Local professor gains a following as Harris Teeter’s “Bill”

WILMINGTON, NC (WWAY) — If you watch TV, there’s a good chance you’ve seen a familiar face in Harris Teeter commercials and stores.

Though you might know him as Bill, the wacky commercial character is played by UNCW professor, Myke Holmes.

An acting professor by day and an actor after office hours, Holmes filmed the viral Harris Teeter commercials just before the pandemic began in March and in November of 2020.

“It’s been almost two years since I shot these commercials,” Holmes said. “And I clearly look different, too.”

And though Holmes has acted in everything from The Walking Dead to House of Cards, the UNCW alum remembers being overwhelmed when the commercials and branding began coming out.

“The first time I saw it, it was just this big cut out of me going like this and I’m like, alright,” Holmes remembered. “They did say they might do something like this. And then I start walking through the store and I’m like oh, there I am, oh, I’m right there too, I’m on the back of that thing, oh I’m on that screen. Ok, wow, yep, they really put me up everywhere.”

And though the savings fueled fever dreams have officially wrapped, the lessons Holmes brings from set to class have not.

“You know because every time I go out and work on something, you bring those experiences back into the classroom,” he said. “And I can tell them my stories and my horror stories and my great stories that happen and how hard this actually is. It’s just one of those things where if it’s not here, you shouldn’t be doing it.”

With a career as expansive as his character’s Harris Teeter henchmen, Holmes says he’s lucky to do and teach what he loves.

“It’s been such a fun ride. I just, I never expected to do some of the things I’ve been able to do. I’m very thankful.”

Holmes is already working on another show, playing a role in an HBO show alongside Colin Firth.