Born in New York City in February of 1964, Zach was raised on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, where he attended The Collegiate School until his graduation in 1982. A year earlier, he had been asked to audition for the film Taps, and the experience landed him an agent.

He made his debut in the MGM film Nothing Lasts Forever(1984) opposite Bill Murray, but the film was shelved and never given a full release. Zach’s second film, Gremlins (1984), did better, finishing as the third highest grossing film of the year.

In 1985, he played the doomed teenager Rick Brogan in Surviving, an acclaimed TV movie that featured Ellen Burstyn and Marsha Mason (as well as a young River Phoenix), and landed him on the cover of People magazine with co-star Molly Ringwald.

The following year brought his Broadway debut, replacing Matthew Broderick in Neil Simon’s Tony winning play Biloxi Blues. Other credits include the inevitable Gremlins 2 (1990), Tales from the Crypt, Melrose Place, and Waxwork (1988). Finally, in 1996, after 14 years of aborted semesters, missed classes and multiple relocations, Zach graduated from Columbia University with a B.A. in History.

As an actor, he has trained with the legendary Uta Hagen at HB Studios in Manhattan, and also in Los Angeles with Harry Mastrogeorge and Larry Moss, author of the book The Intent To Live.

In 2002, Zach returned to his theater roots with the comedy Doing Judy at the Alcazar Theater in San Francisco, and on screen has played a Brooklyn sleazoid on Law & Order: Criminal Intent, a hack playwright in Let Them Chirp Awhile (2008), and a New Orleans sheriff in the upcoming Hatchet 3 (2013).