Billy Zane: Titanic star opens up on being the bad guy and Zoolander cameos during Perth visit for Supanova

From playing the dastardly antagonist in Titanic to an unforgettable cameo in Zoolander, Billy Zane enjoys cult status in Hollywood, and has brought that star power to Perth this weekend for Supanova.

Zane is one of the headliners of the annual celebration of all things pop culture, and told The West Australian the opportunity to share his many notable characters with West Aussie fans felt like “a strange dream that has a Rip Van Winkle quality to it”.

“When you think of the Back to the Futures, Memphis Belle, Titanic and The Phantom, you just go, ‘Wow’, although, mind you, there’s 100 turkeys that really are the shoulders that those movies stand upon,” he laughed.

Impeccably dressed, the 59-year-old expounded on his disparate interests, from a decades-long career as an abstract expressionist artist, science and, of course, the film industry.

Weirdly, despite all the attempted murdering, evidence planting and using a random kid to get on a lifeboat, the narrative around Cal has evolved over the years to the point some pundits question if Rose made the wrong choice by hooking up with Jack.

“From my point of view, I always try to find dimension for my most questionable of characters, to bring them beyond just being an entertaining obstacle for our protagonists to overcome,” Zane said.

Arguably none of his characters are more memorably questionable than his first major big-screen role, the terrifyingly psychopathic Hughie, in the 1989 Phillip Noyce classic, Dead Calm.

“I owe my entire career (to that production) ... it was so significant for me as a 21-year-old actor,” he admitted.

“Nicole was two years younger than me, but had a formidable capacity and grasp on her sense of self as a young woman and actress, and we were both punching above our weight and together really helped reinforce and support each other.”

Support was also what Zane offered Derek Zoolander in a “walk-off” against Owen Wilson’s Hansel, when Zane played himself in Ben Stiller’s iconic 2001 comedy.

Those few minutes of screen time launched a thousand Zane memes, which the actor certainly didn’t see coming.

“Never in a million years,” Zane said.

Supanova runs today and tomorrow at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre.