Derek Phillips (born April 18, 1976) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Billy Riggins in the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

sports drama series '' Friday Night Lights'', as well as providing the voice and motion capture of Jerry Anderson in the action-adventure survival horror video game ''

The Last of Us Part II ''The Last of Us Part II'' is a 2020 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Interactive Entertainment. Set four years after '' The Last of Us'' (2013), the game focuses on two playable characters in a post-apo ...

''. He has also voiced characters in video games such as ''

Dishonored ''Dishonored'' is a 2012 action-adventure game developed by Arkane Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. Set in the fictional, plague-ridden industrial city of Dunwall, ''Dishonored'' follows the story of Corvo Attano, bodyguard to th ...

'', ''

The Last of Us ''The Last of Us'' is a 2013 action-adventure game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. Players control Joel, a smuggler tasked with escorting a teenage girl, Ellie, across a post-apocalyptic United States ...

'', ''

Life Is Strange ''Life Is Strange'' is a series of adventure games published by Square Enix's Square Enix External Studios, External Studios. Created by Dontnod Entertainment, the series debuted with the Life Is Strange (video game), eponymous first install ...

'', ''

Battlefield Hardline ''Battlefield Hardline'' is a 2015 first-person shooter game developed by Visceral Games and published by Electronic Arts. It was released in March 2015 for PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Windows, Xbox 360, and Xbox One. The game is chronologic ...

'', ''

Fallout 4 ''Fallout 4'' is a 2015 action role-playing game developed by Bethesda Game Studios and published by Bethesda Softworks. It is the fourth main game in the ''Fallout'' series and was released worldwide on November 10, 2015, for Microsoft Windo ...

'', and ''

Rise of the Tomb Raider ''Rise of the Tomb Raider'' is a 2015 action-adventure game developed by Crystal Dynamics and published by Microsoft Studios and Square Enix. The game is the eleventh main entry in the ''Tomb Raider'' series, the sequel to 2013's ''Tomb Raid ...

''. He currently voices Heron on the

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 ...

animated series ''

Blood of Zeus ''Blood of Zeus'', formerly known as ''Gods & Heroes'', is an American adult animated fantasy action television series created and written by Charley and Vlas Parlapanides for Netflix. Produced by Powerhouse Animation Studios and animated by ...

''.

Early life

Phillips was born in

Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, on April 18, 1976. He attended Westminster Christian School in

Palmetto Bay, Florida Palmetto Bay is a suburban incorporated village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. Palmetto Bay includes two neighborhoods that were former census-designated places, Cutler and East Perrine. The village is part of the Miami metropo ...

, where he played

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

alongside future

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

baseball players

Alex Rodriguez Alexander Emmanuel Rodriguez (born July 27, 1975), nicknamed "A-Rod", is an American former professional baseball shortstop, third baseman and designated hitter and current businessman. Rodriguez played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (ML ...

and Doug Mientkiewicz. He later attended

Baylor University Baylor University is a Private university, private Baptist research university in Waco, Texas, United States. It was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Te ...

Waco, Texas Waco ( ) is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin, Texas, Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2024 popul ...

, where he received a BFA in acting.

Career

Upon graduating, Phillips moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to look for acting roles. He performed throughout the country in numerous plays, including ''

The Winter's Tale ''The Winter's Tale'' is a play by William Shakespeare originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, many modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some criti ...

'' at the Baltimore Center Stage, ''

Of Mice and Men ''Of Mice and Men'' is a 1937 novella written by American author John Steinbeck. It describes the experiences of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant worker, migrant ranch workers, as they move from place to place in California ...

'' at the

Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary, and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater. Dallas Theater Center produces its original ...

, ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his histrionic mo ...

'' at the Virginia Stage Company, and ''King o' the Moon'' at the

Capital Repertory Theatre Capital Repertory Theatre (also called Capital Rep or simply theREP) is a 309-seat professional regional theatre in Albany, New York. Capital Rep is the only theatre in the Capital District that is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (L ...

. He is also an actor, associate producer, and assistant director at the award-winning ensemble theater company Second Thought, with whom he has performed in Douglas Post's ''Earth and Sky'', the regional premiere of

Eric Bogosian Eric Michael Bogosian (; born April 24, 1953) is an American actor, playwright, monologuist, novelist, and historian. Descended from Armenian-American immigrants, he grew up in Watertown and Woburn, Massachusetts, and attended the University ...

's ''Humpty Dumpty'', and the world premiere of Steven Walters' ''Pluck the Day''. After years of regional theater and recurring roles on the television series ''

Guiding Light ''Guiding Light'' (known as ''The Guiding Light'' before 1975) is an American radio and television soap opera. ''Guiding Light'' aired on CBS for 57 years between June 30, 1952, and September 18, 2009, overlapping a 19-year broadcast on radio ...

'', ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'', and ''

All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 2 ...

'', Phillips had his

breakout role A breakthrough role, also known as a breakout role, is a term in the theatre, film and television industry to describe the performance of an actor or actress which contributed significantly to the development of their career and beginning of crit ...

as Billy Riggins on the

sports drama series '' Friday Night Lights''. When the series ended, he went on to voice characters in video games such as ''

'', '' Aliens: Colonial Marines'', ''

'', ''

'', and '' The Walking Dead: Michonne''. He received more attention for providing the voice and motion capture of Jerry Anderson in the action-adventure survival horror video game ''

'', and currently voices Heron on the

animated series ''

''. He currently hosts the Friday Night Lights rewatch podcast "Clear Eyes, Full Hearts" with

Stacey Oristano Stacey Oristano (born May 6, 1979) is an American stage, screen and television actress. She is best known for her role as Mindy Riggins on the television series '' Friday Night Lights'' and for starring on ABC Family's ''Bunheads'' as Truly Ston ...

, who played Mindy Collette-Riggins (Tyra Collette's older sister, whom Billy eventually married).

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* 1976 births 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male television actors American male video game actors American male voice actors Baylor University alumni Living people Male actors from Miami {{DEFAULTSORT:Phillips, Derek