Billy Miller

William John Miller II (September 17, 1979 – September 15, 2023) was an American actor. He was recognized for his work on American soap operas, including his award-winning work as Billy Abbott on The Young and the Restless and his dual portrayals of Jason Morgan and Drew Cain on General Hospital.

Early life and education William John Miller II was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and grew up in Grand Prairie, Texas. As a child, Miller spent five years as a patient of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, an organization he also supported.

Miller attended Lamar High School in Arlington, Texas, and the University of Texas in Austin, Texas, where he received a communications degree and was one of only twenty students in the film department's intensive Production Sequence. His first break into acting came after he signed on with the Wilhelmina modeling agency. He also did commercials for JCPenney, Pizza Hut and pokerparty.com. where he was cast in the role of Billy Abbott. Miller, who submitted the longest Emmy reel among all nominated performers (over 32 minutes long—an entire episode), was awarded for his work in an It's A Wonderful Life-styled episode of The Young and the Restless with his first nomination and win as Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series on June 27, 2010, as well as June 14, 2013.

In 2011, he was nominated a second time in the Outstanding Supporting Actor category for the same role. Miller also appears, as himself, in an independent film titled Remembering Nigel, which premiered at the Paso Robles Digital Film Festival on November 25, 2009.

In August 2012, it was announced Miller would be appearing in primetime as a recurring cast member on The CW's Ringer. Miller was also cast as Gabe Watson in the Lifetime made-for-TV movie Fatal Honeymoon. In November 2013, it was announced Miller would depart the role of Billy; Miller's predecessor David Tom was named as his successor in the role. Miller called his decision to leave the role the "hardest thing" he had ever done.

On September 2, 2014, General Hospital executive producer Frank Valentini announced on Twitter that Miller would join the cast as Jason Morgan. In March 2018, for his portrayal of Jason, Miller earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor. In 2017, with the return of Steve Burton to the role of Jason, Miller's casting was retconned to that of his twin, Drew Cain. In July 2019, Miller announced his exit from the soap.

Death Miller died in Austin, Texas, on September 15, 2023. In a statement, Miller's mother, Patricia, revealed his death was due to suicide following his battles with bipolar depression:

Filmography

+ Television roles Year Title Role Notes 2006 CSI: NY Will Graham Episode: "Live or Let Die" 2007–2008 All My Children Richie Novak Series regular 2008–2014 The Young and the Restless Billy Abbott Series regular 2011 Justified James Earl Dean Episode: "The Moonshine War" 2011–2012 Ringer John Delario Recurring role 2012 Fatal Honeymoon Gabe Watson Television film (Lifetime) 2013 Castle Mickey Gerhardt Episode: "Number One Fan" 2014 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Officer Robert Dolan Episode: "The Fallen" 2014–2019 General Hospital Jason Morgan Series regular Drew Cain 2014 Major Crimes Anthony Hunt Episode: "Down the Drain" 2015–2019 Suits Marcus Specter Four episodes 2017 Ray Donovan Todd Doherty Three episodes 2019–2020 Truth Be Told Alex Dunn Recurring role 2022 NCIS Ezra Moretti Episode: "Unearth" Final performance

Awards and nominations +List of acting awards and nominations Year Award Category Title Result Daytime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama SeriesThe Young and the RestlessOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series General Hospital