Billy Zane

Actor Billy Zane talks new films 'Deadly Vows', 'Waltzing With Brando' and more!

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Fun with Mario Lopez. Mario Lopez joining me right now,
actor Billy zaying, how are you, Billy?

Speaker 2 (00:08):
Well, Mario, how you been long time? No see?

Speaker 3 (00:10):
Yeah, nice to see you. That's right, that's right.

Speaker 1 (00:13):
But I enjoy speaking with you because I'm really excited
about your new film called Deadly Vals, based on a
true story.

Speaker 3 (00:19):
Film sounds pretty intense. What's the premise?

Speaker 2 (00:21):
Actually, it's not.

Speaker 4 (00:23):
A woman who escapes the run Iraq war, moves to
Los Angeles to Beverly Hills. I think she gets into
this sound and supportive relationship and some kids and then
suddenly finds her husband's put a hit out on her.
She manages to survive that, and it's about her recovery
and fundamentally, the way she really heals from this insanity

(00:46):
and trauma is through the power of forgiveness. And that's
what attracted me to it. I play an investigating an officer,
a detective who helps her through the journey, and it's
it's just something I felt that it had to be told,
and I had to throw in.

Speaker 3 (01:05):
Did you get to meet any of the real life
people her?

Speaker 2 (01:09):
Okay?

Speaker 4 (01:10):
And you know she's a kind of a producer and
Bella and a co director, and it was very it
was It was really quite an amazing journey through the process.

Speaker 2 (01:23):
I have to.

Speaker 1 (01:24):
Say, speaking of real people, I love that you stepped
into the shoes of legend Marlon Brando for your film
waltzingk with Brando. I'm still really looking forward to, uh
seeing that and why It's just bizarre how Unkenny looked
just like him. What was the makeup process like to
make that transition?

Speaker 2 (01:43):
Thank you?

Speaker 4 (01:43):
Well, firstly, you got you can see it today we
go wide on svo D. You can rent it there today.
We dropped, so the timing of this interview is most fortuitous. Yeah,
you can get it on Amazon Prime or Apple or
anywhere you buy and download now rent Okay, so you
can rent it. Have fun with that. Playing him was

(02:05):
you know, an incredible treat and was as far as
the makeup was concerned, we we we created quite a
few of his like significant films, certainly The Godfather, where
he was wearing quite a bit of makeup. We had
the exact kind of molds and appliances going there.

Speaker 2 (02:24):
That was a few hours of makeup.

Speaker 4 (02:26):
The rest of the time was pretty much a nose
bump and a wig and you.

Speaker 2 (02:30):
Know, channeling him, I guess.

Speaker 3 (02:33):
And when your kids was in the film too, right.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
That's right. Both.

Speaker 4 (02:37):
One is a smaller role jumping on a bed you
just wanted to do and didn't want any dialogue, and
which was fine. But my daughter, that would be g.
My daughter Ava Zane plays Bernard Judge's daughter, Sabrina, and
uh yeah, what a natural you know, and did not
need much kind of coaching, was improvising going toe to toe.

Speaker 2 (02:58):
We had a lovely scene together. I like it.

Speaker 3 (03:00):
I have a daughter g as well. Yeah, it's a
great name.

Speaker 1 (03:04):
You also got another film on the way called Takeover,
just starting alongside Quemo from Migos.

Speaker 3 (03:10):
How was that?

Speaker 2 (03:11):
It was amazing, little little action movie.

Speaker 4 (03:14):
I won't say it's a buddy, you know, we're foils,
but we're you know, in a in a car escaping
a lockdown.

Speaker 2 (03:24):
As kids. He's recently released.

Speaker 4 (03:28):
A very celebrated driver doing these kind of crazy takeovers.
Are in Atlanta and we we got to run a
gauntlet to get out, and I played this mastermind who
figures that the best time to pull it a heist
is during one such takeover because the cops are pretty occupied,
so it's not just a cool plot.

Speaker 2 (03:50):
It's the execution of this, the.

Speaker 4 (03:52):
Directory in all of the I guess it's beyond rotoscoping
and animation and integrated animation for since City if you
remember back in the day. This is a very modern,
really beautifully executed mix of almost real live action and
anime and overlay. So you're going to see something you've

(04:13):
never seen before. It's it's really beautiful.

Speaker 1 (04:15):
Nice man, that's awesome, and just real quick. Your first
movie role was in Back to the Future, which was
forty years ago, and to be part of that class
that you played match one of the kids in Bibs Gangs. Well,
what do you remember about your time on set there?

Speaker 2 (04:29):
It's crazy that it's that long ago.

Speaker 4 (04:30):
I know, we just celebrated the anniversary, right, yeah, first
film in town I was eighteen.

Speaker 2 (04:37):
Wow, you know, Baptism by Fire was here like two weeks.
It was a heard of It landed solf.

Speaker 3 (04:42):
Wow, that's awesome.

Speaker 2 (04:44):
So I was like, okay, that's so it's always going
to be here. Figure that out quick.

Speaker 4 (04:50):
And then so it was a bit of a it
was an education to work you know, back lot at
Universal with such great talent and the setting. You know,
it was a it was a playground. We were watching
state of the art technology being applied motion capture, motion control,
robotic cameras. That was on Part two, I guess, but

(05:14):
it was the industry at its height doing such a
kind of significant, very modern yet retro offering. But running
around Universal back lot with the other guys was just like,
you know, man, it was like camp for six months.

Speaker 2 (05:31):
Doesn't get better than that.

Speaker 3 (05:32):
Man, that's awesome, Billy.

Speaker 1 (05:33):
I always enjoyed talking to you, my friend, and listen everyone,
please be sure to check out Billy's new films, Deadly
Vows and Waltzing with Brando, which are out now.

Speaker 3 (05:43):
Thanks for checking in.

Speaker 2 (05:44):
I always a plagued your brother. Thank you, Kenny, you too.
Take care you and your Gina.

Speaker 3 (05:49):
Thank you. Likewise with Mario Lopez