Billy Zane looked truly unrecognizable at Cannes Film Festival as he unveiled the first look at his new project, Waltzing with Brando.
The 58-year-old is most known for his role as Caledon Hockley in 1997 classic Titanic, alongside Kate Winslet, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kathy Bates and Bill Paxton.
Since then, he has gone on to steal the show in Zoolander 2, Guilt, Curfew, The Deep End and Charmed.
In his next film, the actor will be taking on his biggest transformation yet, channeling his inner Marlon Brando for the upcoming flick, based on Bernard Judge’s memoir of the same name.
Zane looked suave as ever as he appeared at the annual film festival for a talk earlier today opting for a brown jacket and beige shirt, paired distressed jeans.
He accessorized simply with tortoiseshell glasses and a hat.
Following the photoshoot, he switched things up with a very dapper stint at the red carpet premiere of Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
Gracing the red carpet with Chris Hemsworth, Anya Taylor-Joy, Naomi Campbell and a string of other famous faces, the actor kept his glasses perched on top of his head, sporting a black tux and smart shoes.
Billy’s appearance comes after he opened up about his role as Hollywood titan Brando in his upcoming biopic.
Waltzing with Brando was adapted from Judge’s 2011 memoir, and will follow the Godfather icon’s life from 1969 to 1974, when he purchased a secluded atoll, Teriaroa, in the South Pacific, and undertook ‘environmental projects’ on the island.
‘When they called him about the gangster movie, he did it to fund what they were trying to create on Tetiaroa,’ he said, via Deadline.
‘Back then no one would touch causes. He championed civil rights, he marched with Dr Martin Luther King. He walked the walk for civil rights; he did it for Indigenous rights.
‘What no one knows about is what he did for the environment as an activist and the foresight he had on what in fact would [become] a climate crisis.’
Although no release date has been announced, Zane, along with producers of the film, have committed to giving a percent of the proceeds to Tetiaroa locals.
He vowed: ‘It’s a love letter to Tahiti, and him and his passion.’
The movie is a long time coming, as he touched on his plans to take on the role during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, in 2019.
‘There’s an opportunity here to explore the possible human. [In] Waltzing with Brando, you have this noble pursuit, this insurmountable path of one who is not in great favor in Hollywood,’ he told the outlet, explaining that Brando was ‘on the outs’ in the industry at that time in his life.
‘The man was a recluse who moved to an island, yet is up all night on shortwave radio [and] can’t sleep alone. He had many children. It’s like, what led to that? He’s full of contradictions. That was touching to me.’
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