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| Birth Name(s) : William George Zane Jr. |
Date of Birth: February 24, 1966 |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
N/A |
| Profession:
Actor |
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Full Billy Zane Biography
| Billy Zane is divorced from Lisa Collins and currently engaged to Leonor Varela, whom he met on the set of "Cleopatra" (1999). Most notable roles include Cal Hockley on the "Titanic" (1997) and "The Phantom" (1996). |
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Additional Billy Zane Biography
William George "Billy" Zane, Jr. (born 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. As of 2007, Zane has appeared in over 50 films and numerous TV-series.
Zane's first screen role was in Back to the Future (1985) playing one of Biff Tannen's friend/henchmen. Zane later reprised the role for the 1989 sequel, Back to the Future II. Later the same year, Zane gained international recognition with the role of 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. In 1990, he also co-starred in the film Memphis Belle, a film version of a 1944 documentary about a World War II bomber plane. Zane also forayed into television work, and in 1991 he appeared as John Justice Wheeler in several episodes of David Lynch's hit TV-show Twin Peaks. In 1993, he played the Shakespearian actor "Mr. Fabian" in Tombstone .
Although The Phantom was no box office success, Zane achieved success shortly after by playing Caledon Hockley in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster Titanic, which to this date remains his best known characterization. The role of Kate Winslet's wicked fiance went on to getting him nominated to a MTV Movie Award for "Best Villain" in Titanic, and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award. He was also nominated for a SAG-award.
In 1998, Zane starred in and produced I Woke Up Early The Day I Died, a silent film based on Ed Wood's last script, intended as a parody on bad filmmaking. He won several awards at the B-Movie Film Festival, including Best Movie and Best Actor, for this work. The year after, he starred opposite Timothy Dalton and Leonor Varela (who became his fiance after shooting ended) in a TV-movie about Cleopatra. Zane played the part of Mark Anthony.
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, and starred opposite Ryan Gosling. The same year, he also had a cameo as himself in the popular comedy Zoolander, which gave birth to the popular quote "Listen to your friend Billy Zane, he's a cool dude."
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.
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. Billy Zane appeared in the 2006 Turkish film, Valley of the Wolves Iraq, (Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak, in Turkish). The film, accused of anti-Americanism and ant-Semitism, the film tells the story of the U.S. Army run amok in Iraq, and brought into check by a brave Turkish soldier; Zane plays Sam William Marshall, a cruel and inhumane U.S. soldier; mixed martial artist Tito Ortiz plays a fellow soldier, and Gary Busey plays a Jewish-American Army doctor who harvests fresh organs from injured Iraqi prisoners to sell to rich Jews around the world.
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-comedy The Mad, ; 4Chosen (together with Laurence Fishburne); Alien Agent; Don Juan; and his second directorial effort, Uptown, about a man who starts a theater company for the mentally ill. Memory, a psychological thriller where Zane stars opposite Ann-Margret and Dennis Hopper, will be released in 2007. Zane is also set to star in a biopic on singer Mario Lanza, and opposite his fiancee Kelly Brook in family-comedy Fishtales.
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/Three (UK title)". 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. 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. |
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