Nearly three decades after he played the arrogant, scheming fiancé Caledon “Cal” Hockley in Titanic (1997), Billy Zane is still one of Hollywood’s hardest-working actors. The man who made audiences hate him on the big screen turned 60 this February, and he has not slowed down.
Born William George Zane Jr. in Chicago, he had already made a name for himself with the thriller Dead Calm (1989) and played the hero in The Phantom (1996) before Titanic made him a household face. The role earned the cast a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination, but it also typecast him as a villain for years.
Instead of chasing blockbusters, Zane built a career out of variety. He took on acclaimed indie dramas like The Believer (2001) and Silver City (2004), poked fun at himself in Zoolander, and appeared in a long run of thrillers and TV films. More recently, he played Marlon Brando in Waltzing with Brando (2024) and the criminal Larry Ray in Devil on Campus: The Larry Ray Story (2024). Critics have often noted how willing he is to go wherever the role is interesting.
His 2026 has been especially busy. He appears in the action thriller Takeover opposite Quavo, released in the US on May 8. He also wrapped the horror-comedy Blood Rush, where he plays the vampire Aamon, and has joined the creature feature Wekiwa. His biggest project may be Apple TV’s golf comedy Stick, starring Owen Wilson, where he has a recurring role in season two, set to premiere on November 4, 2026.
Zane also stays close to his fans. He has appeared at fan conventions across the US all year, including Texas Frightmare Weekend and Days of the Dead in Las Vegas, and still shows up at Hollywood events and red carpets.
In his personal life, Zane was married to actress Lisa Collins from 1989 to 1995 and was once engaged to actress Leonor Varela, his co-star in Cleopatra. Since 2010 he has been with model Candice Neil, and the couple are engaged. They have two daughters, Ava Catherine, born in 2011, and Gia, born in 2014. The pair were photographed together this March at the Elton John Foundation’s annual Oscar viewing party in West Hollywood.
Cal Hockley may have gone down with the ship, but the actor behind him is still very much afloat.
