There are a handful of Americans who have captured the hearts of various audiences with their natural talent and acting skills in the entertainment industry. Billy Zane, a renowned actor, voice actor, director, and producer, has a place among these talented people. His career began on the set of the science fiction movie “Back to the Future” and has been on the air ever since.
Billy Zane came into the limelight with his appearance in the thriller entitled Dead Silence and has also appeared in other notable films such as the blockbusters Titanic, Cleopatra and I Woke Up Early the Day I Die. The entertainer has received several awards and nominations for his efforts, read on for more details.
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Billy Zane Bio
His name is actually William George Zane Jr., but he chose Billy Zane as his professional name. He was born on February 24, 1966, in Chicago, Illinois. His parents – Thalia Zanetakos and William George Sr. – both have their roots in Greece, his father came from Mani, while his mother was from Chios. Her real family name was Zanetakos, which was later changed to Zane. His parents practiced the profession of an actor, although to a lesser extent. Billy grew up at the side of his sister Lisa Zane, who earned her living as an actress and singer.
Although his early educational background is not known, he completed a year at the American School in Switzerland (TASIS). He attended the Francis W. Parker School, which he graduated from, and was also in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin, where he studied at the Harand Camp of the Theater Arts.
Billy’s love life was very active, his only involvement with marriage was with Lisa Collins in a marriage that lasted from 1989 to 1995 when they decided to end the marriage. He became engaged to his Cleopatra colleague Leonor Varela, but their engagement did not end in a marriage because it was broken off. He is currently the fiancé of Kelly Brook – an actress he met on Survival Island.
Net Worth
The actor/producer has done very well financially, accumulating the commendable sum of $20 million as his estimated net worth. His wealth has accumulated over the years through his roles in several high budget films. On the set of Cleopatra in 1999, he earned the commendable sum of $2 million, but his other earnings are not known to the public.
What Has Billy Zane Been Doing Since Titanic & Back To The Future?
After his acting debut on the set of Back to the Future in 1985, Billy was ready for the retribution of his role in the 1989 sequel, entitled Back to the Future – Part II. He gained prominence when he starred in the thriller entitled “Dead Silence”, and before 1997 he appeared in other films when he was cast in the role of the stuck-up, rich misanthrope Caledon Hockley in Titanic, a film by James Cameron that became a blockbuster. His role in Titanic earned him a blockbuster entertainment award, including two nominations, one for the SAG Award and another for the MTV Movie Award.
Since Titanic, Billy Zane has had remarkable appearances in films and commercials. In 1998, he was the star and producer of the film entitled I Woke Up Early the Day I Died. For his efforts, he won numerous awards at the B-Movie Film Festival. The following year, he starred in a television movie about Cleopatra in which he was cast in the role of Mark Anthony. Also in 1999, Billy’s voice was heard in the role of John Rolfe in Pocahontas 2: Journey to a New World, production of Walt Disney. He also lent his voice in a single episode of The New Batman Adventures in which he sang Etrigan the Demon. The famous actor was also seen on Broadway, where he played the role of Billy Flynn the lawyer.
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The television series entitled Charmed gave him a recurring role in which he played the role of Drake, an ex-demon who loved poetry. In 2002 his voice was in the video game popularly known as Kingdom Hearts, where it was lent to the character of Ansem, his voice was also heard in Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories and Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 ReMix. Billy played a gay role in Six Dance Lessons in Six Weeks 2006, a production by Arthur Allan Seidelman, where he was cast as an embittered gay dance teacher. Also in 2006, he had an appearance in Valley of the Wolves Iraq, a Turkish film, where he was cast as an embittered gay dance teacher. In the film, he played the role of the main opponent William Marshall.
Billy appeared on the set of Samantha Who, where he was cast as the ex-boyfriend of Christina Applegate, a role previously played by Timothy Olyphant. He is a star in Kill Hole – an action/thriller movie – and serves as director of a film and television production and distribution company popularly known as RadioactiveGiant. The entertainer also appeared in commercials for KFC restaurants in the first month of 2017.