Billy Zane, 59, Is Unrecognizable as Marlon Brando in First Look at New Biopic
Zane channels Brando in a role decades in the making—see the trailer and full cast
Billy Zane fans, we have some good news for you! We finally have our first look at the 59-year-old actor’s new film, Waltzing with Brando, in which he plays the late actor Marlon Brando after he decides to build a sustainable retreat on an island in Tahiti. We have everything you need to know about the film, including plot details and the release date, below.
What we know about Billy Zane’s new movie
Waltzing with Brando takes place in the 1960s and 1970s and follows Marlon Brando (Zane) as he tries to build an island paradise while also maintaining his acting career. It’s based on real events, and will grant viewers some much-needed insight into how Brando bought and restored the Tetiaroa island way back in the day.
“We’re so excited about the film. It’s coming out in the summertime in theaters. It’s been a passion project of mine for, like, six years,” Zane, who also serves as an executive producer on the film, told the New York Post in March of this year. “The only way to play him was as if he would, which is to not give a heck and to really approach it with the same looseness as he would.”
Prior to Waltzing with Brando, Zane was in things like Back to the Future II (1989), The Phantom (1996), Titanic (1997) and Zoolander 2 (2016).
Brando on the other hand, was a very highly talked about actor in Hollywood’s Golden Age before he died in 2004 age of 80 from congestive heart failure. His titles include On The Waterfront (1954), Last Tango in Paris (1972), Apocalypse Now (1979) and, of course, The Godfather (1972)—a role that Zane can be seen bringing back to life in Waltzing with Brando.
To see the exact moment where, as well as learn more film details, watch the newly released trailer below!
Who else is in the ‘Waltzing With Brando’ cast?
Along with Zane, the film will also star Richard Dreyfuss (Jaws and The Goodbye Girl), Camille Razat (Emily in Paris), Tia Carrere (Wayne’s World and Lilo & Stitch), James Jagger (Vinyl and The Outpost) and Jon Heder (Napoleon Dynamite and The Benchwarmers)—the former of whom will bring Bernard Judge, the real-life architect who helped restore the island.
Judge also wrote a memoir on the whole thing back in 2011 entitled Waltzing With Brando: Planning a Paradise in Tahiti, which is where the name and most of the upcoming film’s plot came from.
“Brando’s quest to build an eco-friendly retreat was decades ahead of its time, and telling that story through the eyes of Bernard Judge gave us something both intimate and unexpected,” executive producer Dean Bloxom said in a statement, per Deadline. It’s been a labor of love to bring this lesser-known chapter of his life to the screen. We’re proud of what the team has created, and excited to be partnering with Iconic and VMI to finally share it with audiences.”
When is ‘Waltzing With Brando’ coming out?
Waltzing With Brando will be released in theaters on September 19, 2025. However, if you cannot wait that long, you can always read Judge’s memoir or visit The Brando Hotel in Tetiaroa. If you do, though, please take us with you!
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