Billy Zane, Marlon Brando. Getty Images(2)
Billy Zane is fully channeling Marlon Brando in the upcoming biopic, Waltzing With Brando.
Zane, 58, stars as the late legendary actor. The film follows Brando’s career as he became a cinema icon, dramatizing how he prepared for some of his most notable roles including The Godfather and Last Tango in Paris, which both came out in 1972.
In the official first look images, Zane startlingly transforms into Brando’s doppelganger while dressed as the don himself, Vito Corleone. Zane rocked Brando’s iconic tuxedo with a single red rose boutonniere. The Titanic alum also donned Vito’s trademark slim mustache and slicked back hairdo.
In addition to looking like Brando’s long lost twin, Zane also embodied the Oscar winner’s mannerisms and raspy voice in the first Waltzing With Brando trailer.
“Why did you go to the police?” Zane said, reciting one of Brando’s lines from The Godfather. “Why didn’t you come to me first?”
While the biopic follows Brando’s impressive movie career, it also tells the story of how Brando teamed up with his architect, Bernard Judge, to create a paradise getaway on an uninhabited Tahitian island. The title of the film comes from a memoir about Brando written by Judge about the time the pair spent on the island attempting to create a sustainable abode. (Jon Heder plays Judge in the biopic.)
A majority of the movie was filmed in Tetiaro, Tahiti, the same island where Brando and Judge got to know each other. In May, Zane shared a series of throwback photos from the production with him in character.
“2nd Batch of pics from #waltzingwithbrandothemovie burning a hole in my archive,” he captioned the Instagram slideshow. “Had to share now the cats’ out of the bag. The production team were so on point.”
In one shot, Zane was decked out in a denim set and straw hat as he walked the beaches of Tahiti. Zane also included a snap of him sitting in a director’s chair with Brando’s name emblazoned on the back.
Art imitating life. Leonardo DiCaprio, Meryl Streep, Sarah Paulson and more stars made their marks playing real people in movies and TV shows. Many won awards for their onscreen depictions of both beloved and controversial figures throughout history. The American Horror Story actress earned an Emmy for her portrayal of famous prosecutor Marcia Clark in […]
The film’s artistic director, Giulio Base, was impressed with Zane’s portrayal of Brando. Base gushed to Variety earlier this month about getting to work alongside Zane on set and how seriously he took the role.
“You won’t believe it: he is possessed by Marlon Brando,” Base said to the outlet.
Waltzing With Brando is set to premiere during the closing night of the Torino Film Festival in Italy. The festival began on November 22 and runs until the 30th. The movie will hit theaters in 2025.
