Born in Farnworth, Lancashire, Billington trained at the Drama Centre London, and was an unknown when chosen from hundreds who auditioned to play the lead part of Lysander Hawkley in The Man Who Made Husbands Jealous (1997). He has gone on to work with many leading film Directors, including Peter Greenaway, Franco Zeffirelli, and Mel Gibson. He also now teaches at the London School of Dramatic Art, the Drama Centre London, the Method Studio, London, and the City Literary Institute.