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Red Dead Redemption 2

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Billy Midnight, Voiced by Tommy Buck
Character

Billy Midnight

Voiced by Tommy Buck

Billy Midnight is one of the named cast of Red Dead Redemption 2, working as character. The facts below are the ones the wiki records.

Turns up in the story without fitting any of the other labels.

Role
Other characters
Voice actor
Tommy Buck
Status
Not stated
Occupation
Gunslinger Outlaw
Affiliations
Rabbit Matthews (formerly), Jim "Boy" Calloway (formerly)
Also known as
The man who killed Rabbit Matthews (Photograph)

Player notes

Born Wilhelm Schnell, Billy Midnight becomes a gunslinger outlaw whose name spreads after Rabbit Matthews dies at his hands. A photograph later calls him the man who killed Matthews, but Midnight insists that Matthews was shot while asleep. Fame turns him into a public figure, and he appears in speaking engagements and staged gunfight recreations in Saint Louis, San Francisco and Saint Denis. Death threats and attempts on his life leave him fearful of anyone seeking him out.

During "The Noblest of Men, and a Woman", Arthur Morgan traces Midnight to a train. The clerk directs Arthur to the bar carriage, where Midnight is drinking. Arthur asks about his past and Rabbit Matthews, but Midnight panics, taking the question as proof that another assassin has found him. He runs through the cars, with Arthur pursuing him, then climbs onto the roof as the train continues along the line.

On the roof, Midnight has nowhere left to run and calls Arthur out for a duel. He draws Midnight's Pistol while dropping to one knee, but Arthur kills him. If Arthur disarms him, Midnight produces a Cattleman Revolver and kills himself instead. Arthur photographs the body, and Theodore Levin later uses the photograph for his book, falsely crediting Jim "Boy" Calloway with Midnight's death.

Trivia

  • โ—†His real name suggests that he is of German ancestry. Furthermore, his weapon is a custom Mauser Pistol (a weapon of German origin), which also hints at him having either German nationality or ancestry.
  • โ—†Midnight's real surname, "Schnell", is the German word for "fast". It is also a reference to his Mauser Pistol, which was available in a model named "Schnellfeuer".
  • โ—†Furthermore, the saloon he owned in the beta has a German name and features German-inspired architecture.
  • โ—†If the player doesn't jump onto the wagon that Midnight stops on, he will eventually commit suicide. This allows the player to skip the duel entirely.
  • โ—†It is possible to shoot Midnight in the back when he is standing on the wagon. This also allows the player to skip the duel without failing the mission.
  • โ—†Billy Midnight's part of the mission was significantly changed during development, and would've taken place inside the cut Annesburg saloon, which would've been owned by him and is still called "Mitternachtsbierhalle" (Midnight's Beer Hall) in the final game in reference to his real-world inspiration: Robert Ford, who was shot dead in his own saloon.
  • โ—†Midnight shares some similarities with Robert Ford, the man who shot Jesse James:
  • โ—†Both Midnight and Robert Ford were former gang members before assassinating their respective leaders.
  • โ—†Midnight claims that he didn't shoot Rabbit Matthews in his sleep, while Robert Ford denied the cowardice of killing Jesse James from behind.
  • โ—†The Fords went to several theaters reenacting, according to Bob, his "courageous act". Midnight visited the Saint Denis Theater before the events of Red Dead Redemption 2, and also traveled to Saint Louis and San Francisco.
  • โ—†After some people found out how Rabbit Matthews really died, Midnight started to receive a lot of death threats. Bob Ford also received letters, but he got used to reading their messages every day.
  • โ—†Edward O'Kelley assassinated Robert Ford in his own saloon in 1892, and Midnight was gunned down near a bar circa 1899/1907. In beta versions of the game, Midnight was gunned down in his own saloon.
  • โ—†Midnight is only remembered as a coward who shot many folk in the back and also as "the man who killed Rabbit Matthews", similar to how Robert Ford is only known for being "the man who killed Jesse James".
  • โ—†Unlike Flaco Hernรกndez or Emmet Granger, Midnight can't be knocked unconscious and spared. He is the only one of the first four legendary gunslingers who can't survive their encounter with the player.
View on Red Dead Wiki โ†’

Character data from Red Dead Wiki, CC BY-SA. Not affiliated with Rockstar Games.

Last verified September 14, 2026