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Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, and Palace Music). After briefly publishing music under his own name, in 1998 he adopted Bonnie " Prince" Billy as the name for most of his work.
Oldham first performed and recorded under various permutations of the Palace name, including Palace Brothers, Palace Songs, Palace Music, and simply Palace. Regarding the name changes during this period (1993–1997), Oldham said:
Will stated in a 1995 interview with KCRW that the name Palace Flophouse was inspired by reading John Steinbeck's Cannery Row. Beginning in 1998, Oldham has primarily used the moniker Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, which draws inspiration from several sources:
He has explained that "the primary purpose of the pseudonym is to allow both the audience and the performer to have a relationship with the performer that is valid and unbreakable."
Many of his solo albums are not available on Spotify, as Oldham disagrees with how they treat musicians.
Johnny Cash recorded a version of "I See a Darkness" on his American Recordings disc (2000). Oldham provided backing vocals. Spanish singer Rosalía also recorded a version of "I See a Darkness" for her debut album Los Ángeles. Marianne Faithfull included Oldham's "A King at Night" on her 2003 Kissin Time tour. Steve Adey also covered "I See a Darkness" on his 2006 LP All Things Real. Mark Kozelek recorded a version of Oldham's "New Partner" on his 2008 disc, The Finally LP. Katatonia covered "Oh How I Enjoy the Light" on their 2001 EP Tonight's Music, and their song "Don't Tell a Soul" is about and contains an interpolation of the Palace Brothers song "You Will Miss Me When I Burn". In 2009 Mark Lanegan and Soulsavers recorded a cover version of "You Will Miss Me When I Burn". The release is a split single, backed with the Lanegan-penned "Sunrise" featuring vocals by Oldham. In 2011, Deer Tick's cover of Oldham's song "Death to Everyone" appeared in an episode of Hell On Wheels. Cadaverous Condition covered "Black" on their To the Night Sky album (2006).
In 2004, Oldham appeared as himself in the short documentary film Tripping With Caveh, wherein he took psilocybin mushrooms with autobiographical filmmaker Caveh Zahedi. New York Times article: " A Filmmaker Bared His Soul. It Ruined His Life."" Tripping With Caveh on Caveh Zahedi's Vimeo page. The project was intended as the pilot episode of a reality/documentary series, with the concept being that Zahedi would take psychedelic drug in the company of a different celebrity in each episode. The project was never picked up by a television network, but the short with Oldham finally saw official release in the 2015 retrospective box set Digging My Own Grave: The Films of Caveh Zahedi.Factory Twenty Five: " Digging My Own Grave."
Oldham played a lead role as Kurt in Kelly Reichardt's film Old Joy (2006), and had a brief role in the director's next film Wendy and Lucy (2008). Oldham played Pastor Pigmeat in the "Horse Apples" episode of the second season of the MTV children's show parody Wonder Showzen and appeared in an episode of Chatman and Lee's subsequent television show, as a Reverend. In 2007, he starred alongside Zach Galifianakis in a music video for Kanye West's "Can't Tell Me Nothing". The Kanye West/Will Oldham/Zach Galifianakis Collabo You Never Saw Coming. Wired, July 25, 2007. Retrieved on August 23, 2012.
Also in 2010, Oldham appeared in Jackass 3D as a gorilla trainer. As part of an agreement to play that role, he wrote a theme song, in the style of a Saturday-morning cartoon show, for filmmaker Lance Bangs. Will Oldham Discusses Jackass 3D, Working on 'Blueprints' for New Album . Buzzgrinder.com (March 9, 2011). Retrieved on May 4, 2012.
In 2011, Oldham played a father telling a bedtime story to his son in David Lowery's short film Pioneer. In 2017, he appeared as "Prognosticator" in the feature film A Ghost Story, also directed by David Lowery.
| + !Year !Title !Role !Notes | |||
| 1985 | What Comes Around | Young Tom Hawkins | |
| 1987 | Matewan | Danny Radnor | |
| 1990 | Thousand Pieces of Gold | Miles | |
| 1999 | Radiation | Will | |
| 1999 | Julien Donkey-Boy | Partygoer | Uncredited |
| 2005 | Junebug | Bill Mooney, scout | |
| 2006 | Old Joy | Kurt | |
| 2006 | The Guatemalan Handshake | Donald Turnupseed | |
| 2008 | Wendy and Lucy | Icky | |
| 2010 | Jackass 3D | Himself | |
| 2011 | New Jerusalem | Ike Evans | |
| 2014 | Eden | John | |
| 2017 | A Ghost Story | Prognosticator | |
| 2023 | The Bikeriders | Bartender |
| 1989 | Chip Mcclure | Television film | |
| 2006 | Wonder Showzen | Pastor Pigmeat | Episode: "Horse Apples" |
| 2007 | Trapped in the Closet Chapters 13–22 | Sgt. Platoon | Video |
| 2008 | Reverend (voice) | Episode: "Signs from Godrilla" | |
| 2018 | Animals | Father Ferret (voice) | Episode: "At a Loss for Words When We Needed Them Most or... The Rise and Fall of GrabBagVille" |
| 2020 | The Midnight Gospel | Bubble Max (voice) | Episode: "Vulture with Honor" |
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