What Happened To Tim Williams The Trivago Guy?

Travel site Trivago once had a rather handsome spokesperson at the helm. Tim Williams was the face of the brand, but he’s faded from television sets in recent years. Here’s what the commercial actor has been up to.

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What Is Williams Known For?

Back in 2013, Williams became the face of Trivago, a hotel price comparison website. His ads perplexed and engaged viewers with his casual attire. He was beltless, wrinkled, and a bit scruffy. His down-to-earth, no-frills demeanor conveyed relatability and trustworthiness. In the sea of pristine or even smarmy salesmen, the “Trivago Guy” became a paragon of hipster chic. This was a guy you could trust to tell it to you straight, not sell you a bill of goods.

Williams starred in a series of ads explaining how Trivago works. He was an expert at breaking the process down, making it easy to understand for viewers of any experience level. Here’s a taste of what he brought to the table:

Williams didn’t just materialize out of thin air, though. He had kicked around film and television for years before becoming a commercial actor. In 1999, he appeared on episodes of both The Sopranos and Law & Order, and he performed a steady number of smaller roles throughout the 2000s. Perhaps his most significant role during this period was a small part in the 2008 Tom Cruise film Valkyrie.

He Has Built A Parallel Career Overseas

Those Trivago spots only scratched the surface of Williams’s career. Williams moved to Germany at the dawn of the millennium and has consistently found work. He’s one of the best-known Texans in the country.

When Williams got the Trivago gig, he was actually already busy with a TV series. He appeared in 10 episodes of Gute Zeiten, schlechte Zeiten until 2013. His resume is dotted with German roles, and he can speak the language fluently. Over the years, he’s found no problem scoring roles in German films or television shows. In 2020, he appeared in the miniseries Unseere wunderbaren Jahre, his most recent part to date.

He Still Has A Very Texan Taste In Music

When Williams isn’t basking in the German limelight, he’s focused on his love of country music. He’s a big Willie Nelson fan and has even released an album of his own tunes. Williams may be the only Texan on Earth with a country album, memorable ad campaign, and a dozen acting roles in Germany. Accomplishing all of that without a belt makes it even more impressive.

Williams’ Legal Trouble

Unfortunately, his hipster image hasn’t always been squeaky clean. A few years after his Trivago gig ended, Williams made headlines for all the wrong reasons. In 2019, the commercial actor was charged with driving while intoxicated in his native Houston after being found asleep at the wheel, his foot on the brake in traffic. The police reported that he failed a sobriety test.

Fear not, however: In 2020, just months before the pandemic ended life as we knew it, prosecutors dropped their charges against Williams. Since then he’s stayed active on Facebook, posting about the importance of vaccination and in support of Ukraine.