William Albert "Billy" Burke (born November 25, 1966 in Bellingham, Washington, USA) appears in all the movies of the series as Charlie Swan.
He began singing at age nine, and joined a band at age fifteen. After graduating from Sehome High School, Billy continued to work with bands and study/performing drama at Western Washington University. He performed in Seattle at the Annex Theater, New City Festival, and the A.H.A. Theater. He made his feature film debut in the independent film Daredreamer (1990) and then moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in singing and acting. He has since appeared in such films as Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998), Marshal Law (1996) (TV) and Roman Paris. He has made guest appearances on such television shows as Party of Five (1994) and Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993).
Burke is set to star in J.J. Abrams's Revolution NBC Mondays 10:00/9:00c after The Voice during the 2012–13 television season, starring with J.D. Pardo.
Biography[]
Billy playing his guitar
Cut from the cloth of Hollywood's most enduring leading men, Burke graces the American screen with a resounding presence and a seemingly effortless ability to inhabit the roles he plays. Though admittedly untrained in the craft, he has built a body of work that is looked upon by.
Burke moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career as a musician, not as an actor. A demo deal with a major record label that "didn't quite pan out", left him to explore the only other thing he "knew he was good at". With two independent films shot in his native Seattle under his belt, he began auditioning and very soon working as an actor. After a string of mostly "bad guy with facial hair" TV guest appearances, he landed his first studio picture role in the Zucker brothers' genre spoof Jane Austen's Mafia! (1998). Capitalizing on his deadpan comedic sensibilities, he then won the title role in Dill Scallion (1999), the cult classic "mockumentary" about the rise and fall of a slightly touched country music singer. Co-starring in "Dill", was then fledgling writer/director Peter Berg. It was Berg who brought Billy back to television to play "Dr. Abe Matthews" in the acclaimed ABC drama "Wonderland" (2000). Although its life on the air was short-lived, "Wonderland" (2000) won the hearts of critics and fans, alike, and was recently re-released in its entirety on DirecTV.
Paramount's Along Came a Spider (2001) marked Billy's first revisit to studio films. He then returned yet again to television for the second season of Fox's mega hit series "24" (2001). His disturbing portrayal of abusive father and husband "Gary Matheson" still resonates as a fan favorite.
Billy Burke in the Eclipse set
In 2004, Billy teamed up with John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix in the firefighter drama Ladder 49 (2004). It was here that the studios once again began to recognize his on-screen magnetism. So, after another steady stream of notable television performances, he was cast alongside Anthony Hopkins and Ryan Gosling in New Line's hit thriller Fracture (2007/I), directed by "NYPD Blue" (1993) creator Gregory Hoblit. This multi-layered turn as a flawed cop snared by his own aberrations caught the eye of Academy Award winning director Robert Benton. Benton swiftly invited Billy to join the cast of his and Lakeshore Entertainment's Feast of Love (2007), which included Morgan Freeman and Greg Kinnear. As fate would have it, neither Gregory Hoblit nor Lakeshore had seen enough of Burke's dry wit and unshakable persona, so when it came time to find a match for Diane Lane in Untraceable (2008), he got the call to play the rock solid "Detective Eric Box".
Since arriving in Hollywood in the early 90s, Billy Burke has never stopped working. There are countless credits that come in between the afore-mentioned that of course, also serve as a testament to his gift and longevity. However, it was a chance viewing of Dill Scallion (1999) that struck an indelible head turn for director Catherine Hardwicke. The impression Billy's performance left, lasted until they met in 2007 while Hardwicke and Summit Entertainment were looking for someone to play "Charlie Swan" in their film adaptations of the bestselling book series The "Twilight" Saga. After a brief meeting and read-through of a few scenes, Billy and Catherine agreed... it was "meant to be". Summit followed suit and welcomed him into the franchise. Millions of fans around the world have concurred with the choice and the overwhelming response to his theatrical work has given him solace in the fact that he never got that record deal.
Filmography[]
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Major Crimes | Phillip Stroh | Season 3 finale |
| 2013 | Angels in Stardust | The Cowboy | |
| Highland Park | Lloyd Howard | ||
| 2012-2014 | Revolution | Miles Matheson | TV NBC Mondays 10:00/9:00c during the 2012–13 television season |
| 2012 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2 | Charlie Swan | November 16, 2012 |
| 2011 | The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 | Charlie Swan | November 18, 2011 |
| Red Riding Hood | Cesaire | ||
| 2010 | Charlie Swan | ||
| 2009 | The Twilight Saga: New Moon | Charlie Swan | |
| Luster | Tito | ||
| Ticket Out | Dennis | ||
| Baby O | Sergio | ||
| The Closer | Mr. Stroh | TV, 1 episode | |
| 2008 | Twilight | Charlie Swan | |
| Fringe | Lucas Vogel | TV, 1 episode | |
| My Boys | Jack Newman | TV. 4 episodes | |
| The Grift | Wade Buchanan | ||
| Untraceable | Detective Eric Box | ||
| 2007 | Feast of Love | David Watson | |
| Fracture | lt. Robert 'Rob' Nunally | ||
| Forfeit | Frank | ||
| Law & Order | Attorney Farmer | TV, 1 episode | |
| Three Days to Vegas | Billy Simpson | ||
| Backyards & Bullets | TV Movie | ||
| HBO First Look | Himself | The Making of 'Fracture' | |
| 2005 | World Poker Tour | Himself | Hollywood Home Game VIII |
| 2004 | Ladder 49 | Dennis Gauquin | |
| The Jury | John Ranguso | TV, 2 episodes | |
| Monk | Brad Terry | TV, 1 episode | |
| 2003 | Karen Sisco | Merle Salchek | TV, 1 episode |
| Lost Junction | Jimmy McGee | ||
| Gilmore Girls | Alex Lesman | TV, 3 episodes | |
| Something More | Peter | ||
| 2002–2003 | 24 | Gary Matheson | TV, 7 episodes |
| 2002 | Flashpoint | Shaw | TV Movie |
| 2001 | Final Jeopardy | Mike Chapman | TV Movie |
| Along Came a Spider | Ben Devine | ||
| After Image | Sammy | ||
| 2000–2009 | Wonderland | Dr. Abe Matthews | TV. 5 episodes |
| 2000 | The Independent | Dwayne | |
| 1999 | Komodo | Oates | |
| Dill Scallion | Dill Scallion | ||
| 1998 | Don't Look Down | Mark Engel | |
| Without Limits | Kenny Moore | ||
| Mafia! | Joey Cortino | ||
| 1997 | VR.5 | Marco | TV, 1 episode |
| 1996 | Marshal Law | Monk | TV Movie |
| The Ultimate Lie | TV Movie | ||
| Gone in the Night | Rob Kinny | TV Movie | |
| Party of Five | Gil | TV, 1 episode | |
| 1995 | Strange Luck | TV, 1 episode | |
| Vanishing Son | Spider McKeun | TV, 1 episode | |
| All-American Girl | Cody | Tv, 1 episode | |
| 1994 | Party of Five | Guy in Club | |
| Star Trek: Deep Space Nine | Ari | TV, 1 episode | |
| 1991 | To Cross the Rubicon | James Bird | |
| 1990 | Daredreamer |
Writer[]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Dead & Breakfast | Story |
| 2003 | Something More |
Producer[]
| Year | Film | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Something More | co-producer |
External links[]
- Billy Burke official Twitter
- Billy Burke at the Internet Movie Database
- Billy Burke on Wikipedia