Billy Zane
| Billy Zane | |
|---|---|
 Zane in 2010 | |
| Born |
William George Zane Jr. February 24, 1966 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Other names | Bill Zane |
| Occupation | Actor, producer |
| Years active | 1985–present |
| Spouse(s) | |
| Partner(s) | Candice Neil (2010–present; engaged) |
| Children | 2 |
William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor and producer. He is best known for playing Caledon Hockley in the epic romantic disaster film Titanic (1997), as well as roles in the science fiction comedies Back to the Future (1985) and Back to the Future Part II (1989), Dead Calm (1989), the television series Twin Peaks (1991), the western film Tombstone (1993), the horror film Demon Knight (1995), and the comedy-drama CQ (2001).
Early life
Zane was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Thalia and William George Zane, Sr., both of whom were amateur actors and founders of a school for medical technicians.[1][2] His parents are both of Greek descent (from Chios through his mother and Mani through his father), and his family's original surname, "Zanetakos", was anglicized to "Zane" by his parents, who also raised him Greek Orthodox.[3][4][5] He has an older sister, Lisa Zane, who is an actress and singer.[6] After completing a year abroad in Switzerland at The American School in Switzerland (TASIS), Zane graduated from Francis W. Parker School and attended Harand Camp of the Theater Arts, located in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin.
Career
1980s
Zane's first two screen roles were in the science fiction films Back to the Future in 1985 and Critters in 1986, around the same time he appeared in the music video for Sheena Easton's song "Do It For Love". In 1988 he played Tony Gambini alongside Jessica Fletcher in Murder, She Wrote: A Very Good Year for Murder. Zane also appeared in an episode of Matlock entitled "The Nurse". In 1989 he reprised his henchman role in Back to the Future Part II. Earlier that same year, Zane gained international recognition with the role of villain Hughie Warriner in the thriller Dead Calm, alongside Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill. He also starred in the NBC film, The Case of the Hillside Stranglers (1989).
1990s
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 Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber, as the bombardier. 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 1992 Zane co-starred alongside Tilda Swinton in the film adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel Orlando. In 1993, he played the Shakespearean actor "Mr. Fabian" in Tombstone, took a starring role in Sniper and played a playboy named Harry, posing as the elusive, albeit fake Damon Bradley along side Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. in Only You.
He also starred in a couple of Tales from the Crypt productions, including Tales From the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight, where he played a henchman of Satan called The Collector, and the episode "Well-Cooked Hams", where he played a poorly skilled magician who killed to steal good tricks from other magicians. In 1996, Zane played the eponymous classic comic book hero in the big budget action film The Phantom, based on Lee Falk's comic.
Zane played the snobbish millionaire misanthrope Caledon Hockley in James Cameron's 1997 blockbuster Titanic. This role as Rose's (played by Kate Winslet) fiancé earned him an MTV Movie Award nomination for "Best Villain" and a Blockbuster Entertainment Award. He was also nominated for a SAG award.
In 1998, he 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, Bruce Payne, Sean Pertwee and Leonor Varela (who became his fiance after shooting ended) in a TV-movie about Cleopatra. Zane played the part of Mark Antony.
The same year, he lent his voice to John Rolfe in Disney's Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World and voiced Etrigan the Demon in an episode of The New Batman Adventures.
2000s
Zane was instrumental in getting the critically acclaimed film The Believer made, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2001.[7] 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 comedy Zoolander.
Zane appeared on Broadway in Chicago, where he played lawyer Billy Flynn.
Zane also had a recurring role in the television series Charmed in which he played poetry-loving ex-demon Drake. He also provided the voice of Ansem, the main antagonist of the 2002 video game Kingdom Hearts. Archive audio of Zane was later used for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, and though he was originally to continue voicing the character throughout future installments, Zane was replaced by Richard Epcar for the rest of the series from Kingdom Hearts II onwards. Zane's performance, however, was kept for the Kingdom Hearts Final Mix remaster in Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix.
In 2006, Zane starred in Arthur Allan Seidelman's West End production of Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks as an acerbic gay dance instructor opposite Claire Bloom.[8] The same year, he appeared in the Turkish film Valley of the Wolves Iraq (Kurtlar Vadisi: Irak in Turkish), part of the Kurtlar Vadisi franchise. The film tells the story of the U.S. Army run amok in Iraq, eventually brought into check by a Turkish soldier. Zane plays Sam William Marshall, a cruel U.S. soldier who is the main antagonist in the film.
He took over Timothy Olyphant's role as Christina Applegate's ex-boyfriend on Samantha Who?. The show, however, was not renewed for the 2009–2010 season.[9]
Zane is a principal at RadioactiveGiant, a film and television production and distribution company.[10] Zane stars in the action/thriller film The Kill Hole.[11]
2010s
In January 2017, Zane appeared in a commercial for KFC as a gold-colored Colonel Sanders to pitch the restaurant chain's newest limited-time flavor, Georgia Gold Honey Mustard BBQ chicken.[12]
Personal life
Zane was married to actress Lisa Collins from 1989 until 1995. He was also engaged for a time to Chilean actress Leonor Varela, his costar in the television film Cleopatra (1999).[13]
Zane was later engaged to marry British model turned actress Kelly Brook, whom he met when starring with her in the movie Survival Island (2005), also known as Three.[14] They split in April 2008, got back together again shortly thereafter, then ended the relationship in August 2008.[15] Zane dated Croatian model Jasmina Hdagha in 2010, but they broke up later that year.[16]
Through a friend he met American model Candice Neil, who is the mother of his two daughters and to whom he is also currently engaged.[17][18] Their first daughter, Ava Catherine, was born in 2011, and their second daughter, Gia, was born in 2014.[19]
In 1999, Zane participated in the first Gumball 3000 rally, driving a 1964 Aston Martin DB5.
In November 2010, he was awarded an honorary degree from Lium University, Bellinzona, Switzerland, for his contribution to cinematography. He is the chairman of the Francesco Fucilla Film production company 21st Century Filmworks.
Other media projects
Zane executive-produced a CD by bluesman Tim O'Connor that includes three songs from Dead Calm, in which Zane had one of the lead roles.[20]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Back to the Future | Match | |
| 1986 | Critters | Steve Elliot | |
| 1986 | Brotherhood of Justice | Les | |
| 1989 | Going Overboard | King Neptune | |
| 1989 | Dead Calm | Hughie Warriner | Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor |
| 1989 | Back to the Future Part II | Match | |
| 1990 | Megaville | Raymond Palinov/Jensen | |
| 1990 | Memphis Belle | Lt. Val Kozlowski | Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor |
| 1990 | Millions | Maurizio Ferretti | |
| 1991 | Femme Fatale | Elijah | |
| 1991 | Blood and Concrete: A Love Story | Joey Turks | |
| 1992 | Lake Consequence | Billy | |
| 1992 | Orlando | Shelmerdine | |
| 1994 | Flashfire | Jack Flinder | |
| 1993 | Sniper | Richard Miller | |
| 1993 | Posse | Colonel Graham | |
| 1993 | Poetic Justice | Brad | |
| 1993 | Tombstone | Mr. Fabian | |
| 1994 | Reflections on a Crime | Colin | |
| 1994 | The Silence of the Hams | Jo Dee Fostar | |
| 1994 | Only You | Harry | |
| 1994 | Reflections in the Dark | Colin | |
| 1995 | The Set-Up | Charles Thorpe | |
| 1995 | Tales from the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight | The Collector | |
| 1996 | The Phantom | The Phantom/Kit Walker | |
| 1996 | Head Above Water | Kent | |
| 1997 | Danger Zone | Rick Morgan | |
| 1997 | This World, Then the Fireworks | Marty | |
| 1997 | Titanic | Caledon N. "Cal" Hockley | Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor - Drama Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| 1998 | I Woke Up Early the Day I Died | The Thief | |
| 1998 | Susan's Plan | Sam Myers | |
| 1998 | Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World | John Rolfe | Voice Direct-to-video |
| 1999 | Promise Her Anything | George Putter | |
| 2001 | Zoolander | Himself | Uncredited |
| 2001 | The Believer | Curtis Zampf | |
| 2001 | CQ | Mr. E | |
| 2001 | Morgan's Ferry | Sam | |
| 2002 | Claim | Roberto Bealing | |
| 2002 | Landspeed | Michael Sanger | |
| 2003 | Silent Warnings | Sheriff Bill Willingham | TV movie |
| 2003 | Vlad | Adrian | |
| 2003 | The Kiss | Alan Roberts/Young Philip Naudet | |
| 2003 | Starving Hysterical Naked | Jack | |
| 2003 | Imaginary Grace | Nero | |
| 2004 | Silver City | Chandler Tyson | |
| 2004 | Big Kiss | Billy | |
| 2005 | Dead Fish | Virgil | |
| 2005 | The Pleasure Drivers | Marvin | |
| 2005 | BloodRayne | Elrich | |
| 2006 | The Last Drop | Robert Oates | Direct-to-video |
| 2006 | Survival Island | Jack | |
| 2006 | Valley of the Wolves: Iraq | Sam William Marshall | |
| 2006 | Memory | Taylor Briggs | |
| 2007 | The Mad | Jason Hunt | |
| 2007 | Fishtales | Professor Thomas Bradley | Also co-producer |
| 2007 | Alien Agent | Tom/Saylon | |
| 2008 | Perfect Hideout | Victor | |
| 2008 | The Man Who Came Back | Ezra | |
| 2008 | Love N' Dancing | Kent Krandel | |
| 2009 | Surviving Evil | Sebastian 'Seb' Beazley | |
| 2009 | Blue Seduction | Mikey Taylor | |
| 2009 | Evil – In the Time of Heroes | The Prophet | |
| 2009 | Darfur | Bob Jones | |
| 2009 | The Hessen Affair | Jack Durant | |
| 2010 | Magic Man | Darius | |
| 2010 | The Confidant | Monty | |
| 2010 | Enemies Among Us | Graham | |
| 2011 | The Roommate | Professor Roberts | |
| 2011 | Boop | Max Fleischer | Short |
| 2011 | Sniper: Reloaded | Richard Miller | Direct-to-video |
| 2011 | Mercenaries | Colonel Torida | |
| 2011 | Flutter | Edwin | |
| 2011 | Mysteria | Producer | |
| 2011 | Lovemakers | Jake's Agent | |
| 2011 | Guido | Sid Shine | |
| 2012 | The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption | King Talus | |
| 2012 | Electrick Children | Paul McKnight | |
| 2012 | Mama, I Want to Sing! | Dillan | |
| 2012 | A Green Story | Greg Hutchins | |
| 2012 | Two Jacks | Max Faraday | |
| 2012 | Border Run | Aaron Talbert | |
| 2012 | Dark Star Hollow | The Devil | |
| 2013 | The Employer | Alan | |
| 2013 | The Kill Hole | Marshall | |
| 2013 | Blood of Redemption | Quinn Forte | Direct-to-video |
| 2013 | Come Find Me | Uncle | Short |
| 2014 | Scorned | Kevin | |
| 2014 | The Ganzfield Haunting | Father | |
| 2014 | HUVr | Himself | Short |
| 2014 | Ghost of Goodnight Lane | Alan | |
| 2014 | Mining for Ruby | Professor Sam Goodwell | |
| 2015 | Zombie Killers: Elephant's Graveyard | Seiler | |
| 2015 | Billy Zayn Thinks Zayn Tweets Are About Him | Himself | Short |
| 2015 | West of Redemption | Hank Keller | |
| 2015 | Trouble Sleeping | Charles | |
| 2016 | A Winter Rose | Preston Holdsworth | |
| 2016 | Zoolander 2 | Himself | |
| 2016 | Dead Rising: Endgame | Leo Rand | |
| 2016 | Blue World Order | ||
| 2016 | White Island | Leo[21][22] | |
| 2016 | Sniper: Ghost Shooter | Richard Miller | |
| 2017 | Sniper: Ultimate Kill | Richard Miller | |
| 2018 | Samson | King Balek | |
| 2019 | Cliffs of Freedom | Christo | Post-production |
Television
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Brotherhood of Justice | Les | Television film |
| 1986 | Heart of the City | Tobin | Episode: "Don't Sell Yourself to the Cannibals" |
| 1987 | Matlock | Eric Dawson | Episode: "The Nurse" |
| 1987 | Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 | Police Officer | Television film |
| 1988 | Crime Story | Frankie 'The Duke' Farantino | Episode: "Protected Witness" |
| 1988 | Murder, She Wrote | Tony Gambini | Episode: "A Very Good Year for Murder" |
| 1988 | Police Story: Monster Manor | Officer Don Varney | TV Series |
| 1989 | The Case of the Hillside Strangler | Kenneth Bianchi | Television film |
| 1991 | Twin Peaks | John Justice Wheeler | 5 episodes |
| 1993 | Lake Consequence | Billy | Television film |
| 1993 | Running Delilah | Paul | Television film |
| 1993 | Tales From the Crypt | Miles | Episode: "Well-Cooked Ham" |
| 1998 | The New Batman Adventures | Jason Blood/Etrigan the Demon | Episode: "The Demon Within" |
| 1999 | Cleopatra | Marc Antony | Miniseries |
| 2000 | Sole Survivor | Joe Carpenter | Television film |
| 2000 | Hendrix | Michael Jeffrey | Television film |
| 2001 | The Diamond of Jeru | Mike Kardec | Television film |
| 2001 | Invincible | Os | Television film |
| 2001 | Boston Public | Matthew Baskin | 4 episodes |
| 2004 | Bet Your Life | Joseph | Television film |
| 2005 | Charmed | Drake | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Finnegan | Brian Clark | Television film |
| 2009 | Blue Seduction | Mikey Taylor | Television film |
| 2009 | Samantha Who? | Winston Funk[23] | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Journey to Promethea | King Laypach | Television film |
| 2010 | The Deep End | Cliff Huddle | Series regular 6 episodes |
| 2012 | Red Clover | Sheriff Conor O'Hara | Television film |
| 2012 | Hannah's Law | Lockwood | Television film |
| 2012 | Robot Chicken | Commander Edwards/King Ding Dong | Episode: "Poisoned by Relatives" |
| 2012 | Barabbas | Barabbas | Television film |
| 2014 | Checked Out | Uncle Dennis | Television film |
| 2014 | Psych | Ian Collins[24] | Episode: "The Break-Up" |
| 2015 | The Wheel of Time: The Winter Dragon | Ishamael | Television film |
| 2015 | Community | Honda Boss | Episode: "Advanced Safety Features" |
| 2015–16 | Mad Dogs | Milo | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Guilt | Stan Guthrie | Main |
| 2017 | Legends of Tomorrow | P. T. Barnum | Episode: "Freakshow" |
| 2018 | Deception | Switch | 2 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | SSX Tricky | Brodi Ford | |
| 2002 | Kingdom Hearts | Ansem, Seeker of Darkness | |
| 2004 | Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | Ansem, Seeker of Darkness | Archived footage |
| 2013 | Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix | Ansem, Seeker of Darkness | Archived footage |
Music videos
| Year | Song | Artist | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "The Dope Show" | Marilyn Manson | Recording industry executive | |
| 2001 | "Epiphany" | Staind | ||
| 2013 | "Rock n Roll"[25] | Avril Lavigne |
References
- ↑ "The Brigadoon of Film Fests" Archived June 16, 2013, at the Wayback Machine., Travel Lady
- ↑ Billy Zane. Filmreference.com. Retrieved on 2011-11-15.
- ↑ Dinges, Barnaby (1990-03-18). "Lisa Zane looks soberly at `Influence' Chicago actress has bold words about role and co-star Rob Lowe". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2010-12-03.
- ↑ Billy Zane Interview"BloodRayne"Movie: Tim Nasson Archived 2013-11-02 at the Wayback Machine.. Wildaboutmovies.com (2005-12-27). Retrieved on 2011-11-15.
- ↑ "Honeymoon seems to be over for 'Newlyweds'". Archived from the original on 2007-10-13.
- ↑ billy zane Archived February 20, 2006, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Sundance Film Festival (2001)".
- ↑ Billington, Michael (2 December 2006). "Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 September 2016.
- ↑ "Sam Who" Recast Scoop: Zane In, Olyphant Out Entertainment Weekly, December 19, 2008
- ↑ Interview with Billy Zane. Ecofabulous (2010-09-23). Retrieved on 2011-11-15.
- ↑
- ↑ Wohl, Jessica (2017-01-25). "See the Spot: KFC's Latest Celebrity Colonel Goes for the Gold". Advertising Age. Retrieved 2017-01-26.
- ↑ "Billy Zane - Billy Zane Refers To Girlfriend As 'Wife'". Contactmusic.com. 6 April 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ↑ Smart, Gordon (April 23, 2008). "Great news lads Kelly bins Billy". The Sun. London.
- ↑ "'Excited to share my life with the most wonderful man I've ever met': Kelly Brook confirms engagement to David McIntosh". Daily Mail. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- ↑ "Hollywood star Billy Zane and Croatian model Jasmina Hdagha break up". Croatian Times. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ↑ "Billy Zane Refers To Girlfriend As 'Wife'". Contactmusic. Retrieved 2012-09-09.
- ↑ "Titanic star Billy Zane puts wedding on hold because Candice Neil expecting their second child". Telegraph. Retrieved 2015-01-16.
- ↑ "Billy Zane: Oh, Captain!". Splash. Archived from the original on 2015-03-28. Retrieved 2015-04-23.
- ↑ "Billy Zane's Parents Accused Of Cheating Students After They Closed Down Medical School". All Headline News. Archived from the original on 2009-04-15. Retrieved 2009-07-14.
- ↑ "White Island". 23 June 2016 – via www.imdb.com.
- ↑ "Independent picks up 'White Island' for EFM".
- ↑ Ausiello, Michael. "'Sam Who' Recast Scoop: Zane in, Olyphant out!". Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ Bierly, Mandi. "'Psych' series finale postmortem: James Roday on landing that dream guest star and the ending". Entertainment Weekly.
- ↑ "Avril Lavigne teases new music video for 'Rock N Roll': Pressparty". Pressparty.
External links
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Billy Zane. |
- Billy Zane on IMDb
- Billy Zane at the TCM Movie Database
- Billy Zane at AllMovie