Billy Crudup

Billy Crudup is known for his selective career choices as well as his talent and striking appearance. He is the father of Will Parker, a director, writer, and actor, who is now 20 years old. Crudup was born in 1968 in Manhasset, New York, a suburb of Long Island, and is the middle child of three boys. His parents are Georgann (Gaither) and Thomas Henry Crudup III, and he is the grandson of prominent attorney William Cotter "Billy" Gaither, Jr. He was raised in Florida and Texas, and due to frequent family moves, he often found himself the new kid at school. To gain acceptance, he developed a sense of humor and became the class clown. He performed in school pageants and created funny impersonations to entertain friends and family. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of North Carolina, where he confirmed his interest in acting. After graduation, he moved to New York City to live with his brother Tommy, who was a publicist at the time, and studied at New York University. There, he joined a theatre troupe called "The Lab!" and performed in small plays and musicals, including playing Schroeder in "You're A Good Man Charlie Brown!" He later earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Tisch School of the Arts at NYU in 1994. A year later, he gained recognition on Broadway for his performance in Tom Stoppard's "Arcadia," earning the Outer Critics Circle Outstanding Newcomer Award. Crudup's first major film role was in the indie film *Grind* (1997), which was filmed in 1994 but delayed for three years before release. In 1996, he appeared alongside Brad Pitt and Jason Patric in Barry Levinson's *Sleepers* (1996). He also had a brief appearance in Woody Allen's *Everyone Says I Love You* (1996) and a more prominent role as the older brother in *Inventing the Abbotts* (1997). Describing himself as a student of human nature, Crudup has stated he is drawn to characters who are dealing with their own mistakes. It is rumored that he turned down an audition for the lead in *Titanic* (1997) in favor of more challenging roles, such as in the biopic *Without Limits* (1998), which portrayed Steve Prefontaine. The film demonstrated his ability to fully transform for a role, a trait that helped him avoid becoming a household name while still securing meaningful parts. In 2000, with three major films in release, Crudup's film career reached a peak. He first appeared in Keith Gordon's *Waking the Dead* (2000), a film about a politician haunted by the death of his young wife. He then appeared in the art-house film *Jesus' Son* (1999), and starred as the semi-fictional '70s rocker Russell Hammond in Cameron Crowe's *Almost Famous* (2000). In 2002, his Broadway production of *The Elephant Man* closed after 65 performances due to low ticket sales. Crudup lives in New York and continues to return to the stage regularly. He began his relationship with Mary-Louise Parker during the 1996 Broadway run of *Bus Stop*, but the relationship ended in 2004 when he left the then-pregnant Parker to be with Claire Danes, his co-star in *Stage Beauty* (2004). He prefers a quiet, private life over the public attention that comes with fame, though his growing popularity makes it difficult for him to remain entirely out of the spotlight.