Who is billy in zoolander

I'd like to make one thing very clear: Absolutely none of this information popped into my head when I learned Zoolander was turning Instead, as I have done every single day for the past 20 years, I thought of Billy Zane 's roughly three-and-a-half-minute cameo in this film, which remains a crystalline snapshot of a specific moment in time, a genuinely hilarious encapsulation of where we were in the year so pure I cannot even think of it without Lifehouse's "Hanging By a Moment" blasting from every speaker in a mile radius.

Sweet baby Zane, it's perfect. I'm obsessed with the flawless comedy that is Billy Zane's ish seconds of screentime in Zoolander for the same reason I'm obsessed with any perfect joke, which is to say any explanation for why it's funny is less interesting than the fact it just is. Billy Zane is just one of many cameos in this film— David Bowie is probably the most memorable, but that's because David Bowie is the most memorable part of literally anything David Bowie is even tangentially involved in—and exists mostly to try and dissuade his friend Derek Zoolander Stiller from getting into a walk-off with young hotshot model Hansel Wilson.

Billy Zane is a cool dude. He made his first significant screen debut as Background Goon 3 in two Back to the Future films, but really gained notoriety as an absolute psychopath in the Australian high-seas horror, Dead Calm , alongside Sam Neill and Nicole Kidman.

From there, it was a string of extremely interesting, if not always successful genre roles, from the ill-advised cult comic book film The Phantom , to a brief recurring pitstop in that part of Twin Peaks season 2 that everyone skips, to a henchman of literal Satan in the absolute classic, Tales From the Crypt Presents: Demon Knight , all leading to a little film titled Titanic.

By now, you're well aware James Cameron's box office-breaking disaster film saw Zane play Caledon Hockley, a role for which he should have won an Oscar almost solely for his delivery of the line " I hope you enjoy your time together. Do you have a demo reel? Add it to your IMDb page. Find out more at IMDbPro ». How Much Have You Seen? How much of Billy Zane's work have you seen? Suit Yourself See more polls ». See more awards ». Known For. Titanic Cal Hockley. Dead Calm Hughie Warriner.

Show all Hide all Show by Hide Show Actor credits. Enos Queeth. Show all 8 episodes. Waltzing with Brando pre-production Marlon Brando. Hellblazers post-production Joshua. Stai Sereno Stay Calm post-production Giorgio. Tapawingo post-production Stoney Tarwater. Billy Zane. Joker Jones. Jack Morrison. Lazlo Lazaar. Barnum - Freakshow Stan Gutterie. Show all 10 episodes. Honda Boss. Ian Collins. Rock N Roll. Cliff Huddle. Show all 6 episodes. Winston Funk. Brian Clark. Thomas Bradley.

Robert Oates. Then he started populating that movie with whoever was in the city and around the space. That was just on the spot. Then it became whatever, adored by some fans who seemed to love to say it to me. All the time. Looking at your filmography, though, you still kept busy. Was that by design? There are many factors. Parenthood, you know?

Life takes turns. I always peppered mainstream with limited, fringe, experimental independents. There are some turkeys along the way because you can never control the caliber or quality of a piece.

All you can hope for is that you keep working and I guess maintain some relevance. I was going to ask you about that next. I would rush to do something like that absolutely again, on the bleeding edge of new platform delivery and so-called television. What was it like working with Shawn Ryan on Mad Dogs?

A fellow Illinois boy. We connected on Midwestern upbringing and sensibilities. Do you see yourself involved in more TV, especially on Amazon and Netflix? I like that binge concept. The answer is yes, absolutely, but now I'm doing a slightly more traditional format in a new extension platform in an ABC show called Guilt.

But he gets the job done. Sounds fun. Going back in your career a little bit, I personally think The Phantom is one of the most underrated movies ever.

People from your generation were the target audience, young kids who were not really catered to in the realm of adventure.