A Hollywood star, a little art and a lot of refugees. What about this?
Billy Zane spent a month in Hungary, and although he initially came to make some test shots, he organized an art exhibition from his own works, and even helping to the refugees fit into his time. Zane helped as a volunteer in the transit zone located next to the Keleti railway station by buying train tickets to the refugees (one time Billy bought tickets for an entire train of refugees!).
As he said: "I am here to lend support to the humanitarian aid. I was in town making a television pilot when the crisis exploded at the station. I have started helping I guess from the first day of the crisis.”
But how a painting exhibition comes to the picture? Zane met with the refugee crisis directly on the set in Budapest, and it deeply touched him. He has created the exhibition, called Stone Soup to draw attention: everyone can contribute with something to alleviate the refugee crisis. He offered the proceeds received from the sale of his artworks to the Hungarian Red Cross. By the way, the title of the exhibition is inspired by the well-known Hungarian folk tale: a poor wanderer cooks a so delicious soup from stones (and of course from some other ingredients) that his stingy host has to admit: it’s possible to cook even from stones if there is a will.
photo:instagram.com
The Hollywood actor started painting during the filming of Titanic in Mexico in 1997, and hasn’t given up this passion ever since. With this initiative, Zane would also like to draw attention that everyone can contribute with something to this important topic requires global solution.
He also revealed when he said goodbye to Hungary: „I have been enchanted by Budapest and its people. You know what, I really try to bring a little more balanced report on the crisis and show the humanity not only of the recipients of aid but of the very generous providers from the Hungarian community also.”
photo:instagram.com
About Billy Zane:
He was born in Chicago as the child of Greek origin parents. (His original family name is Zanetakos). At the opening of the exhibition he pointed out, that the crisis has great impact on his own people, Greek people as well. His first big screen role was in the first part of the Back to the Future trilogy in 1985, but Twin Peaks made him widely recognized, in which he played the role of John Justice Wheeler. And not much later he played one of the main characters, Caledon Hockley in Titanic, the eleven Academy Award-winning movie.
