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Billy Zane (born William George Zane, Jr. on February 24, 1966) is an American actor and director. He is perhaps best recognized for his role as Caledon Hockley in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic and as The Phantom in the 1996 eponymous film based upon the comic book superhero. Up to and including 2006, Zane has appeared in over 50 films and numerous TV-series.
Early life
Zane was born in Chicago, Illinois to Thalia and William George Zane, Sr., both of whom were professional actors and founders of a school for medical technicians. His family's original surname, "Zanikopolous", was anglicized to "Zane" by his grandparents. Both of his parents are Greek American and Zane was raised in the Greek Orthodox religion. He has an older sister, Lisa Zane, who is also an actress. After completing a year abroad at TASIS (The American School in Switzerland), Zane graduated from the Francis W. Parker School and attended Harand Camp of the Theater Arts, located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Career
Zane's first screen role was in Back to the Future (1985) playing Biff Tannen's friend Match. He landed the role as a fluke by appearing nonchalant, dressed in a T-shirt. Zane later reprised the role for the 1989 sequel, Back to the Future II. Later the same year, Zane gained international recongition with a supporting role as the psychotic villain Hughie Warriner in the thriller Dead Calm, alongside Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill. Zane's first starring role was in a 1990 independent film, the low budget science fiction thriller, Megaville. Zane also forayed into television work. In 1991 he appeared as John Justice Wheeler in several episodes of David Lynch's hit TV-show Twin Peaks, and in 1993, he played the Shakespearian actor "Mr. Fabian" in Tombstone.
In 1996, Zane played the eponymous classic comic book hero in the big budget action film The Phantom (based on his favorite comic). Zane pumped iron for over a year and a half to fill the Phantom's tight spandex costume properly, and studied samples of the comic carefully in his attempt to copy the character's body language. Zane became known for playing Caledon Hockley in the 1997 movie blockbuster Titanic. He went on to be nominated to a MTV Movie Award for "Best Villain" in Titanic. For the same role, he also won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award, and was nominated for a SAG-award. Premature hair loss has not diminished Zane's acting career. In some of his most famous films, like Titanic and The Phantom, he wore a wig, and frequently does so when the role requires it.
Zane was instrumental in getting the critically acclaimed film The Believer made, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 2001. In it, he portrayed neo-Nazi Curtis Zampf. The same year, he also had a cameo as himself in Zoolander. Zane keeps busy in other parts of the entertainment industry as well. He is a singer and can occasionally be seen in various Broadway shows, like "Chicago", where he played lawyer Billy Flynn.
He voiced John Rolfe in Pocahontas 2, and Ansem in Squaresoft and Disney's renowned video game Kingdom Hearts, and voiced Etrigan "The Demon" in an episode of Batman: The Animated Series. Zane also had a recurring role in the popular television series Charmed in which he played poetry loving ex-demon Drake. In 1998, Zane starred in and produced I Woke Up Early The Day I Died, a silent film of Ed Wood's last script. He won the B-Movie Award for this work.
Zane's debut as a director was Big Kiss, a light-hearted romantic comedy about two journalists involved in a diamond caper in which he also starred. Although released in Sweden in 2004, the date of a wider distribution remains uncertain. In January 2006, he made his debut on the London stage in Arthur Allan Seidelman's production of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks by Richard Alfieri, a two-hander in which he co-starred with Claire Bloom.
As of 2007, Zane is rumoured to be a candidate for the role of Marlon Brando in a biopic about the legendary actor written by newcomer Johnny Bas. He is also rumoured to star in a dark comedy produced by Bob Yari, the man behind the Academy Award-winning Crash. Zane has lined up several projects, including horror film The Mad, in which a doctor and his daughter are attacked by zombies at a truck stop; 4Chosen (together with Laurence Fishburne); Alien Agent; Don Juan; a directorial effort, Uptown, about a man who starts a theater company for the mentally ill; and Memory, a psychological thriller where Zane stars opposite Ann-Margret and Dennis Hopper. He is also starring in a Mario Lanza biopic, and opposite his fiancee Kelly Brook in Fishtales.
Personal life
Zane married actress Lisa Collins in 1989. The couple divorced in 1995. He was also engaged for a time to Chilean actress Leonor Varela, his costar in the 1999 television movie Cleopatra, where he played Marcus Antonius. As of 2006, Zane is engaged to marry British model turned actress Kelly Brook whom he met on the set of "Survival Island". His leisure interests include riding, painting, swimming, photography, frisbees, taking nature walks, riding a bicycle, and collecting cars. He has described his movie heroes to be Sean Connery, Gene Kelly, Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin.
In 1999, Zane participated in the first Gumball 3000 rally, driving a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 and won first place with a $2.00 grand prize and free gumballs for a year. He was featured in the music video, Epiphany, by Staind, and appeared in his friend Marilyn Manson's Dope Show video.
Zane executive-produced a CD made by bluesman Tim O'Connor. The album includes three songs from Dead Calm, where Zane had one of the lead roles.
| Latest news about Billy Zane |
News: AFM 09: Billy Zane's Finest Hour.DG: "No, seriously, lightsabers. Have you seen Star Wars? That's what made the film." SFX: "I'm pretty sure we don't own the trademark on lightsabers anyway." Billy Zane: "LIGHTSABERS! WHAT IS SO HARD ABOUT THAT?" SFX: "Yes sir." ... Continue reading
The Showcase Blog : Oh, Billy Zane, Where Did You Go Wrong?You probably don't know this, but Billy Zane may be the most prolific struggling actor of his generation. Continue reading
Recruiting News Somehow Manages to Get Even CreepierRecruiting News Somehow Manages to Get Even Creepier. Seventh graders, Dude. Seventh graders. Continue reading
On the Set With Billy Zane, a Cool Dude and, Now, "a Citizen of ...​Tales of Billy Zane sightings are not hard to come by in recent weeks, from kids' hospital charity fundraisers to the AT&T Performing Arts Center gala opening to the AC/DC show a few days ago. If nothing else, he can be found at least ... Continue reading
NEW AVATAR FEATURETTE: "HUMAN HARDWARE" - MICHELLE RODRIGUEZ ...Except hardcore and Latin (a chill just ran down my spine from imagining a hardcore, Latin Billy Zane). And lastly, I don't think I ever noticed this before, but the material the humans are supposed to be mining is called “unobtainium. ... Continue reading
Bad Idea Racing: So long, farewell, a Billy Zane goodbyeSo long, farewell, a Billy Zane goodbye. to you, and you, and you, and you, and you. I'm all ready to leave tonight after dinner tonight. The die has been cast, and the fjork has been cast away. The Fox's time was up, and it's time to ... Continue reading
Translation Recordings - Global Drum & Bass - Washington, DC ...As MsDisdain and I are currently in Hawaii, we asked Billy Zane from the Pacific Jungle crew to rinse out a set for Translation Sound. If you've been out to any of the drum&bass and dubstep nights here (e.g. Subphonix, Audio Lab, ... Continue reading
Since We Have "Great Looking Readers," Well, You Can Still Hang ...Robert Wilonsky and Eric Celeste with Billy Zane...Holy Trinity. Posted On: Tuesday, Nov. 10 2009 @ 3:10PM. Robert Wilonsky says: So, a very attractive Friend of Unfair Park was indeed an extra only yesterday, when they shot at FIG ... Continue reading
Billy Zane tapped for ABC pilot - The Hollywood ReporterBilly Zane tapped for ABC pilot. June 03, 2008 Meanwhile, Rizwan Manji has come aboard the network's untitled Kohan/Mutchnick comedy pilot, Dorian Missick has been cast in ABC's comedy pilot "Bad Mother's Handbook" and Sprague Grayden ... Continue reading
Stoops Pretty Much Just Throwing Players Under the Bus NowStoops Pretty Much Just Throwing Players Under the Bus Now. It's not Stoops' fault the team sucks this year! It's the players' fault for sucking at football! In seriousness and fairness, Stoops is technically correct in the sense that, ... Continue reading
Hollywood Actors Jessica alba Billy Zane pictures and Billy Zane biography
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