Robert Z'Dar

Infobox actor
name = Robert "The Chin" Z’Dar


imagesize =
caption =
birthdate = birth date and age|1950|9|1
location = Chicago, Illinois
height = 6'2 (188 cm)
deathdate =
birthname = Robert J. Zdarsky
occupation = Film actor
homepage =
spouse =
notable role = Face in "Tango and Cash"

Robert Z’Dar is an American actor of Lithuanian descent, who was born on June 3, 1950 in Chicago, Illinois. His birth name is Robert J. Zdarsky, but after using several pseudonyms during his early acting career he settled on Robert Z’Dar. Due to his unique facial structure, he is often referred to as "The Chin."

Early life

Z’Dar first started acting while attending Proviso West High School in Hillside, Illinois. After high school, Z’Dar attended Arizona State University where he received a BFA. After graduation, Z'Dar returned to Chicago, for a time, where he was employed as a police officer.

Acting career

Eventually Z’Dar made his move to Hollywood, California to pursue a career in acting. In 1984, Z’Dar appeared in his first feature film, Joe Tornatore’s "Code Name Zebra", a film about a band of ex-soldiers forming an international anti-crime unit.

Z’Dar has appeared in at least one film a year, including: "The Night Stalker" (1987), "The Killing Game" (1988), and "Dead End City" (1988) and "Marching out of Time" (1993) directed by Anton Vassil. Z’Dar's name became recognizable when he played Matt Cordell in 1988’s "Maniac Cop", a film about a maniac in an NYPD cop uniform who brutally murders people. Z'Dar repeated this role in both of its sequels (1990 and 1993).

It was perhaps Z’Dar’s performance in "Maniac Cop" that landed him the role of “Face” in 1989’s "Tango and Cash" alongside action stars Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell. In 1991 he shared the screen with F. Murray Abraham, Christian Slater, and Lara Flynn Boyle in "Mobsters".

Robert Z’Dar has continued making at least one film every year despite a serious back injury he suffered in 2002 on a movie set. As of January 2006 he has acted in seventy-six films, produced three films, and also appeared on television. Two of Z’Dar’s films, "Soultaker" and "Future War" appeared in season 10 of "Mystery Science Theater 3000". On seeing Z’Dar on screen as the Angel of Death, Crow T. Robot remarks, “My God, he’s a catcher’s mitt with eyes!”

In April 2007, to help boost his web presence, Z'Dar's management company brought in the entertainment industries well known professional webmaster [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mark_James_Van_Woert Mark Van Woert] to redesign and host his new Official website - Z-Dar.com. Since Van Woert (under his stage name Markus James) has co-starred with Z'Dar in low budget indie film called - "Voices from the Graves" that is set to debut at the "2009 Sundance Film Festival."

External links

*imdb name|id=0120494|name=Robert Z'Dar
*amg name|2:78315
* [http://www.z-dar.com/ The Official Website for Robert Z'Dar]
* [http://www.reallyscary.com/interviewzdar.asp Z’Dar Speaks]