Whatever Happened to Billy Zane?
What To Know
- Billy Zane, best known for his roles in Titanic and Dead Calm, has enjoyed a diverse acting career spanning film, television, Broadway, and video games since the 1980s.
- In recent years, Zane has taken on self-referential roles, voice work, and portrayed real-life figures such as Larry Ray in Lifetime’s Devil on Campus and Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando.
- Beyond acting, Zane has been involved in film and TV production, and his personal life includes a previous marriage, high-profile engagements, and two daughters with model Candice Neill.
Billy Zane, 59, has had memorable roles across film and TV, and if you’re heading to The Hollywood Show this January 9 and 10, he’s on the celebrity guest list. Which makes this the perfect moment to check in on what he’s been doing and where his career has taken him since the days when “Cal” was the name everyone loved to hate.
How did Billy Zane begin his career?
Born William George Zane Jr. on February 24, 1966, in Chicago, Zanegrew up in a family with Greek heritage, along with an older sister, Lisa Zane, who also went into acting. He studied at The American School in Switzerland, graduated from Francis W. Parker School in Chicago, and attended Harand Camp of the Theater Arts in Wisconsin. Zane’s first two screen roles were in Back to the Future in 1985 and Critters in 1986. Around that same period, he also appeared in music videos for Sheena Easton, including “Do It for Love” and “Magic of Love.”
By the late ’80s, he was turning up on familiar TV titles like Murder, She Wrote and Matlock, then reprised his Back to the Future role in Back to the Future Part II in 1989. That same year, he landed what’s often cited as his breakthrough, playing Hughie Warriner in the Australian thriller Dead Calm alongside Nicole Kidman and Sam Neill, a performance that earned him a Chicago Film Critics Association nomination for Most Promising Actor.
20th Century Fox Film Corp./Everett Collection
The early ’90s kept him busy. He co-starred in Memphis Belle in 1990, and in 1991, he appeared as John Justice Wheeler in season two of Twin Peaks. In 1992, he appeared in Orlando alongside Tilda Swinton, and in 1993, he took on a string of film roles that ranged from the Western world of Tombstone to the action thriller Sniper, where he played Richard Miller, a role he later reprised in multiple entries in the Sniper film series. Then came the role that permanently stamped him into modern movie history, Caledon Hockley in Titanic in 1997. That part brought him an MTV Movie Award nomination for Best Villain, a Blockbuster Entertainment Award, and a Screen Actors Guild nomination as part of the ensemble cast.
In the 2000s, he appeared in The Believer as Curtis Zampf, and he even popped in as himself in Zoolander. He also hit Broadway in Chicago as lawyer Billy Flynn. TV-wise, he had a recurring role on Charmed as Drake, the poetry-loving ex-demon, and he joined the cast of Samantha Who? for a run as Winston Funk. He also did voice work in the video game world, most notably as Ansem in Kingdom Hearts in 2002.
Where is Billy Zane today?
Quiver Distribution/Everett Collection
More recently, he’s leaned into playing versions of himself and jumping into current fandom spaces. He appeared in The Boys as a fictionalized Billy Zane in the in-universe film Not Without My Dolphin, and he has voice work credits including Krapopolis. In 2024, he portrayed Larry Ray in the Lifetime film Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story, part of the network’s “Ripped from the Headlines” slate. He also transformed into Marlon Brando for the film Waltzing with Brando. He’s remained active behind the scenes at times and has been connected to film and television production and distribution through RadioactiveGiant.
On the personal side, he was married to actress Lisa Collins from 1989 to 1995. He was engaged at different points, including to Leonor Varela after Cleopatra, and later to Kelly Brook, whom he met while making Survival Island. He later had two daughters with model Candice Neill, Ava Catherine (born in 2011) and Gia (born in 2014), and he has said the relationship ended prior to 2022.
Remind 
February 2021
1990s Rom-Coms
Pop some popcorn and cozy up to feel-good movies and TV shows from a generation ago.
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