Billy Zane

William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film Dead Calm, a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor. He has since appeared in numerous films and television series, and starred as the main antagonist Caledon Hockley in the epic film Titanic (1997), for which he and the rest of the ensemble cast were nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Zane's other film roles include Kit Walker / The Phantom in the superhero film The Phantom (1996), "Match" in the Back to the Future franchise, Lieutenant Val Kozlowski in Memphis Belle (1990), The Collector in Demon Knight (1995), Curtis Zampf in The Believer (2001), and Richard Miller in the Sniper film series. He also played the recurring role of John Justice Wheeler in the second season of the television series Twin Peaks, and provided the voice of Ansem in the video game Kingdom Hearts (2002).

Early life Zane was born in Chicago to Thalia and William George Zane Sr.; both were professional actors and founders of a school for medical technicians. His parents are 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. He grew up in the Greek Orthodox faith. He has an older sister, Lisa Zane, who is an actress and singer.

After completing a year of school at The American School in Switzerland (TASIS), Zane graduated from Francis W. Parker School and attended Harand Camp of the Theater Arts 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 videos for Sheena Easton's songs "Do It For Love" and "Magic of 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), and Adam Sandler's "no budget" debut Going Overboard (1989) which was not released to a wider audience until 1996.

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 as the bombardier in the film Memphis Belle, a film version of a 1944 film about a World War II Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bomber. Zane also forayed into television work, and in 1991 he appeared as John Justice Wheeler in several episodes of David Lynch's hit TV-series 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 and took a starring role in Sniper. Zane also starred alongside Mario Van Peebles as a cold-blooded and corrupt Colonel Graham in Posse and also in Lake Consequence and played a playboy named Harry, posing as the elusive, albeit fake Damon Bradley alongside Marisa Tomei and Robert Downey Jr. in Only You.

Zane 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. Along with the rest of the ensemble cast, he was 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, Bruce Payne, Sean Pertwee and Leonor Varela (who became his fiancé after shooting ended) in a miniseries about Cleopatra. Zane played the role of Mark Antony.

The same year, Zane voiced John Rolfe in Disney's Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World and Etrigan the Demon in an episode of The New Batman Adventures.

2000s

Zane appeared as neo-fascist Curtis Zampf in The Believer, which won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance Film Festival in 2001. The same year, he also had a cameo as himself in the comedy Zoolander.

Zane appeared on Broadway in the musical 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, opposite Haley Joel Osment as Sora. Though archive audio of Zane was later used for Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, he was replaced by Richard Epcar for the rest of the series from Kingdom Hearts II onwards. However, Zane's performance 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. In 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 film's main antagonist.

He took over Timothy Olyphant's role as Christina Applegate's ex-boyfriend on Samantha Who?. However, the sitcom was not renewed for the 2009–2010 season.

Zane is a principal at RadioactiveGiant, a film and television production and distribution company.

2010s Zane starred in the action/thriller film The Kill Hole (2012), and in January 2017 he 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. Zane also appeared in an episode of Community, season 6's "Advanced Safety Features".

2020s Zane was also featured in two episodes of The Boys portraying a fictional version of himself who made a movie with Popclaw and also attended a comic convention with Tara Reid. In season 3, Zane appeared as himself portraying Alastair Adana in the Vought film Not Without My Dolphin.

In 2024, Zane portrayed Larry Ray in the Lifetime film Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story as part of its "Ripped from the Headlines" feature films.

Personal life Zane was married to actress Lisa Collins from 1989 to 1995. He was also engaged for a time to Chilean actress Leonor Varela who was his co-star in the miniseries Cleopatra (1999).

Later Zane was engaged to British model-turned-actress Kelly Brook; he met her when they co-starred in the movie Survival Island (2005), also known as Three. They split in April 2008, got back together again shortly after that, and ended the relationship in August 2008. Zane dated Croatian model Jasmina Hdagha in 2010; they broke up later that year.

Through a friend, he met American model Candice Neill with whom he has two daughters; they became engaged. Their first daughter, Ava Catherine, was born in 2011, and their second daughter, Gia, was born in 2014. Zane revealed in 2022 that he had broken up with Neill some time prior, saying he has been "single for a while."

In 1999, Zane participated in the first Gumball 3000 rally, driving a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. He is an abstract expressionist painter and he has had many solo and group exhibitions.

Other media projects Zane executive-produced an album by bluesman Tim O'Connor that includes three songs from Dead Calm, in which Zane had one of the lead roles.

Filmography Film Year Film Role Notes 1985 Back to the Future "Match" 1986 Critters Steve Elliot 1989 Going Overboard King Neptune Dead Calm Hughie Warriner Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor Back to the Future Part II "Match" 1990 Megaville CKS Agent Raymond Palinov / Jensen Memphis Belle Lieutenant Val Kozlowski Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor 1991 Femme Fatale Elijah Blood and Concrete Joey Turks Millions Maurizio Ferretti 1992 Orlando Shelmerdine 1993 Sniper NSC Agent Richard Miller Posse Colonel Graham Poetic Justice Brad Tombstone Mr. Fabian Betrayal of the Dove Jesse Peter 1994 Reflections on a Crime Colin The Silence of the Hams Jo Dee Fostar Flashfire Jack Flinder Only You Harry / False Damon Bradley 1995 The Set-Up Charles Thorpe Demon Knight The Collector 1996 The Phantom Kit Walker / The Phantom Head Above Water Kent Danger Zone Rick Morgan Also co-producer 1997 This World, Then the Fireworks Marty Lakewood Also executive producer Titanic Caledon Hockley Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actor – DramaNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a CastNominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Villain 1998 I Woke Up Early the Day I Died The Thief Also producer Susan's Plan Sam Myers Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World John Rolfe Voice; direct-to-video 1999 Promise Her Anything George Putter 2001 Zoolander Himself Uncredited cameo The Believer Curtis Zampf CQ Mr. E. Morgan's Ferry Sam Direct-to-video 2002 Claim Roberto Bealing Landspeed Michael Sanger 2003 Silent Warnings Sheriff Bill Willingham Direct-to-video Vlad Adrian The Kiss Alan Roberts / Young Philip Naudet Direct-to-video Starving Hysterical Naked Jack Imaginary Grace Nero 2004 Silver City Chandler Tyson Big Kiss Billy Also director and executive producer 2005 Dead Fish Virgil The Pleasure Drivers Marvin BloodRayne Elrich 2006 The Last Drop Lieutenant Robert Oates Direct-to-video Survival Island Jack Valley of the Wolves: Iraq Sam William Marshall Memory Taylor Briggs 2007 The Mad Jason Hunt Fishtales Professor Thomas Bradley Also co-producer Alien Agent Tom Hanson / Saylon Direct-to-video 2008 Perfect Hideout Victor The Man Who Came Back Ezra Love N' Dancing Kent Krandel 2009 Surviving Evil Sebastian "Seb" Beazley Evil: In the Time of Heroes Prophitis Messenger Darfur Bob Jones The Hessen Affair Jack Durant 2010 Magic Man Darius The Confidant Monty Enemies Among Us Graham 2011 The Roommate Professor Roberts Boop Max Fleischer Short film Sniper: Reloaded NSC Agent Richard Miller Direct-to-video Mercenaries Colonel Torida Flutter Edwin "The Dentist" Mysteria The Producer Lovemakers Jake's Agent Guido Sid Shine 2012 The Scorpion King 3: Battle for Redemption King Talus Direct-to-video Electrick Children Paul McKnight Mama, I Want to Sing! Dillan A Green Story Greg Hutchins Two Jacks Max Faraday The Kill Hole Marshall Border Run Aaron Talbert Dark Star Hollow The Devil 2013 The Employer Alan Blood of Redemption Quinn Forte Direct-to-video Come Find Me Uncle Short film 2014 Scorned Kevin The Ganzfeld Haunting Father HUVr Himself Short film Ghost of Goodnight Lane Alan Mining for Ruby Professor Sam Goodwell 2015 Zombie Killers: Elephant's Graveyard Seiler Billy Zane Thinks Zayn Tweets Are About Him Himself Short film West of Redemption Hank Keller Trouble Sleeping Charles 2016 A Winter Rose Preston Holdsworth Zoolander 2 Himself Swing State Governor Richard Sollow Dead Rising: Endgame Leo Rand White Island Leo Sniper: Ghost Shooter NSC Agent Richard Miller Direct-to-video The Adventure Club Langley 2017 Sniper: Ultimate Kill NSC Agent Richard Miller Direct-to-video 2018 Samson King Balek Holmes & Watson Himself Cameo Blue World Order Master Crane 2019 Cliffs of Freedom Christos The Great War Colonel Jack Morrison 2020 Ghosts of War Dr. Engel Also executive producer Final Kill Carl Riser Guest House Douglas Masters Battle of the Bulge: Winter War General Omar Bradley Direct-to-video Centurion: The Dancing Stallion Jeffrey Hall 2021 The Believer Dr. Benedict Iké Boys Newt Grafstrom Also co-executive producer Rupture Victor 2022 Hellblazers Joshua 2023 Legend of Destruction Simon bar Giora Voice; English dub Centurion: The Dancing Stallion Jeffrey Hall The Oath King Aaron 2024 Waltzing with Brando Marlon Brando Tapawingo Stoney Tarwater 2025 Day of Reckoning Butch Hayden 2025Deadly VowsDetective Manny 2026 Takeover Gamal Akopyan

Television Year Film Role Notes 1986 Brotherhood of Justice Les Television film Heart of the City Tobin Episode: "Don't Sell Yourself to the Cannibals" 1987 Matlock Eric Dawson Episode: "The Nurse" Conspiracy: The Trial of the Chicago 8 Police Officer Television film 1988 Crime Story Frankie "The Duke" Farantino Episode: "Protected Witness" Murder, She Wrote Tony Gambini Episode: "A Very Good Year for Murder" Police Story: Monster Manor Officer Don Varney Television film 1989 The Case of the Hillside Strangler Kenneth Bianchi 1991 Twin Peaks John Justice Wheeler 5 episodes 1993 Lake Consequence Billy Television film Running Delilah Paul Tales from the Crypt Miles Episode: "Well-Cooked Ham" 1998 The New Batman Adventures Jason Blood / Etrigan the Demon Voice; episode: "The Demon Within" 2015 The Wheel of Time: The Winter Dragon Elan Morin Tedronai / Ishamael Television film; also executive producer Community Honda Boss Episode: "Advanced Safety Features" 2015–2016 Mad Dogs Milo 2 episodes 2016 Guilt Stan Guthrie 10 episodes 2017 Legends of Tomorrow P. T. Barnum Episode: "Freakshow" 2018 Deception "Switch" 2 episodes 2019 Curfew "Joker" Jones 8 episodes 2019, 2022 The Boys Himself 3 episodes 2021 True Story Ari 2 episodes MacGruber Brigadier Commander Enos Queeth 5 episodes 2024 Devil On Campus: The Larry Ray Story Larry Ray Television film 2025 Krapopolis Potluckus Voice; "Basket Baby"

Video games Year Film Voice role Notes 2001 SSX Tricky Broderick "Brodi" Ford Avril Lavigne Protagonist / Antagonist / BearShark 2023 "I'm My Only Friend" Dillon Francis, Arden Jones Actor