Interview by Paul Salfen
Billy The Kid stars British actor Tom Blyth (The Gilded Age, Benediction) and Daniel Webber (The Dirt,Escape From Pretoria), and is written by Vikings and The Tudors creator Michael Hirst.
The eight-episode season comprised of hour-long episodes is an epic romantic adventure based on the life of famous American outlaw Billy the Kid (Blyth), also known as William H. Bonney — from his humble Irish roots, to his early days as a cowboy and gunslinger in the American frontier, to his pivotal role in the Lincoln County War and beyond. Webber will play Jesse Evans, another famous outlaw and leader of the Seven Rivers Gang. When they meet, Jesse has already embraced a life of crime: robbing stores and cattle rustling. Billy is attracted to his wild and reckless character and becomes Billy’s doppelganger of sorts — his shadow self, forever inviting him over to the dark side of life.
Paul Salfen begins this interview with Michael Hirst and Donald De Line, and finishes with the actors portraying the main characters, Tom Blyth (Billy), Eileen O’Higgins (Billy’s Mother), and Daniel Webber (Jesse).
Michael Hirst is an English screenwriter and producer, best known for his films Elizabeth and Elizabeth: The Golden Age, as well as the Emmy Award-winning television series The Tudors and Vikings. Donald De Line is an American film producer. He was formerly the head of production at Paramount Pictures. He began his career as a studio executive at Walt Disney Productions and its Touchstone Pictures division in 1985, eventually serving as Disney’s vice-president of production.
Billy the Kid is executive produced by Michael Hirst; Donald De Line for De Line Pictures; Darryl Frank and Justin Falvey for Amblin Television; Otto Bathurst, and Toby Leslie for One Big Picture. Billy the Kid is a co-production between EPIX Studios and MGM International Television Productions. The series will be internationally distributed by MGM.
