Billy Boyd

Scottish actor Billy Boyd made a name for himself when he starred in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, starting with Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Rings in 2001. His role as Pippin should have brought the actor more prominent acting gigs. But unlike some of the other Lord of the Rings cast members, Boyd hasn’t gone on to become a huge star. Here’s what he’s up to now.

LORD OF THE RINGS WAS A MASSIVE BREAKTHROUGH FOR BILLY BOYD

Acting gigs before Lord of the Rings for Billy Boyd were sparse. His first job was in 1996 on the TV series Taggart and from there he had small roles in films such as Urban Ghost Story, Coming Soon, and Julie and the Cadillacs.

Soon Peter Jackson came calling and that is one call you don’t turn down. Thankfully he didn’t, because not only did Boyd get the role as Peregrin “Pippin” Took in the first Lord of the Rings, he was on board for both its sequels: Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

While the role as Pippin was more of a supporting one, it was nevertheless high profile and a huge bullet point to have on Billy Boyd’s resume. The three films were shot concurrently on a $281 million budget and the trilogy went on to bring in over $3 billion.

Boyd never left his LOTR career behind him. He reprised his role as Pippin in the many LOTR video games.

These included The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II, and The Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle-Earth II – The Rise of the Witch-King.

HE HAD ROLES IN MASTER AND COMMANDER AS WELL AS SEED OF CHUCKY

Soon after Lord of the Rings, Billy Boyd was able to snag a role in the epic war film Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, co-starring alongside Russell Crowe (LA Confidential, Gladiator) and Paul Bettany (Vision in the Marvel movies). As with the LOTR trilogy, his role wasn’t a huge one, but it was one that kept Hollywood eyes open. He moved on to a horror film, Seed of Chucky, where he voiced Glen, the son of Chucky.

Beyond that, Boyd has kept rolling with smaller roles, never venturing far from the Hollywood scene but rarely landing in a big, blockbuster role. He portrayed Nick Chopper in the TV mini-series The Witches of Oz and has been seen on various TV series, most notably Outlander and Grey’s Anatomy.

He also had a part in the Netflix mini-series Hollywood where he played English playwright, actor, and singer Noel Coward.

HE IS THE FRONTMAN FOR THE BAND BEEFCAKE

One possible reason Boyd is only seen in bit parts could be the fact that he’s often busy fronting a band. Beefcake is their name and they were conceived in 2006. Initially, the group got together to work on studio-based projects, but shortly realized that they had a great sound and formed Beefcake.

To date, the band has released three CDs and is constantly out on the road performing.

HE WAS PART OF A LORD OF THE RINGS REUNION

If all this Lord of the Rings talk has got you jonesing for more, let Josh Gad help you with that. The actor has been bringing back movie casts from the past on his YouTube channel Reunited Apart. In the past, he’s brought back the cast from The Goonies and Back to the Future.

One of his episodes included the cast from The Lord of the Rings, which Billy Boyd was part of. The reunion premiered on Gad’s channel on May 31, 2020.

Other Lord of the Rings folks included Elijah Wood, Sean Astin, Ian McKellan, Orlando Bloom, and Peter Jackson.