He graduated Bennington College, in Bennington, VT, where he studied theatre with Nicholas Martin and literature with Bernard Malamud, and moved to Seattle upon graduation, where, over a fifteen year period, he appeared on regional stages both well and ill regarded. He toured Europe and portions of the U.S. for a bit with a Milwaukee-based experimental theatre company (Theatre X), whose production of "A History of Sexuality" featured him in such disparate roles as Sigmund Freud and the Marquis De Sade's valet.

His theater credits include "Candide," David Mamet's "Bobby Gould in Hell," "The Seagull," "The Birthday Party," "Great Expectations," "12th Night" and "Bitter Bierce" -- a one man show he produced himself about the life and times of Ambrose Bierce. He also played a Berber taxi-cab driver in "Ugly's First World" at The Actor's Gang -- some years back appearing opposite his lovely wife, Bonita Friedericy, who played Lady Jane Greystoke, aka Mrs. Tarzan (and who plays, coincidentally, Mrs. Egan Foote on "The Nine").

In l990 Billingsley founded a Seattle-based theatre company called Bookit, which was devoted to adapting fiction for the stage and which still flourishes in the Pacific Northwest. He also helped found an acting studio in Seattle called Freehold, also still flourishing, where he taught for seven years and helped to establish and run the company's theatrical production arm. Always active in a limited way in Seattle-based film and TV in the '80s, he decided to move to Los Angeles in 1995 to pursue those mediums more aggressively because (l) he was broke and (2) refer back to (1). After a brief and disastrous stint as a cotton candy spinner (tufts of cotton candy refused to adhere to the paper cones and instead plastered themselves on the faces and garments of frightened children), Billingsley caught a break and was cast in "NYPD Blue" as a pathetic and addled child molester.

Other guest star roles followed -- "The Practice," "Profiler," "Pretender," "Marshall Law," "Nash Bridges," "The X-Files," "Time of Your Life," "Judging Amy" and "Arli$$," among others. In l999 Stephen Spielberg cast him as Prof. Miles Ballard in "The Others." Additional guest starring work includes "The West Wing," "Six Feet Under," "Gideon's Crossing," "Star Gate," "The Huntress" and "Angel." In 2000 Billingsley was cast as Dr. Phlox in "Star Trek: Enterprise." Dr. Phlox was an eccentric alien with a whimsical sense of humor, and Billingsley wore the requisite rubber head for four seasons. He also has appeared on "Nip/Tuck," "Cold Case," "The Closer" and, in a recurring role, played the evil Vice President's hapless (and toothless) brother on "Prison Break."

Films along the way include "Out of Time" opposite Denzell Washington, "High Crimes," "The Glass House," "White Oleander," "Born to be Wild," "I Love You to Death," "A Cinderella Story" and "12 Dogs of Christmas," among others.