ATLANTA — Some of you may know him as Jet Black in "Cowboy Bebop" or as Captain Abbott in "Star Trek Into Darkness," and now you can meet the actor Beau Billingslea at Atlanta's Momocon as fans unite on Memorial Day weekend.
Anime fans will be able to "geek out" as they meet and hear from the iconic voice actor starting on Friday, May 24.
Ahead of the convention, Billingslea shared his journey to landing the popular and iconic characters.
Looking forward to MomoCon
The actor and voice actor said he will be on panels with his co-voice acting star Steve Blum, who is Spike in the iconic anime.
"Cowboy Bebop" is an anime created in the 1990s in which cowboys are bounty hunters who use a bebop, or a spaceship, to travel around the universe to find their bounties. The anime takes you on a journey in each episode with funky jazz music and character adventures.
"And we'll be at our table to chat with the fans, and that's my favorite part of my career is when I get a chance to chat with the fans. I love to hear their stories and how my work has affected their lives, and it's a nice interchange," said Billingslea.
Before landing the big roles
Originally born in South Carolina, voice acting was not exactly in Billingslea's forefront when he graduated high school in Connecticut, where he was raised.
He was actually on the path to a baseball contract in his senior year of high school but turned it down after hearing guidance from his father.
Billingslea then decided to go to college, where he ended up in the military and going into active duty. The actor attended law school, where he got his Juris Doctor and was able to practice law in the military. He even tried a murder case while he was a lawyer.
And he didn't give up on his elite athlete dreams.
Billingslea played semi-pro football while in college, almost making it to the NFL, but decided to go a different route.
He finally switched gears and tried acting part-time while in college, upgrading to full-time acting while in the military. He did plays in Europe but realized he needed to go to school for acting to learn more about the trade.
"The law is an exciting profession, especially if you're a trial lawyer, but you're living your life in conflict. You're in constant conflict - and that wasn't me. I didn't want to live my life that way. Plus, I was drawn to show business," he said.
Billingslea added that he officially knew that he wanted to do acting after being involved in one of his fraternity brothers' plays.
Once he finished his service in the military, he left for Hollywood where the world of fame awaited his arrival.
Legendary acting career
His latest voice-acting role is Leroy Smith in the combat-fighting video game Tekken 8, but it is not his most known role.
Billingslea also played the voice of Raikage Ay in "Naruto Shippuden" and other major live-action movies and television shows.
When landing his role as Jet Black, he had already built a reputation in Hollywood. He didn't really know what anime was when he was contacted for the job but took the leap of faith anyway.
Live long and prosper
On camera, Billingslea may be most recognized for his role in "Star Trek Into Darkness" in 2013, where he called it "a very special experience."
"I was very happy to join the Star Trek family. And when I auditioned, I didn't know what I was auditioning for. It was not at J.J. Abrams's production company, Bad Robot. If it were at Bad Robot, I probably would have realized what it was, but it was at the casting director's office," he added.
Billingslea also shared his filming experience for the Star Trek movie, where he went through different soundstages and got to dress in and see other costumes.
Representation behind the mic
Billingslea said that he never felt like he couldn't go for a role.
"So back in the day, there weren't very many characters of color," he explained. "Luckily, the people that were doing them, that didn't matter. So I voiced, you know, characters of all colors and, so, I was very fortunate that way."
He expressed though, at the time, the "movers and shakers" were mostly white, he's felt that over time there's been more opportunities for actors of color. He's played characters of "all colors," he said, and takes solace that the opportunity can be there for others, too.
Now, as he prepares to attend MomoCon, he reflects on his experiences.
"I've been very lucky in my life. I really have. I have a wonderful wife, two wonderful children, and three wonderful grandchildren. They all live in the L.A. area and I've had a certain amount of success in show business, and I feel like I've been walking on a cloud," he added.
To learn how you can meet Billingslea while he's in Atlanta, visit MomoCon's website.