Star power put to good use By Theresa Smith

We meet at Melrose Arch, but it turns out Billy Zane’s staying in Broederstroom, right on the dam in an “absurdly comfortable” B&B .

“Not what I expected. Incredible amenities and lovely staff. For movies, you never know what you’re going to get. In some cases, especially if you’re filming in the bush, hopefully there’s a nice hotel nearby, or at least a lodge,” he says.

Zane is in South Africa to work on an instalment of the Sniper franchise. In the original 1993 film he played inexperienced US marine Richard Miller to Tom Berenger’s more experienced sniper, Thomas Beckett. He didn’t star in Sniper 2 or 3, but the franchise reboot (Sniper: Reloaded) sees him playing mentor to the Beckett character’s son.

The first film thrived at the time, but really found success in its afterlife in home entertainment, hence the several sequels.

Zane was attracted to the script, but the chance to film in South Africa again sold him on the idea.

“When I heard it was shooting here, I wholeheartedly agreed. I love filming here.”

He was in Cape Town last year to work on the Uwe Boll-helmed drama Darfur (which premieres at the Cape Winelands Film Festival, which runs today to March 27) and twice before that.

Since they’re staying so far from central Jozi, the actor hasn’t had much time to explore the bright lights, but he’s pleased to have found the time to paint (he’s found a great supplier of canvases in the Hartbeespoort dam region). In fact, he has had so much time and inspiration he’s either going to have to ship the canvasses home or put on an exhibit.

He likened working with local film crews to his experiences in Australia.

“The crews are Bushwacker cinephiles. I’ve had great success and shot as many films in Australia. There’s something about that combination of natural influences of countries with deep bass resonance mixed with a colonial ancestry… it makes for for great cinema… it just does.”

The 44-year old is rather well-travelled (having shot films in many places including Belgium, Turkey, across North America and even in North Africa) yet my questioning whether he actually likes travelling seems to throw him somewhat.

“Er… yeeees…” he says.

“It’s ironic, I grew up travelling a bit. I feel blessed to cover this much ground.”

He admits to becoming more of a homebody as time goes by (Chicago-born, home is now Los Angeles), but the job remains fairly transient.

“I like the variety, I can travel super-platinum first-class quite comfortably, or if need be, you will find yourself on the back of a flower truck because there’s just no other option.”

He has gotten around using donkey power in Greece, used a camel up in North Africa, a karma cab in London “which was completely decked out in ancient folklore,” and he breaks off into a deep, throaty chuckle.

A cursory glance online will give you a long list of films he has worked on, places he’s been, women he has dated, but it turns out this is one person you will never find Googling himself.

“I can never go back there, it’s been completely shocking. Believe nothing you read on Wikipedia, at least on my page,” he avers, not joking in the least.

We talk about an online bit of gossip that had him starring in an upcoming film with Bollywood star Bipashu Basu. Conflicting schedules put paid to that idea, but he still wants to find a way to get to India. Working on The Phantom set in Australia was, geographically, the closest he’s been so far.

He was a fan of the character long before he was ever cast in that film.

“He (Kit Walker) was cool. He wasn’t psychologically damaged, he was a pretty happy hero, married, had animal friends, lived in a cave in a jungle and always gave the benefit of the doubt. He disarms, he doesn’t dismember. That is what attracted me.”

Zane is intrigued by the universal admiration the comic book character seemed to engender.

“Every country loves the Phantom, everyone seems to have this sense of ownership about it. India equally. Sweden, I think, had a theme park, which I’ve never been to and I should’ve gone to. And I was looking forward to going to India, which I intend to.”

Constant travel and waiting around for filming to start means he sometimes has a lot of time on his hands and he focuses his energy on working with agencies tied to the United Nation’s renewable energy programmes, focusing on Africa and India in terms of introducing affordable technology for solar power and water purification.

“There’s an organisation called the Ireo – the Intergovernmental Renewal Energy Organisation – but I also consult and marry technologies with heads of state or private sector.”

When it comes to his more philanthropic interest, being an actor becomes an interesting means to an end and Zane describes himself as a venture catalyst who connects people.

“The travel is a wonderful benefit, but then it’s a question of what do you do with it. By all means, it’s about the movies, but most of the experiences on the films present unique opportunities to make connections with people, for people, and when you are looking at the concept of trying to help – in my part assist in bringing energy to one third of the world’s population, which is an effort a lot of people are working on right now – you find yourself uniquely positioned to try and actually be effective.”

A recent example would be last year’s First Ladies of Africa Health Summit held in Beverley Hills, at which he was a keynote speaker alongside Sharon Stone and Danny Glover. The fact-finding mission was organised by US Doctors for Africa and issues of healthcare, education, children’s rights and, above all, the uses of sustainable energy, were discussed.

Last month he met with the Zambian First Lady Thandiwe Banda again and they’re exploring how to do a pilot project in the village where she once taught, to bring energy to the school.

Zane comes across as a positive person, a believer in consciousness affecting matter (you think positive, positive things happen) without being creepy.

“It’s interesting, in my journeys you meet a lot of people who are, regardless of their station or power or personal holdings, intrigued and fascinated by celebrity. I’ve done a few billionaire makeovers in my day. You meet with folks and there’s only so many things they can own and buy and you nudge them to the realisation that it’s about legacy.

“As long as you have a kitbag full of solutions, options and ways for them to leverage their insurmountable wealth towards the intangible and immortal legacy of good works… whether it’s launching that good news network or funding a wing of a clinic or being the bank in a renewable energy programme in a rural region where perhaps they or their family originated… the most obvious solutions are right in front of people.”

We get to talking about how to go about using comics across various media as part of a literacy programme and how South Africa doesn’t have a mainstream comic book hero with local roots and before we know it, it’s time for him to head back to the film set.

“Why do I find myself doing this and still have to get to set in time to memorise the lines? Life has taken an interesting turn. Let’s just leave it at that,” he concludes.

Published on the web by Tonight on March 17, 2010. © Tonight 2010. All rights reserved. http://www.tonight.co.za/index.php?from=rss_Tonight&fArticleId=5393211