Robert Z’Dar (born Robert Zdarsky) was an actor best known for playing good cop turned serial killer Matt Cordell in the 1988 horror film Maniac Cop.
The actor had a large frame and a recognizable face, due to a genetic condition called cherubism, which gave him a prominent jaw line. Because of his looks, he typically played villains in films during his acting heyday in the 1980s and ’90s, with parts in more than 100 films over the course of his career. In addition to the Maniac Cop trilogy, Z’Dar also appeared in the films Soultaker, The Final Sanction, Samurai Cop and Tango & Cash.
Although he worked primarily in film, he also made several appearances on television, including the series Moonlighting, The Flash, Cyberkidz, Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction and Growing Pains, in an episode titled “Feet of Clay,” which featured a young Brad Pitt.
Z’Dar died March 30, 2015, in Pensacola, Florida. He was 64.