Billy Redden - wikipedia Billy Redden Billy Redden ( born 1956 ) is an American actor, best known for his role as a backwoods, mountain boy in the 1972 film Deliverance. He played Lonnie, a banjo - playing teenager of the country in north Georgia, who played the noted `` Dueling Banjos '' with Drew Ballinger, played by Ronnie Cox. The film was critically acclaimed and received nominations for awards in several categories. Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 3 References 4 External links Early life Redden was born in Rabun County, Georgia. Career At the age of 16, he was selected for a role in Deliverance from his school in Georgia by the director John Boorman to portray a banjo - playing `` local '' during the film 's famous `` dueling banjos '' scene. Boorman felt that Redden 's skinny frame and large head, and almond shaped eyes made him the natural choice to play the part of an `` inbred from the back woods. '' Because Redden could not play a banjo, he wore a special shirt which allowed a real banjo player to hide behind him for the scene, which was shot with carefully chosen camera angles that would conceal the player, whose arms were slipped around Redden 's waist to play the tune. After Deliverance, Redden was cast in Lamberto Bava 's 1984 film Blastfighter. The film was recorded in and around Clayton and many people recall it as a mixture of Deliverance and First Blood. Redden next appeared in Tim Burton 's 2003 film Big Fish. Burton was intent on getting Redden, as he wanted him to play the role of a banjo - playing `` welcomer '' in the utopian town of Spectre. Burton located Redden in Clayton, Georgia, where he was part - owner of the Cookie Jar Café, and also worked as a cook and dishwasher. In 2004, Redden made a guest appearance on Blue Collar TV, playing a car repairman named Ray in a `` Redneck Dictionary '' skit. He represented the word `` raisin bread '' ( as in `` Ray 's inbred '' ). He played a banjo in the skit. In 2009, Redden played again his usual role ( The banjo man ) in Ace Cruz 's film Outrage : Born in Terror. In 2012, 40 years after the release of Deliverance, Redden was interviewed in association with a documentary, The Deliverance of Rabun County ( 2012 ). It explored the feelings of people in Rabun County four decades later about the 1972 film. Redden said that though Deliverance was the best thing that happened to him, he never saw much money from the movie : `` I 'd like to have all the money I thought I 'd make from this movie. I would n't be working at Walmart right now. And I 'm struggling really hard to make ends meet. '' Noting some locals objected to the stereotypes in the movie, Redden said that the people in Rabun County were good people : `` We 're not a bad people up here, we 're a loving people. Rabun County is a pretty good town. It 's peaceful, not a lot of crime going on, just a real peaceful town. Everybody pretty much gets along with everybody. '' References Jump up ^ Potempa, Philip ( October 19, 2008 ). `` Burt Reynolds and ' Deliverance ' boy reunited ``. The Times of Northwest Indiana. ^ Jump up to : Welles, Cory ( August 22, 2012 ). `` 40 Years Later, Deliverance Causes Mixed Feelings in Georgia ''. Marketplace. American Public Media. External links Billy Redden on IMDb Blake Spurney ( News Editor ) ( October 7, 2004 ). `` Another celebrity appearance for Rabun star ( Archived 27 Dec 2004 ) ''. Archived from the original on December 27, 2004. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Billy_Redden&oldid=803578095 '' Categories : 1956 births Living people American male film actors American male child actors Male actors from Georgia ( U.S. state ) People from Clayton, Georgia Hidden categories : All articles with unsourced statements Articles with unsourced statements from October 2016 Talk Contents About Wikipedia Italiano Svenska Edit links This page was last edited on 3 October 2017, at 10 : 06. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: who was the actor who played the banjo in deliverance
Answer: Billy Redden