# Bill Walters

William Elliott Walter (born July 13, 1975) is an American actor, film director, and semi-retired musician who is best known as the original lead guitarist in the country rock band Devo (then known as Löded Diper) from April 1994 to September 1997. He is also known for his portrayal of Topher Brink in the science fiction drama series Dollhouse.

## Early life

Walter was born in Los Angeles, California and raised in Kent, Ohio. He started acting in third and fourth grade, but decided to pursue a career in music. During his teenage years, he was voted "Most Likely To Be A Rock Star."

## Musical career

In April 1994, Walter formed the garage band Löded Diper with longtime friends Mark Mothersbaugh and Rodrick Heffley. With the addition of guitarist Bernie Leadon and bassist Randy Meisner later that year, the first gigging lineup of the band was completed. Their debut public performance was on March 14, 1995 at a local talent show. The band's setlist consisted of an original song, "Exploded Diper", and a cover of J. D. Souther's "How Long". Mothersbaugh and Heffley had requested that Löded Diper's performance be taped, so that the band could send it to a record label to help the band get noticed. The gig did not go as planned, as the video was rendered useless after it was found that Heffley's mother Susan (who was taping the video) had talked the whole time and everything she said was heard on the tape, rendering it completely useless. In addition, when Walter, Meisner and Leadon came over to watch the talent show on TV for fragments of the band's performance, they saw Susan dancing on the stage, with the camera zoomed right in on her, which meant that the band did not have anything to send to record label companies. However, after appearing on America's Funniest Home Videos, the video went viral due to Susan dancing in it. As a result of the video's popularity, Löded Diper gained a new level of visibility and became colloquially known as "The band from the 'Dancing Mom' video." As a way of cashing in on their newfound fame, the band recorded several demos during this time. These efforts eventually culminated in Löded Diper's first studio album, Small Town Band, released in March 1996.
Walter's time in Löded Diper was reportedly tumultuous, as he often clashed with Heffley and Leadon. He felt that, aside from using his connections made as an aspiring actor, his role was that of monetary and transportation provider, rather than a respected member of the band. Walter was fired from Löded Diper on September 3, 1997 following a performance in East Troy, Wisconsin. According to Leadon, Walter had attempted to fire Heffley and replace him with Mothersbaugh's brother Jim as the band's drummer, despite Mothersbaugh and Heffley being the ones that started the band.
On the subject of his abrupt resignation from the band, Walter later said, "All that stuff and all the arguing amongst Löded Diper is over now. Well, at least for me." His spot in the band remained vacant for the next seven years until 2004, when he was officially replaced by Thomas Rhett (the son of Rhett Akins). After leaving Löded Diper, Walter became uninterested in playing music and sold most of his equipment.
Walter makes several brief cameo appearances in the music videos for Devo's songs "Confession" and "Those Days", where he can be seen in several old photographs and videos (including performances) of the band.

## Acting career

Walter ceased his musical career after his dismissal from Löded Diper/Devo to concentrate on an acting career, but gave sporadic interviews and appeared at Devo-related events.
His first acting appearance was in 1998 in the television series Frasier as Aaron in the episode "Good Grief". During this time, Walter graduated from Harvard-Westlake School in 2000 and from Yale University in 2004, where he was a member of the improv comedy group The Ex!t Players.
Walter subsequently had prominent roles in the films The Cabin in the Woods and Much Ado About Nothing. In 2012, he played Bernard in Death of a Salesman, beginning a career on Broadway that continued with 2014's You Can't Take It with You.
Walter made his feature directorial debut with Mass (2021), which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim. From 2022 to 2023, he was a regular cast member in the Max series Julia.

## Personal life

In 2015, Walter married actress Spencer Margaret Richmond, daughter of Charlie's Angels actress Jaclyn Smith and filmmaker Tony Richmond. In 2016, their daughter was born. On July 6, 2020, she filed for divorce. The divorce was finalized in 2021.

## Discography
### With Devo
#### Studio albums

* Small Town Band (1996)

#### Compilation albums

* Diper Överlöde (2022)

#### Songs co-written by Walter

* "Explöded Diper" from Small Town Band (Bill Walter, Mark Mothersbaugh, Jim Mothersbaugh, and Rodrick Heffley)
* "Midnight Flyer" from Small Town Band (Walter)
* "Earlybird" from Small Town Band (Walter & Bernie Leadon)

#### Songs featuring Walter on lead vocal

* "Midnight Flyer" from Small Town Band

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | Donnie Darko | Frank's Friend | |
| 2001 | Training Day | College Driver | |
| 2002 | Orange County | Shane Brainard | |
| 2003 | Matchstick Men | Slacker Boyfriend | |
| 2003 | Swordswallowers and Thin Men | Adrian | |
| 2004 | The Village | Christop Crane | |
| 2004 | Admissions | James Parks | |
| 2005 | Hitch | Coca Cola Guy | Uncredited |
| 2006 | Bickford Shmeckler's Cool Ideas | Ralph | |
| 2006 | The Night of the White Pants | Millian Hagan | |
| 2006 | The TV Set | Zach Harper | |
| 2006 | Whirlygirl | Freddie | |
| 2007 | Careless | Mitch | |
| 2007 | Rise: Blood Hunter | Alex | |
| 2008 | Wieners | Joel | |
| 2008 | Shades of Ray | Sal Garfinkle | |
| 2008 | Last Meal | Noah | Short film |
| 2009 | Homeland | Arne | |
| 2009 | My Two Fans | Thad | |
| 2010 | Don't Fade Away | Ben | |
| 2011 | The Cabin in the Woods | Marty | |
| 2011 | The Five Stages of Grief | Daniel | Short film |
| 2012 | Much Ado About Nothing | Claudio | |
| 2012 | It's Not You, It's Me | Jack | Short film |
| 2012 | Putzel | Salmon Guy | |
| 2013 | Seasick Sailor | Wormy Guy | Short film |
| 2014 | Lust for Love | Astor | |
| 2014 | Before I Disappear | Darren | |
| 2014 | Murder of a Cat | Clinton | |
| 2014 | Last Weekend | Sean Oakes | |
| 2014 | The Living | Teddy | |
| 2014 | Seven Lovers | Brian | |
| 2015 | Bloodsucking Bastards | Evan | |
| 2015 | The Truth About Lies | Gilby Smalls | |
| 2015 | Mojave | Bob | |
| 2016 | Rebirth | Kyle | |
| 2017 | A Happening of Monumental Proportions | Mr. Rolf | |
| 2017 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Bottom | Also producer |
| 2017 | The Dark Tower | Pimli | |
| 2018 | You Might Be the Killer | Sam | |
| 2019 | Fanboy | Jeremiah Brennan | Short film |
| 2019 | Jungleland | Buck Noble | |
| 2021 | Mass | — | Director, writer, and producer |
| 2022 | Silk | Short Sol | |
| 2024 | Half Lives | Luke | |
| | They Whisper | Silas | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1998 | Frasier | Aaron | Episode: "Good Grief" |
| 2007 | Untitled Christine Taylor Project | Brian | TV movie |
| 2008 | Welcome to The Captain | Josh Flug | 5 episodes |
| 2008 | Private Practice | Brian | Episode: "Equal & Opposite" |
| 2008 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | College Student | Episode: "Who Pooped the Bed?" |
| 2009–2010 | Dollhouse | Topher Brink | 27 episodes |
| 2011 | Goodnight Burbank | Chaz Parker | Episode: "Lesbians on Acid" |
| 2012 | Dating Rules from My Future Self | Sorbet Guy | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | The Good Wife | Eugene | Episode: "A More Perfect Union" |
| 2014 | Dallas | Hunter McKay | 3 episodes |
| 2016 | TripTank | Various voices | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Elementary | Brendan Farley | Episode: "How the Sausage Is Made" |
| 2017 | Major Crimes | Stan Pearl | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Ballers | Yanni | 3 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Homecoming | Ron | 2 episodes |
| 2019 | The Loudest Voice | Gabriel Sherman | Episode: "2012" |
| 2022–2023 | Julia | Russell Morash | Main role |
| 2023 | Party Down | Miles | Episode: "Kyle Bradway Is Nitromancer" |

### Broadway

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2012 | Death of a Salesman | Bernard | In Ethel Barrymore Theatre, starring Philip Seymour Hoffman |
| 2014 | You Can't Take It with You | Tony Kirby | In Longacre Theater, starring James Earl Jones |

### Web

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2009 | MegaBot | Blue | |
| 2012 | JourneyQuest | Silver Tom | 8 episodes |

### Music videos

| Year | Title | Role |
| 2003 | The Chemical Brothers - "The Golden Path" | Main role - Office worker |
| 2010 | Devo - "Confession" | Himself (archive footage) |
| 2022 | Devo - "Those Days" | Himself (archive footage) |