Photo: Super Festivals / CC BY 2.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
Billy Zane is proof that a great villain can steal a film from its leads. Everyone remembers Titanic for the romance, but the picture needs Cal's smug menace to work, and Zane delivered it with relish. I first took notice of him through Dead Calm, where critics flagged him as one of the most promising actors of his generation, and that early intensity never really left his work. What I admire is his range beyond acting, spanning directing, voice work, and the stage, and his refusal to be embarrassed by playing the heavy. Actors who commit fully to being hated earn a special kind of respect from me, and Zane has it.
Overview
William George Zane Jr. (born February 24, 1966) is an American actor. His breakthrough role was in the Australian film Dead Calm (1989), a performance that earned him a nomination for the Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actor.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Billy Zane
- Name (Japanese)
- ビリー・ゼイン
- Reading
- びりー・ぜいん
- Born
- February 24, 1966 (age 60)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Pisces / Horse
- Origin
- Chicago, Illinois, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- actor / film director / voice actor / stage actor / television actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
5. Works & records
| Category | Title | Role | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notable work | Titanic | — |
6. Links
Actor — see all → · Film director — see all → · More people from United States →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.