Billy Magnussen, an American actor who was born and raised in New York and is best known for his roles in “Into the Woods” and “The Great Gilly Hopkins,” is of Lithuanian descent and the son of a successful athlete.
While growing up, Billy had a strong preference for sports, but he chose acting instead and went on to graduate from the North Carolina School of the Arts.
Beginning his acting career with Broadways, he had his movie debut in the 2008 short film “The Elephant Garden” before making his full-length feature film debut the following year with “Happy Tears.”
From then on, he continued to appear in a number of movies, including “Twelve,” “Into the Woods,” “Damsels in Distress,” and “Surviving.”
He has been on television in a variety of shows, including “The Divide,” “The People vs. O.J. Simpson: A Crime Story,” “Get Shorty,” and “The Beautiful Life: TBL.”
Even though it was somewhat delayed, his greatest professional break came in 2017, when he was cast as a key figure in the forthcoming live-action Disney adaptation of the beloved story of “Aladdin.” In the movie, he’ll be playing Prince Anders, a brand-new role.
Billy Magnussen’s Date of Birth and Parents
William Gregory Magnussen became Billy Magnussen on April 20, 1985, in Queens, New York City. Greg and Diana Magnussen, who are both outstanding athletes, were his parents.
His father was a skilled bodybuilder and kickboxer, while his mother taught aerobics. Billy’s passion for sports and fitness was greatly influenced by growing up with his parents.
He joined a gym and spent a lot of time playing baseball and football there. He joined a band in New York called Reserved for Yondee as a young person because he was even more motivated to achieve whatever he could.
Billy Magnussen’s Education
Billy was raised in a household with two younger brothers that may trace their ancestry back to Lithuania. The family moved to Cumming, Georgia, after living on Woodhaven Boulevard until Billy was ten.
Billy went to South Forsyth High School there, and while he was first drawn to athletics, he later became interested in the arts, particularly the performing arts.
He participated in several school performances, and after leaving the institution, he joined the North Carolina School of Arts.
Billy continues to cite Robin Williams as one of his biggest influences, and he considers Robin to be his hero. Billy joined the theatre after graduating from college and took part in a number of well-known and popular performances.
Billy Magnussen’s Career
Billy Magnussen made his professional theatre premiere in 2007 with his play “The Ritz,” which also featured Rosie Perez as the title character.
His debut television appearance was in the 2008 soap opera “As the World Turns Out.” For the next 2.5 years, Billy played Casey Hughes, one of the opera’s major characters. He began to make appearances in movies and TV shows at this time.
He had appearances in the 2008 short film “The Elephant Garden” and the “Law & Order” episode “Sweetie.” He made his debut in the world of full-length features by appearing in the 2009 movie “Happy Tears.”
His performance was ultimately recognized by the general public in the 2009 picture, which got some acclaim. He played one of the key parts, Eric, in the horror movie Blood Night: The Legend of Mary Hatchet.
He had an appearance in the French-American co-production movie “Twelve” in 2010. The adolescent thriller drama movie was directed by renowned filmmaker Joel Schumacher and was based on the same-titled book.
Despite the fact that Billy’s performance in the movie was praised, it was a critical and financial failure and was afterward referred to as a “box office bomb.”
He also won praise for the 2011 World War II thriller “The Lost Valentine,” which starred Jennifer Love Hewitt in the title role.
Billy’s performance of Neil Thomas was critically praised, and the movie also earned positive reviews, with the majority of them praising the performers’ outstanding work. It was a straight-to-TV movie that debuted with strong ratings.
He also played Thor in the comedy movie “Damsels in Distress” that same year. The movie received some generally positive reviews, but it did poorly at the box office.
Billy continued to work on other television projects, including “The Unusuals,” “The Beautiful Life: TBL,” and “In Plain Sight.”
In 2012, he played the primary lead part in the film Surviving Family,’ which centered on mental problems and how they affect the whole family. The movie received high praise and won around 20 prizes at international and American film festivals.
He continued to make appearances on the big screen over the next several years in a variety of various roles in movies including “The Brass Teapot,” “2nd Serve,” and “The East.”
Even so, he had cameo roles in the popular TV shows “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation” and “Boardwalk Empire.”
When it came to his theater profession, Billy had a fantastic year in 2012. In “Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike,” he made an onstage appearance. The drama had its New Jersey debut at the McCarter Theatre before moving on to the Lincoln Centre and John Golden Theatre.
The play earned six Tony Award nominations and had enormous critical and financial success. Billy received a nomination for best actor for his performance as Spike. He accompanied his mother to the prize presentation.
Another significant breakthrough part for Billy came in the 2014 Disney movie “Into the Woods.” The musical fantasy movie has a lot of well-known American performers in it, including Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt, and it got better than average reviews.
The movie was somewhat successful commercially and helped Billy gain some recognition.
Another significant movie for which Billy was cast was “The Great Gilly Hopkins” in 2014. The movie, which was based on the same-named book, had great success at film festivals.
Then came little parts in movies like “The Big Short,” “Ingrid Goes West,” and “Game Night.” Additionally, he had appearances in a number of television programs, including “The Divide,” “Get Shorty,” “Black Mirror,” “The Leftovers,” and “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.”
Billy will have a significant role in the next live-action Disney movie “Aladdin,” which was revealed in 2017. Prince Sanders, a made-up figure who doesn’t appear anywhere in the animated series, was handed to him.
It’s commonly believed that Billy will use this position to change his career. Will Smith and Mena Massoud will both appear in the high-budget movie, which will be directed by Guy Ritchie.