23 September 2009
FILM STAR BILLY BOYD LEARNS OF HIS BLOCKBUSTER ROLE – ON A BUS!
CUIDE RI CATHY – BILLY BOYD
Monday 28 September, 10pm, BBC ALBA
A phone call received on the bus between Glasgow and Edinburgh was to prove vital for Billy Boyd’s international stardom, when director Peter Jackson phoned to tell him he’d won the role as ‘Pippin’ in the international blockbuster, Lord of the Rings.
Not looking back, Billy upgraded from the bus to the train travelling to and from Edinburgh whilst working on a play at that time.
In the latest programme of the Cuide ri Cathy series on BBC ALBA, Cathy MacDonald spends a day with actor Billy Boyd in Glasgow where he was born, visiting the Kelvingrove Art Gallery and park before taking a trip to the local music studios to watch Billy practise with his band Beecake.
Spending time with Cathy, Billy discusses his career so far and the influences throughout his life. Catching the acting bug as a result of school productions, Billy continued with drama until he left school at 16 to begin work as a printer. It was only after several years in this job that he decided to follow his dream and apply to the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.
It was his role in the Lord of the Rings trilogy that brought Billy Boyd to prominence and he recounts to Cathy how he managed to land one of the most coveted acting jobs of recent years. Visiting London to record a video with a casting director followed up with a live audition with director Peter Jackson and his partner Fran Walsh, Billy explains to Cathy how he had to keep his reactions under control when he was told he had won the role.
Billy says: “They said that Pete Jackson wants to give you a call in the next couple of days and when would be good – I said ‘whenever’. I remember he called when I was on the bus from Glasgow to Edinburgh whilst working on a play in Edinburgh, so I was trying not to let people hear! He was saying ‘are you sure you want to do this because it is going to be a couple of years in New Zealand?’
“When I was asking him who else was in it, there was no one else at that point! So I spent the next three weeks reading all the rumours online and in the papers that it is going to be Al Pacino, it is going to be whoever – hundreds of names thrown about. I upgraded myself to the train and I read the book for the first time – 45 minutes there and 45 minutes back!”
During Billy and Cathy’s trip to the museum, it is evident that the international star has attracted a huge fan base, not least in Glasgow as Bill is mobbed by a class of school children on a trip to the museum. Spending 15 minutes signing autographs and posing for photos before finally being able to make it into the gallery, the appeal of the charming Glasgow born actor is evident.
Although splitting his time between LA and Glasgow, Billy discusses his love for Scotland and his happiness when he gets the chance to return home. His choice of career was heavily influenced by Scottish movies such as Bill Forsyth’s classic films Gregory’s Girl and Local Hero and Billy tells Cathy that he hopes to have the chance to star in a Scottish feature film himself.
CUIDE RI CATHY will be broadcast on BBC ALBA on Monday 28 September at 22.00 and is available on Sky channel 168 & Freesat channel 110.