John Billingsley

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John Billingsley
Billingsley at the 2009 Big Apple Convention
Born (1960-05-20) May 20, 1960 (age 63)
Alma materBennington College
OccupationActor
Years active1991–present
SpouseBonita Friedericy

John Billingsley (/ˈbɪlɪŋɡzli/, born May 20, 1960)[1] is an American actor best known for his role as Doctor Phlox on the television series Star Trek: Enterprise.

Early life and education[edit]

Billingsley was born in Media, Pennsylvania, and subsequently lived in Huntsville, Alabama, and Slidell, Louisiana, before his family settled in Weston, Connecticut.[2]

He graduated from Bennington College in 1982.[3][4]

Career[edit]

Early work[edit]

Billingsley's first on-screen role was in 1991 as a difficult customer making a return in a customer service training video produced by Nintendo of America.[5] He made an appearance in "It Happened in Juneau", a third-season episode of the TV comedy-drama Northern Exposure, playing a patient treated by Marilyn.

Billingsley subsequently appeared in The X-Files episode "Three of a Kind", as a friend of the Lone Gunmen who turns out to be a government spy. He played Bill Gates in a sketch on Seattle comedy show Almost Live!. One of Billingsley's earliest film roles was in the 2001 made-for-television historical drama Just Ask My Children, in which he played corrupt lawyer Andrew Gines.

2000s[edit]

Billingsley played Dr. John Fallow in a West Wing episode that featured the Gall–Peters projection map (season 2, episode 16). He was cast as Professor Miles Ballard in the short-lived television series The Others; then as the Denobulan Doctor Phlox in the fifth live-action Star Trek series, Star Trek: Enterprise, which ran for four seasons. He also played himself in an episode of Roswell that used the Enterprise set. He also starred in the independent film Breathing Hard (2000) in the same year. In 2002, he was a guest star in an episode of Stargate SG-1, playing a scientist who is also a Trekkie, "worshipping at the altar of Roddenberry". He played a supporting role in the 2003 thriller Out of Time as medical examiner and best friend to the chief of police, played by Denzel Washington.

Billingsley is well known to fans of the series Cold Case for his guest appearance in the show's second season, playing serial killer George Marks, the only killer on the show to get away with murder. He reprised the role in the season finale, in which Marks was killed. He also appeared as a blunt-force victim in the first season of Six Feet Under, in the episode "The New Person".

Billingsley appeared in the first season of the series Prison Break as the mysterious Terrence Steadman, brother of the Vice President, whose death is faked to frame Lincoln Burrows for murder. Soon after, he was cast as a regular on the series The Nine. This left him unable to continue his role as Steadman, and he was replaced in the role by Jeff Perry. In 2005, he played the voice of Trask in Ultimate Spider-Man. In November 2006, Billingsley portrayed William Bradford on two episodes of the podcast The Radio Adventures of Dr. Floyd. In May 2007 he appeared on NCIS as a blind photographer in the episode, "In The Dark". He appeared in the seventh season of 24 as a recurring character. On October 8, 2007, he also made a guest appearance on Journeyman as Alan Platt. Billingsley played Prof. Harry, a biologist, in the 2007 independent science fiction film The Man from Earth, as well as the 2017 sequel ‘’The Man from Earth: Holocene’’. He also made a guest appearance in an October 2007 episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and in 2006 on the spinoff series CSI: NY.

Billingsley appeared as Jacob Nolston in "Crash Into Me", a two-part, fourth-season episode of the TV drama Grey's Anatomy.

Billingsley and his wife have also appeared as themselves on the HGTV series My House Is Worth What?, in which a real estate expert toured their home and provided commentary for viewers before providing an appraisal.

In 2008, Billingsley had a supporting role in several episodes of the HBO series True Blood as coroner Mike Spencer. In May of that year, he guest starred as John Harris, the father of the Kiss-Me-Not Killer, in "Never Tell", an episode of Women's Murder Club.

He appeared in the disaster film 2012, which was released on November 13, 2009, as Professor Frederic West, an American scientist. He subsequently appeared on the ABC series Scrubs in December 2009.

2010s[edit]

In August 2010, Billingsley guest starred in an episode of the TNT series Leverage as Coswell, the head of security at the Boston Museum of Art and Antiquities. In November that year he guest starred as amateur psychic Ellis Mars in "Red Moon", an episode of The Mentalist.

In February 2011 Billingsley played Gidger in the Richard Greenberg's play The Violet Hour in Los Angeles.[6] In August 2011, Billingsley starred in an episode of the USA Network drama Suits as the company accountant who is being released for never finishing university.

In October 2012 Billingsley starred in the film Trade of Innocents alongside Dermot Mulroney and Mira Sorvino.[7]

On February 12, 2013, a web comedy video was released on Yahoo! Screens under the title "Forwarders" that featured Billingsley as an Dr. Alan Cooper, a psychologist and expert on compulsive e-mail forwarding.[8] That same year he completed filming of the independent film Red Line.[9]

On January 7, 2014, CBS television premiered the science fiction drama Intelligence, on which Billingsley played Dr. Shenandoah Cassidy, the inventor of an implantable microchip that acts as an interface between a human mind and electronic devices.[10]

In November 2014, Billingsley guest-starred in the CBS crime drama series, Hawaii Five-0, playing lawyer Eugene Goodman in the Season 5 episode, "Ka Hana Malu".

In May 2015, Billingsley appeared in the second season of the AMC period drama, Turn: Washington's Spies, playing Samuel Townsend, father of American Revolutionary spy, Robert Townsend. He later returned to the role for the third season.

In July 2017, he appeared as Doctor Ben in the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks.

Personal life[edit]

Billingsley is married to fellow actor Bonita Friedericy.[2][11][12] She first became interested in him after seeing him perform in a stage production of Great Expectations.[13] Friedericy appeared with Billingsley in "Regeneration", a 2003 episode of Star Trek: Enterprise in which she played Rooney.[14] The couple has subsequently appeared in other productions together.[15]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1989 Shredder Orpheus Linus
2001 Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles Barry
2001 Just Ask My Children Andrew Gines
2001 The Glass House Driving Instructor
2002 High Crimes Lie Detector Coach
2003 Out of Time Chae
2004 A Cinderella Story Mr. Rothman
2005 The 12 Dogs of Christmas Dogcatcher Doyle
2006 Room 6 Harrison McKendrick
2007 The Man from Earth Harry
2008 The Last Word Brady
2008 The Least of These Father Alfred McKavee
2009 2012 Professor Frederick West
2011 Losing Control Professor Straub
2011 Sironia Doug
2012 Trade of Innocents Malcolm Eddery
2013 Red Line Sam
2016 Madtown Lloyd Zane Miller
2017 The Man from Earth: Holocene Harry
2023 The Shift Russo

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Northern Exposure Patient S3 20 Episode: “It Happened in Juneau”
1996 Almost Live! Bill Gates 1 episode
1997 NYPD Blue Glenn Farley Episode: "It Takes a Village"
1998 The Practice Revenue Officer Robert Schmitt Episode: "The Trial"
1999 The X-Files Timothy "Timmy the Geek" Landau Episode: "Three of a Kind"
2000 Gilmore Girls Mr. Remmy Episode: "The Lorelais' First Day At Chilton"[16]
2000 The Others Professor Miles Ballard 13 episodes
2000 Touched by an Angel Peter Garfield Episode: "Reasonable Doubt"[17]
2001 The West Wing Dr. John Fallow Episode: "Somebody's Going to Emergency, Somebody's Going to Jail"
2001 Roswell Himself Episode: "Secrets and Lies"
2001–2005 Star Trek: Enterprise Dr. Phlox 91 episodes
2002 NYPD Blue Ryan Lipe Episodes: "Oh, Mama" and "Gypsy Woe’s Me"
2002 Stargate SG-1 Dr. Simon Coombs Episode: "The Other Guys"
2003 Angel Dr. Evan Royce Episode: "Unleashed"
2004 Duck Dodgers Dr. Psy-Q Hi Voice, 2 episodes
2004 & 2005 Cold Case George Marks 2 episodes: "Mind Hunters", "The Woods"
2006 Prison Break Terrence Steadman 3 episodes
2006 The Closer Tom Newman Episode: "Aftertaste"
2006–2007; 2009 The Nine Egan Foote 13 episodes
2006 Dead and Deader Langdon Television film
2007 NCIS Jackson Scott Episode: "In the Dark"
2007 Grey's Anatomy Jacob Nolston 2 episodes
2007 CSI Paul Cydon Episode: "The Case of the Cross-Dressing Carp"
2008–2012 True Blood Coroner Mike Spencer 17 episodes
2008 Eli Stone Daniel Foote Episode: "Waiting for That Day"
2008 Without a Trace Harry Episode: "Rewind"
2008 Fear Itself Phil Episode: "Community"
2009 Criminal Minds Hugh Rollins Episode: "A Shade of Gray"
2009 24 Michael Latham 3 episodes
2010 Leverage Head of Security Episode: "The Rashamon Job"
2010 The Mentalist Ellis Mars Episode: "Red Moon"
2011–2014 Suits Stan Jacobson 2 episodes: "Shelf Life" & "We're Done"
2012 Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated Dr. Henklefust Voice, episode: "The Night the Clown Cried II: Tears of Doom!"
2013 Southland uncredited Episode: "Under the Big Top"[18]
2013 Nikita Heidecker Episode: "Brave New World"
2014 Bones Dr. Edward Harkness Episode: "The Corpse at the Convention"
2014 Intelligence Dr. Shenendoah Cassidy 11 episodes
2015–2016 Turn: Washington's Spies Samuel Townsend 6 episodes
2016–2017 Stitchers Mitchell Blair 5 episodes
2017 Twin Peaks Dr. Ben 1 episode
2017 Lucifer Alvin Episode: "Off the Record"
2018 This is Us Bill Weston Episode "Katie Girls"
2019 The Orville Cambis Borrin Episode: "Home"
2019 The Rookie Kevin Scott Episode: "Heartbreak"
2019 The Resident Dr. Stewart Episode: "If Not Now, When?"
2020 Homecoming Buddy Episode: "People"
2021 Station 19 Lloyd Episode: "Here It Comes Again"
2022 Pam & Tommy Bruce Hendricks Episode: "Pamela in Wonderland"
2022 NCIS: Hawaiʻi Professor Staggs Episode: "Prisoners' Dilemma"
2023 The Good Doctor Kurt Episode: "A Beautiful Day S6E21"
2024 Manhunt Edward Bates Episode: "Let The Sheep Flee"

Video games[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2005 Ultimate Spider-Man Bolivar Trask
2006 Superman Returns Metallo, additional voices

References[edit]

  1. ^ Olsen, Mark (September 7, 2003). "This leading-man wannabe is happy to have a TV role in reserve". Los Angeles Times. John Billingsley, 43
  2. ^ a b "Theater: Guest Artist Bios: John Billingsley". oxy.edu. Occidental College. October 4, 2012. Archived from the original on November 13, 2013.
  3. ^ "Intelligence Cast: John Billingsley". CBS. Archived from the original on January 10, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "John Billingsley: Bio". Trademark Talent. Archived from the original on October 19, 2014. Retrieved August 23, 2014.
  5. ^ Randy Cornetta (February 3, 2009), Nintendo Training 1991, archived from the original on December 12, 2021, retrieved January 1, 2017
  6. ^ Anthony, Darin (February 9, 2011). "Now Is the Hour for All Good Artists". LA Stage Times.
  7. ^ Savage, Sohpia (August 23, 2012). "'Trade of Innocents' Chosen for Creative Coalition's Spotlight Initiative". IndieWire.
  8. ^ "Forwarders". Yahoo! Screens. February 12, 2013.
  9. ^ "John Billingsley Remembers Dear Doctor". StarTrek.com. January 23, 2013.
  10. ^ "Intelligence Cast". CBS. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
  11. ^ "John Billingsley and Bonita Friedericy Interview Part 2". startrek.com. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  12. ^ "John Billingsley". Star Trek Cruise. Retrieved November 13, 2013.
  13. ^ Winert, Laura (July 28, 2004). "ACTORS' DIALOGUE - Bonita Friedericy & John Billingsley". Backstage.
  14. ^ "Regeneration". Star Trek: Enterprise. Season 2. Episode 23. May 7, 2003. UPN.
  15. ^ "Kevin Sorbo, John Billingsley and Bonita Friedericy Star in New Audio Drama to Benefit 'A World Fit For Kids'". PR Newswire. November 18, 2010.
  16. ^ ""Gilmore Girls" The Lorelais' First Day at Chilton (TV Episode 2000) -IMDb". Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  17. ^ ""Touched By An Angel" Reasonable Doubt (TV Episode 2000) - IMDb".
  18. ^ "Southland – Under the Big Top (TV Episode 2013) - Full Cast & Crew - IMDb". imdb.com. Retrieved April 1, 2023.

External links[edit]