William "Billy" Connolly, CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin . His first trade, in the early 1960s, was as a welder in the Glasgow shipyards, but he gave it up towards the end of the decade in favour of being a folk singer. In the mid-1970s he changed career again, this time becoming a comedian, a role in which he continues. He is also a sometime actor, and has appeared in such films as Indecent Proposal ; Mrs. Brown , for which he was nominated for a BAFTA; The Boondock Saints ; The Last Samurai ; Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events ; and The X-Files: I Want to Believe