Billy Zane: I Was Universally Loathed.

Ahead of this weekend’s Supernova convention, legendary actor, painter and photographer Billy Zane charmed the pants off Clairsy & Lisa. Known for roles in Twin Peaks, The Phantom and Zoolander 2, Billy shared what it was like to the play the bad guy in Titanic. Surprisingly as fans grow older, they are more Team Cal than Team Jack. Billy shared insights on working with legendary director David Lynch and got the guys excited for his upcoming Marlon Brando biopic Waltzing with Brando. Plus, Clairsy and Billy gushed over each other’s dulcet tones.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
With super and Over. An incredible lineup for super and
Over in town and the people who love going to
Supernova getting autographs and photos and all the rest of
it are very excited having been there last year. It
is a great fest.

Speaker 2 (00:10):
Yes, Comic connor Gaming. It's on at the Perth Convention
and Exhibition Center this weekend. Tickets are available through Supernova
dot com DoD au. One of this year's very very
special guests is William George Zane. You know him as
Billy Zane.

Speaker 3 (00:25):
He's with us.

Speaker 1 (00:25):
Good morning, Billy, look.

Speaker 3 (00:27):
The perfect morning. Yes, good, good morning to talk.

Speaker 2 (00:34):
This is your first time to Perth.

Speaker 3 (00:37):
It is actually considering all the times overcome to Australia.
I'm sure that it's under this particular context. Absolutely, it's beautiful.
We stop walking the we're biased.

Speaker 1 (00:50):
But when you get the chance to take some of
those wonderful photos we've seen over the year's night down
by the Swan River.

Speaker 3 (00:59):
I have already. If you can check out at Billy Zane,
I guess on Instagram you'll see quite a few at
all times of day, lovely sunsets you have here.

Speaker 2 (01:10):
We do. Indeed, you say you know you've been to
Australia many times, of course, was the first time when
you came to make one of the most one of
my favorite Australian films, Dead Come. You were terrifying, by
the way, Was that was that one of the first
times I don't apologize it's I made it so good?
Is that one of the first times you came to Australia.

Speaker 3 (01:31):
It was the first time. Yeah, and I have Philip
Noys to thank for that. Yeah, George Miller and the
gang at Kennedy Miller was it was an absolute treat,
such an interesting time in the trajectory for Australian cinema,
and I was just really thrilled and tough to be
part of that particular project.

Speaker 1 (01:53):
A bunch of filmmakers that you had there. You're in
good hands. The character you played in Titanic, Billy, do
you get if people can't take these roles very seriously?
Have you had people yell at you in the street,
especially in the day because Tartanic so many people across
the planet sort and you played that guy you're in
the yeah, no.

Speaker 3 (02:11):
Too true, too true? No, it was yeah, universally loathed
for about a few minutes there, but it was interesting
how that transitioned from you know, team Jack to team
cal as the young Yakumail audience, so I think grew
a little older and perhaps reassessed their priorities over time.

(02:32):
Very interesting, love it well.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
Super and overcomic con Such passionate fans are going to
be at the event this weekend. Which what do you
think is the number one question people do ask you?

Speaker 3 (02:44):
You know, it's it's fascinating And I've been asked this
question a few times and i can only answer with
it's not so much the questions as the stories. I
just love. I love what they share about them and
the milestones of their lives that these legacy films have
meant to them. Now. The Phantom obviously is a very
popular title here. It's where I was introduced to the character.

(03:07):
We held a couple of specialty screenings with our friends
at Taylor Made Memorabilia in the middle of in between
these two wonderful Supernova weekends in Sydney and Perth, we
held screenings in Sydney and in Melbourne of The Phantom
and a Q and A and at the tables. People
love The Phantom in particular. It's just a part of
the national character in Fabric, and I love the connection

(03:32):
that you have to that title. And again, it's the stories.
This is the movie my father and I bonded on.
This is the movie I introduced my son to moral
compass and about the white hat heroics and disarming not killing,
as opposed to a lot of the first person shooter
games that occupy probably most of their time. So it's

(03:55):
a very significant film and title. But again fundamentally, but
regardless of the title, it's it's really the stories I
proposed to my wife during Titanicy. I saw my father
cry for the first time during that. You know, that's
really it. It's not so much the question.

Speaker 1 (04:11):
Yeah, they're the points. But we lost sadly earlier this year,
great filmmaker and David Lynch, and you worked with David
on Twin Peaks. But it was such a great loss,
but must have been any incredible experience.

Speaker 3 (04:22):
It was rest his soul. He was. He was a phenomenal,
one of a kind man and filmmaker, and I really
am grateful to him to breaking the the shattering the
box that Hollywood likes to put you in. After dead Calm,
I was certainly the you know the guy you go
to for Crazy at Sea and leave it to David

(04:45):
to cast against type and say, you know, my whole
cast is insane. Well you you be the We'll cast
the Nutter to be the Gary Cooper straight guy. And
so I was very grateful paint with a few different colors.

Speaker 2 (05:00):
Absolutely coming up in September, We're going to see you
in Walston with Brando. I tell you what, talk about
nailing the transformation. If you put two pitches together, it's
hard to tell which is which. It's incredible because of
course you play Malon Brando.

Speaker 3 (05:21):
Indeed, and thank you. It's a passion project of mine.
We've been working on it for about six years. I've
produced it along with Dean Bloxam and Bill Fishman, the
writer director, who I've known for many years. And it's
a really interesting take on Brando that it's not really
a cradle to grave biopic. It focuses on a five

(05:42):
year period in his life, his happy time in Tahiti,
and it really focuses on the man. We get to
find out about him through his passion, not so much
that you know, the high points are seemingly assumed milestones
of someone's life. Yeah, and his passion for humanity for
walking the Walk for civil rights indigenous rights. This film

(06:03):
focuses upon the little known fact that he was quite
possibly the godfather of the environmental god love you got
that didn't get no mean, didn't slip further yet.

Speaker 2 (06:19):
People talk about Brando as being such a recluse in
his lady years and so on. But this period is
an interesting period that it's very little is known about,
so it's going to be really interesting.

Speaker 3 (06:31):
It's about his unique friendship with an architect he hired
to spearhead sustainable design back in nineteen sixty nine. No
one was thinking about this stuff. He was that kind
of visionary, yeah, you know, and it's a really it's
quite funny too, and the great John Heater from Napoleon
Dynamite plays the architect, so it's a quite charming, almost
buddy film. Of course, he hemorrhages all of his money

(06:54):
doing the research and development, has to go do films
like The Godfather and Least Tango to pay for it.
We recreate the uh sacred offerings.

Speaker 2 (07:03):
Well, you know, you know that was tough for us
having to you know, have having to put up with
Brando making the Godfather.

Speaker 3 (07:14):
Get back Thank you.

Speaker 1 (07:17):
Often wanted to ask you, I hear these beautiful voice
of actors, I think of the likes of James Earl Jones,
and you have a not that you have one of
those voices that just sticks to me. You vocally trained
as a youngster. Was it the way you were raised
and the way your parents spoke, because it is something
exceptional that's added to your aunt.

Speaker 3 (07:34):
Look who's talking. You've velvet's vel velvety tone, like yeah,
I feel like a late night radio first time calor
a long time listener plays for all right. Thank you,
great compliment coming from you, you know, thanks man. So
I grew up in Chicago, in the city my parents
Bill and thalllya Zan were on stage and and exposed

(07:58):
me to quite a bit of I guess classic cinema
and great theater. We go to London every year to
see wonderful performances. So voice was certainly an important factor.
The Chicago accent, as we know, probably oh notoriously from
you know dan Aykroyd really leaning into it in the
Blues Brothers where he talks about it Dadge Dodge this
Dadge debt, Oh my dad real flat. You know. The

(08:19):
Bears like it wasn't as prevalent in let's say, our circles,
but I consciously worked against any residual effects, so there's
probably conscious But yeah, thanks to the folks for exposing
me to old movies. Yeah.

Speaker 2 (08:38):
Absolutely well, Billy zid it's been an absolute trait for
us to have you join us this morning. Thank you
for fitting us into your very busy schedule. Yeah, there's
going to be some huge it's going.

Speaker 3 (08:51):
To be fun that wait to meet too and hear
your stories, you know. Just yeah, thank you so much
for having me.

Speaker 2 (08:58):
Thank you so much, Billy Zaye, all the best, have
a great weekend. Bye. Unreal, well unreal. Yes, tickets are
now you really want to go. Tickets are available through
Supernova dot com John.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Au and do yourself a favor. Google Billy Zane Art
because he is freakish talent. Yeah, I think we both
want to buy one for each other for Christmas. You
want to talent