William Harris 
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| Name | William Harris |
| Full name | William Benjamin |
| Sex |  Male
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| Born | May 22, 1969 (aged 44),  Sofasi, Clymene
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| Spouse | Linda (since 1991) |
| Children | Ashley and Mary |
| Parents | Tom and Joan Harris |
| Home | Noble City |
| Functions | Comedian Actor Singer-songwriter Guitarist Cannabis activist |
William B. "Billy" Harris is a Lovian actor, stand-up comedian and singer-songwriter of Scots-Irish descent who is known for playing "lovable rogue" characters with an "anarchic sense of humor,” most notably "renegade cop" John Reeves in the 1998 action-comedy film Cops and its three sequels; and the 1980s television series Ocean Heights, on which he starred as Jeff Carrington. He is considered to be one of Lovia’s finest actors and is renowned nationally.
Harris was born in Sofasi in 1969 and expressed an interest in acting and stand-up comedy as a young boy, appearing in many school plays and performing in several bands throughout his teenage years. After struggling with drug addiction in later adolescence he kicked the habit and was able to turn over a new leaf into adulthood, starring in numerous television shows and films. As a singer-songwriter Harris has also recorded three albums of original pop-rock music throughout the 1990s before turning to folk music with a humorous bent at the turn of the century.
Biography[]
Early life[]
William Harris was born on May 22, 1969 in Sofasi, Clymene to businessman Tom Harris, who died in 2007, and his wife Joan (née Reeves). In a 1998 interview at the premiere of Cops, he stated that he shared a close relationship with his mother and used her name as inspiration for the name of his character, John Reeves. Harris attended Rider Primary School from 1975 to 1981 and Sofasi Beach College from 1981 to 1986, and was well-liked amongst the student body for his sense of humor. He was notably voted "class clown" in his senior yearbook and participated in many school shows while his friends chose to play sports instead, having expressed an interest in acting since he was a child.
As a teenager Harris frequently sat in at local comedy clubs in the Sofasi area to hone his craft, and a successful stand-up routine one weekend in 1985 implored him to consider pursuing acting as a viable career path. He also sang and played guitar as part of several rock bands throughout high school, one of which—The Crusaders, not to be confused with the American jazz-fusion group of the same name—received regional attention throughout Clymene before abruptly folding.
Acting career[]
Harris graduated from Sofasi Beach College in 1986 at the age of 17 and went on to study dramatic arts at Blackburn University in Newhaven, with the intention of eventually breaking into film and television acting; he supported himself through gigs at the local comedy club and with money sent to him every month by his father, who disapproved of his career plans. His popularity with fellow students continued into university and his self-described "wild, party ways," which included periods of excessive drug and alcohol consumption, caught up to him and eventually began to adversely affect his studies. Harris' father—whom he never had a good relationship with—soon threatened to pull his funding but Harris continued partying to excess almost every night throughout his freshman and sophomore years until one night in December 1987, when a drug bust occurred at a dorm party he was attending. Although eventually cleared as a suspect by Kings State Police, Harris—who was friends with several drug dealers and at the time under the influence of several substances, including cannabis and LSD—was still frisked and interrogated by attending officers, resulting in a "bad trip." When the investigation turned out inconclusive, Harris was detained and harassed for eight hours by drug enforcement agents with no legal representation whatsoever. This experience proved traumatic for him and he later sued the local police department for violating his civil rights, a lawsuit that was settled out-of-court for an undisclosed sum.
Profoundly shaken by his experience but seeing it as an opportunity to turn over a new leaf in his life, Harris signed up for a rehabilitation program and pressed on with his acting studies instead of returning home to Sofasi when faced with that choice, but continued to struggle with drugs privately. A performance of Peter Pan in 1987, where he starred as the title character, proved to be a resounding success for the budding actor; director Arthur Balas, of Sofasi: Part 1 fame, was in the audience on opening night and was particularly enthralled by Harris' performance. Balas sought Harris out after the play and was able to get him roles in commercials on Newhaven television through connections in the entertainment industry, prompting the young actor to cut himself off financially from his father; to this day Harris considers Balas one of his closest friends. While attending Blackburn Harris also met Matt Richards and his future wife, Linda, herself a wannabe actress; Harris and Richards initially did not get along but Richards warmed up to him significantly after they both appeared in the same Peter Pan play. Both occasionally performed comedy together in student clubs as Billy & Matty, using their significant height difference—Harris is 5ft 7 (169.8 cm) tall while Richards is 6ft 4 (193.3 cm) tall—as a gag. Harris and Richards lost touch with one another following graduation, however, with Harris embarking on a career in television shows with his girlfriend Linda and Richards, a computer science major with American roots, pursuing a career in Silicon Valley, California. Harris' television acting debut was in January 1987, playing Jeff Carrington, the boyfriend and eventual husband of Julie Townsend on the NTV-1 comedy-drama series Ocean Heights. Although portrayed as a skilled teenage multi-instrumentalist on the show, Harris only played the guitar and did not know how to play the piano or the drums, instead being dubbed over and replaced with a body double for certain shots. Despite this the role brought him wide acclaim and established him as a leading comedy star despite his relatively young age. Harris continued his studies while shooting Ocean Heights and pursued a loving relationship with his co-star Anne-Marie Burdick between 1987 and 1990.
Despite being acclaimed for his performance Ocean Heights proved a difficult shoot for Harris, least of all having to adjust to a filmed medium after beginning his acting career on the stage. Nathan Kelly, a close personal friend of Harris' who wrote and directed many of the show's most famous episodes noted that Harris was a "fine actor and a funny guy but at times frustrating to work with." Harris' habitual drug use and poor timekeeping was a major source of contention amongst the cast and crew but "somehow they put up with it for about a year or so" according to himself. After abruptly quitting his drug habit in 1988, he began to go through intense periods of withdrawal that could last for several shooting days at a time and was erratic behind the scenes as a result. Patrick Dufour, one of the show's creators, was sympathetic at first but soon grew impatient with his poor performance and petitioned to have him removed from the cast, but Charlton Lee and network executives at NTV refused to budge owing to his fan-favorite status and the potential impact such a move would have on the show's ratings, and instead funded a month-long stay at a Noble City rehabilitation facility. With filming for Season 2 put on hold Harris began his recovery and was visited almost every day by Burdick and his mother to aid in his rehabilitation.
Cops movies and film stardom[]
In early January 1997, the directors of the movie Cops, Nathan Kelly and Louis McCain put an advertisement on the Internet for the role of three people. One was called John, the other one was called Connor Alexander and the girl was supposed to be called Amanda, but they changed her name to Lisa Kennedy. The thing that was wrong about the character John, is that the filmmakers could not make up a surname for the character, so they carried out an online lottery to see who could come up with a second name for John. Whoever would make up a surname for John's character would get his role. While working on his computer, William found the advertisement on the Internet and became interested in the role and thought about a surname. He asked his mother if he can use her maiden name. His mother allowed him, so he used the name "Reeves". A week later, he got an e-mail saying he was chosen to be John Reeves. A week later, Matt Richards became interested, so he wanted to become the part of Connor. The part of Connor was still vacant and he was chosen to be him. However, Linda Harris, William's wife was pregnant with their second child, so she decided not to be in Cops. In early February 1997, an aspiring actress called Sarah Williams decided to be the part of Lisa, which was still vacant, so they chose her. In 1998, when the movie was released, William's performance in the movie granted him fame, not just in Lovia, but in Brunant and in Libertas and all over the world.
He did two more Cops movies in 2004 and 2010. In 2011, the Lovian tabloid The Daily Sylvanian labeled him number 23 on the Top 100 Lovian Actors.
Personal life[]
Harris is married to Linda (née Peters), a writer whom he met at university in 1987. He has two children with her: Ashley (born 1992) and Mary (born 1998). Between 1987 and 1990 he was in a "passionate and loving" relationship with Anne-Marie Burdick, who portrayed Julie on Ocean Heights; despite their mutual attraction towards each other Harris and Burdick eventually resolved to remain friends instead. Harris revealed in in a 1999 interview that Burdick was deeply in love and wished to marry him but he was "young and stupid and afraid of any kind of commitment" at the time, adding that he still hated himself for not being receptive enough despite his long and happy marriage to Peters.
Harris notably campaigned alongside Richards for the federal legalization of cannabis in Lovia in recent years, having both been heavy users in their time. Although Harris has been sober from drugs and alcohol of any kind since 1988, he still wishes to see the substance legalized in Lovia in his lifetime, as he attests that it has helped him and caused him no harm.
Filmography[]
Film[]
- Cops (1998-2012) - John Reeves
- Lucid Dreaming (1999) - Henry Higgins
- Shattered Dreams (2003) - William Steele
- Tension (2006) - driver
- Summer Holiday (2006) - David
- Summer Holiday 2 - Lovian Road Trip (2008) - David
- Echoes (2013) - Edward Hornsby; director
- 8 Days of Hell (2015) - Rick Patterson
Television[]
- Ocean Heights (1986-1992, 73 episodes) - Jeff Carrington
- Mother! (2003, 1 episode) - Jeff Carrington