I Watch 'Em So You Don't Have To

CHARACTER ACTORS YOU'VE PROBABLY SEEN A LOT OF BUT DON'T REALIZE IT:









Billy Zane

If anyone is going to get your heart pumping when you see him, it's probably the great character actor Billy Zane.

You've seen his face in many movies and probably not realized it. Sometimes the reason for that is he's made to wear a hair piece, which looks really unnatural on him. He's bald and he's beautiful.

Billy is probably best known for his roles as Hughie in Dead Calm, Caledon Hockley in Titanic, The Phantom from The Phantom, John Wheeler in Twin Peaks and Mr. E in CQ.

But he's been in much, much more. I'm gonna have to watch Back To The Future 1 and 2 just to see where he is in it. His filmography is so long that Googling his page is probably the best way to go... as you look through the list you'll probably say 'oh right, I remember that!'

In a totally silly mad cow disease/zombie flick The Mad, Zane plays a beleaguered father who's girlfriend wants him to dress in 80's retro. Ouch. Having my generation referred to as 'retro' was bad enough, having him claim to have graduated the same year I did really stung - I had assumed he was a lot older than me. Nope, he's younger. Ouch again.

But I can't fault him for his youth (darn him!) 'cause he's just so enjoyable to watch. He can be the heavy, the funny guy, the everyday man. Watching himin Bloodrayne was pretty funny (horror movies are, remember?) and I've enjoyed everything he's ever been in. 

The first time I saw him was in a long forgotten film, 1995's Demon Knight, a silly movie-length Tales Of The Crypt story. His hilarious over-the-top presentation as a nasty as anything demon was so funny, I started looking for other stuff he'd done. Haven't gotten through the list yet, but I'm enjoying the ride.