Boyd was born in 1968 in Glasgow, Scotland, where he still lives
today. He adored escaping to the movies as a child. After multiple viewings of
George Lucas'
Star Wars,
Boyd reasoned that if he could not truly be a Jedi Knight, he might as
well be an actor. At ten years old, he played the Artful Dodger in his
school's version of Oliver Twist and was hooked. Through high school, he
performed in amateur productions at the local art center and in annual Christmas
shows. Yet, a cynical school guidance counselor coerced Boyd to
temporarily abandon his ambition. After graduation, he became an apprentice
bookbinder at a publishing house. Boyd bound books for six years, making
good friends with his colleagues and spending his nights singing with a band on
the Glasgow pub circuit. When he realized that he desired a change, he applied
to acting school.
Boyd's audition tape marked the first time he acted in six years;
nevertheless he was accepted into a selective three-year, acting-intensive
diploma program at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama for the
upcoming semester. In his first term, he learned to perfect his voice and
movement. In his second, he performed in Shakespeare, Chekov,
comedies, musicals, and even pantomimes. He earned walk-on roles on
several television shows, and even a speaking part on Scotland's Taggart.
Shortly before graduation, St. Andrews Repertory hired Boyd for
their production of The Slab Boys, and to play the title role in The
Secret Diary of Adrian Mole. He has acted steadily ever since, performing in
several Shakespearean and various modern plays, including the U.K. tour
of Irvine
Welsh's Trainspotting. He added four BBC Radio programs to
his credit, and appeared in his first mainstream film,
Jason
Connery's
Urban Ghost
Story (1998). He also displayed his singing and drumming talents in the
cult musical Julie and the Cadillacs (1999), in which he played
the Scottish drummer of an English band during the '60s.
In the fall of 1998, Boyd auditioned for
The Lord of
the Rings trilogy, New Line Cinema's massive three-film screen
adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's books. After meeting with director
Peter
Jackson, Boyd defeated over a hundred actors for the major role
of Pippin Took and flew to New Zealand for the trilogy's 18-month shoot.
Pippin is as brave as he is foolish, and as stout-hearted as he is
afraid. The character appears in all three films -- The Fellowship of the
Ring (2001), The Two Towers (2002),
The Return
of the King (2003) -- making Boyd an instant celebrity.
After completing
The Lord of
the Rings, Boyd quickly rejoined the theater. Only one month
before the press junkets began for the trilogy's first installment, he performed
in the Traverse Theater's rock & roll production The Ballad of
Crazy Paola. Besides being named as one of Scotland's most eligible males,
Boyd completed a comedy screenplay with fellow hobbit
Dominic
Monaghan, and launched his official website.