A Conversation & Musical Interlude

Billy Boyd is best known to international audiences as Peregrin “Pippin” Took in The Lord of the Rings trilogy. A native of Glasgow, Scotland, Boyd first became involved in the performing arts as a teenager. He earned a diploma in Dramatic Arts from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and would go on to extend his talents into a variety of theatre, from modern roles to Shakespeare. Today, Boyd serves as a patron of Scottish Youth Theatre as well as the National Boys’ Choir of Scotland.

Boyd launched his on-screen career in 1996, appearing in the popular Scottish detective TV program “Taggart,” followed by a role the British horror film Urban Ghost Story.  He was soon cast as Pippin in The Lord of the Rings, becoming a mainstay in the films from 2001 to 2003.   His other feature film roles include those in Peter Weir’s epic historic sea drama Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, the sci-fi drama Glenn, the Flying Robot, and a recent starring role in Dorothy and the Witches of Oz, as well as voice work as Glen, the satanic son of Chucky and Tiffany, in the horror film Seed of Chucky.

A gifted actor and musician, Boyd previously wrote the melody and performed a song, entitled “The Edge of Night,” which was featured in The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.  For the final chapter of the Middle-earth saga, Boyd co-wrote (with The Hobbit writer/producers Philippa Boyens and Fran Walsh) and sings a soft, uplifting acoustic ballad, “The Last Goodbye,” which plays over the end credits of the Warner Bros. film. He is frontman for the Scottish band Beecake

An avid fan of surfing, foil fencing and martial arts, Billy Boyd topped a 2002 list of the 100 Most Eligible Men in Scotland before becoming married to his wife, Alison McKinnon.