Name: William Albert "Billy" Burke
Born: November 25, 1966 in Everett, Washington, US - raised in Bellingham, WA
Years active: 1990–present
Spouse: Pollyanna Rose (married June 15, 2008)
Child: 1 daughter Bluesy LaRue Burke (born 2008)
" Long before Billy Burke ever “stumbled onto a film set” as he put’s it, he began writing and performing original music. By today’s standards he might have been a late bloomer having learned his first guitar chords at the ripe old age of 17. Having grown up to the sounds of Elton John and Billy Joel, he felt “obligated” to learn to play piano as well. Instructing himself completely by ear, he soon became (again, in his words) “adept enough to get by, write songs and fake my way through accompanying myself”. Before he was old enough to legally patronize them he was playing in bars and nightspots, first in his hometown of Bellingham, Washington and later in the bigger city that would soon become indy music mecca, Seattle.
His first “real” band, “embarrassingly called” Hand In Hand, after being together for less than a year, found it’s way into the final four of a national battle of the bands competition. Burke says, “The band that actually won has never been heard from. I take solace in that”. He later formed another group around what he called a “caricature of himself” and named it Billy Black’s Outcast Theater. Doing as they’re moniker suggested, they soon had a distinctly prominent yet largely underground following.
Dissatisfied with the the moderate success and sensing the groundswell of a new movement that was beginning to overtake the Seattle music scene, Burke headed for Los Angeles to give a solo career a shot. There, having been granted a demo deal from Warner Brothers Records, he was paired with legendary producer Phil Ramone, (who as fate would have it, had hit records with both Billy Joel and Elton John). They recorded four of Billy’s original songs at Phil’s home studio in upstate New York only to later be given the heartbreaking news that the deal with Warner Brothers would not be going any further. To add a little insult to his injury, a subsequent return to Seattle to “get the band back together”, would manifest further disappointment. As Billy had foreseen, the so-called “Grunge” train had since left the station and there was appetite for little else.
However, music was not the sole artistic aspiration for Billy. In those few short years between Hand In Hand and the Warner Brothers let down, his gifts as an actor had won him roles in Daredreamer and To Cross The Rubicon, two independent feature films that were shot in Seattle. With those under his belt, he decided to “give himself a 25th birthday present” and move to L.A. once again to pursue some more acting and perhaps put another band together" Source BillyBurke.net
Billy soon landed TV guest roles in Star Trek Deep Space Nine, 24, Gilmore Girls, Karen Sisco, Fringe, Monk. He starred as Philip Stroh (the attorney who was a serial rapist and killer) in several episodes of The Closer and was Gabriel Dean in several episodes of Rizzoli & Isles.
He appeared in movies like Jane Austen's Mafia, Along Came a Spider, Ladder 49, Forfeit, Fracture, Drive Angry and others.
In 2008, Burke was cast in Twilight as Charlie Swan and would reprise this role in the following four movies of the franchise.
In 2010, Billy Burke realized a life long dream and released his first CD "Removed" under an independent record label. The CD is a compilation of songs Billy had written over the years.
In 2012, Burke became the male lead character, Miles Matheson, in the apocalyptic TV Series "Revolution" which was created by Eric Kripke and produced by J.J. Abrams production company Bad Robot.
In 2014, after Revolution was cancelled by the network, Billy Burke took the opportunity and signed up for a one month stage tour as the male lead in "Ghostbrothers of Darkland County" a musical written by Stephen King (story) and John Mellencamp (music).
Born: November 25, 1966 in Everett, Washington, US - raised in Bellingham, WA
Years active: 1990–present
Spouse: Pollyanna Rose (married June 15, 2008)
Child: 1 daughter Bluesy LaRue Burke (born 2008)
" Long before Billy Burke ever “stumbled onto a film set” as he put’s it, he began writing and performing original music. By today’s standards he might have been a late bloomer having learned his first guitar chords at the ripe old age of 17. Having grown up to the sounds of Elton John and Billy Joel, he felt “obligated” to learn to play piano as well. Instructing himself completely by ear, he soon became (again, in his words) “adept enough to get by, write songs and fake my way through accompanying myself”. Before he was old enough to legally patronize them he was playing in bars and nightspots, first in his hometown of Bellingham, Washington and later in the bigger city that would soon become indy music mecca, Seattle.
His first “real” band, “embarrassingly called” Hand In Hand, after being together for less than a year, found it’s way into the final four of a national battle of the bands competition. Burke says, “The band that actually won has never been heard from. I take solace in that”. He later formed another group around what he called a “caricature of himself” and named it Billy Black’s Outcast Theater. Doing as they’re moniker suggested, they soon had a distinctly prominent yet largely underground following.
Dissatisfied with the the moderate success and sensing the groundswell of a new movement that was beginning to overtake the Seattle music scene, Burke headed for Los Angeles to give a solo career a shot. There, having been granted a demo deal from Warner Brothers Records, he was paired with legendary producer Phil Ramone, (who as fate would have it, had hit records with both Billy Joel and Elton John). They recorded four of Billy’s original songs at Phil’s home studio in upstate New York only to later be given the heartbreaking news that the deal with Warner Brothers would not be going any further. To add a little insult to his injury, a subsequent return to Seattle to “get the band back together”, would manifest further disappointment. As Billy had foreseen, the so-called “Grunge” train had since left the station and there was appetite for little else.
However, music was not the sole artistic aspiration for Billy. In those few short years between Hand In Hand and the Warner Brothers let down, his gifts as an actor had won him roles in Daredreamer and To Cross The Rubicon, two independent feature films that were shot in Seattle. With those under his belt, he decided to “give himself a 25th birthday present” and move to L.A. once again to pursue some more acting and perhaps put another band together" Source BillyBurke.net
Billy soon landed TV guest roles in Star Trek Deep Space Nine, 24, Gilmore Girls, Karen Sisco, Fringe, Monk. He starred as Philip Stroh (the attorney who was a serial rapist and killer) in several episodes of The Closer and was Gabriel Dean in several episodes of Rizzoli & Isles.
He appeared in movies like Jane Austen's Mafia, Along Came a Spider, Ladder 49, Forfeit, Fracture, Drive Angry and others.
In 2008, Burke was cast in Twilight as Charlie Swan and would reprise this role in the following four movies of the franchise.
In 2010, Billy Burke realized a life long dream and released his first CD "Removed" under an independent record label. The CD is a compilation of songs Billy had written over the years.
In 2012, Burke became the male lead character, Miles Matheson, in the apocalyptic TV Series "Revolution" which was created by Eric Kripke and produced by J.J. Abrams production company Bad Robot.
In 2014, after Revolution was cancelled by the network, Billy Burke took the opportunity and signed up for a one month stage tour as the male lead in "Ghostbrothers of Darkland County" a musical written by Stephen King (story) and John Mellencamp (music).