A close friend of Frodo Baggins and his cousin, Merry, Pippin helps the Ring-bearer on his flight from the Shire and is then chosen to be a member of the Fellowship of the Ring.
"Although Pippin has never left the Shire," says Billy Boyd, "he is a Took and comes from a family that is known for being a bit adventurous and likely to fly off the handle and do things that other hobbits would consider to be not quite hobbit-like. What's more, Pippin does have a habit of doing the wrong things at the wrong time! Although, to be fair, as the story develops, we see Pippin going through all kinds of experiences and becoming more mature."
Born in Glasgow, Scottland, Billy Boyd is a musician as well as an actor, playing bass, drums and guitar and singing both baritone and tenor. He began his acting career in the theater and is well established as one of Scotland's leading talents. His first television role was in the popular Scottish television series Taggart
Boyd made his film debut by playing a loan shark in the Jason Connery movie Urban Ghost Story
"i liked Peter Jackson the moment I met him," he recalls. "He was just so laid back. We were in a casting agent's office and there was Peter - dressed, as usual, in shorts and without shoes - sitting on a sofa with Fran Walsh. They were both so relaxed with me that iwas easy to be relaxed with them and to be open about what I wanted to bring to the character of Pippin."
One of the topics the director discussed with the young acctor at this audition was the close relationship between Pippin and Merry. "It's not really possible," says Billy Boyd, "to speak about Pippin without mentioning Merry: his whole life revolves around his friends and Merry in particular. They are just like the closest of friends so that you really can't imagine either of them doing anything without the other."
+Aragorn+Arwen+Bilbo+Boromir+Celeborn+Elrond+Frodo+Gandalf+Galadriel+Gimli+Legolas+
+Merry+Pippin+Sam+Saruman+