is notable as a holiday ...

and

Coldingham Bay Coldingham Bay is an inlet in the North Sea coast, just over three kilometres north of the town of Eyemouth in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is situated at grid reference and is easily reached by a minor road which leaves the B6438 ...

on Scotland's east coast. In an interview about the campaign with ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact (newspaper), compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until ...

'' on 28 July 2008, 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."

Filmography

Film

Television

Theatre

Audio dramas

Video games

Awards and nominations

Broadcast Film Critics Association Award The Critics' Choice Awards (formerly known as the Broadcast Film Critics Association Award) is an awards show presented annually by the American Critics Choice Association (CCA) to honor the finest in cinematic achievement. Written ballots are ...

* 2004: Won, "Best Acting Ensemble" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (shared with cast)

DVD Exclusive Awards The DVD Exclusive Awards were an awards program that honored direct to video productions released on DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was i ...

* 2003: Nominated, "Best Audio Commentary" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (shared with cast)

Empire Awards The Empire Awards was an annual British awards ceremony honouring cinematic achievements in the local and global film industry. Winners were awarded the Empire Award statuette. The awards, first presented in 1996, were presented by the British f ...

* 2002: Nominated, "Best Debut" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (shared with

)

National Board of Review of Motion Pictures The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures is a non-profit organization of New York City area film enthusiasts. Its awards, which are announced in early December, are considered the first major harbinger of the awards season, film award ...

* 2003: Won, "Best Acting by an Ensemble" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (shared with cast)

Online Film Critics Society The Online Film Critics Society (OFCS) is an international professional association of online film journalists, historians and scholars who publish their work on the World Wide Web. The organization was founded in January 1997 by Harvey S. Karten ...

* 2003: Won, "Best Ensemble" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (shared with cast)

Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

* 2002: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring'' (shared with cast) * 2003: Nominated, "Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers'' (shared with cast) * 2004: Won, "Outstanding Performance by the Cast of a Theatrical Motion Picture" – ''The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King'' (shared with cast)

References

External links

Official website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Billy 1968 births Living people Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners Male actors from Glasgow Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland Scottish male film actors Scottish male stage actors Scottish stand-up comedians Scottish male television actors Scottish male voice actors Musicians from Glasgow 20th-century Scottish male actors 21st-century Scottish male actors Scottish male comedians Comedians from Glasgow