Patrick Muldoon’s death has been one of the most tragic events in Hollywood this year as the actor passed away because of a sudden heart attack. Within hours, the man who entertained audiences, thrilled them, and occasionally infuriated them was gone. But what remains, is his legacy, his collection of iconic roles, more specifically Zander Barcalow, the insufferable, utterly magnetic pilot from Paul Verhoeven’s 1997 sci-fi cult classic Starship Troopers. It’s the role Patrick Muldoon is most remembered for, and has defined his career for years.
Zander was the rival to Casper Van Dien’s Johnny Rico and he also had the attention of Rico’s girlfriend Carmen, played by Denise Richards. It’s a love triangle as old as cinema itself, but in Starship Troopers, it existed in the context of an intergalactic war against insect-like aliens, so somehow it felt both ridiculous and urgent at the same time.
What’s remarkable about Muldoon’s performance is how he managed to make you dislike his character while also making him so charismatic you couldn’t he;p but be a little impressed. Zander was the embodiment of masculine arrogance that the film seemed to be satirizing.
But it’s Zander’s death that has cemented him in the collective memory of anyone who’s seen Starship Troopers. After being captured by the alien Bugs, Zander and Carmen are brought face-to-face with the Brain Bug, the film’s most terrifying entity. In that moment, with his death imminent, Patrick Muldoon delivers a line that has cemented it’s role in pop culture:
“One day, someone like me is going to kill you and your whole fu*king race!”
Then the Brain Bug extends a spiked appendage from its mouth and stabs it through Zander’s skull, sucking out his brain in a shower of blood. By the time that Brain Bug got to him, you’d seen enough of Zander to know he deserved whatever was coming, and yet, when it came, it was horrifying.
Director Paul Verhoeven’s Starship Troopers was always a satire of fascism and militarism, wrapped in the language of a blockbuster action film and Zander represented something specific within that framework, the ambitious climber, the guy who uses the system to get ahead, the man who’s more concerned with his own advancement than with the larger moral questions surrounding the war. He’s seductive in his ambition, which is why Carmen falls for him instead of Rico and despite being an antagonist, you’re impressed by him.
Patrick Muldoondescribed his character as ambiguous and competitive which is a fine way to describe what was one of the best things about the film.
What else has Patrick Muldoon been in?
What’s unfair about Muldoon’s legacy is that Starship Troopers has become so dominant in how people remember him that his other work has been somewhat eclipsed. But he had a rich career, not always in major roles, but still a memorable one.
Patrick Muldoon had soap opera fame before Starship Troopers. He was born in San Pedro, California, on September 27, 1968, and after graduating from USC in 1991, he broke into television with appearances on Who’s the Boss? and Saved by the Bell. Then came his three-year stint on Days of Our Lives from 1992 to 1995, where he originated the role of Austin Reed. Later, he returned to the role from 2011 to 2012, moving forward with his career with the same character.
In the mid-’90s, Aaron Spelling signed him to an exclusive development deal and Muldoon was the only actor ever to hold such an arrangement with Spelling Entertainment. From that deal came his recurring role on Melrose Place, where he played the villainous Richard Hart from Season 3 to Season 5. Hart was a businessman-turned-rapist, a dark character in a show full of dark characters. It showed that Muldoon could inhabit genuine menace when the role demanded it.
In 1999, two years after Starship Troopers, Patrick Muldoon appeared in Stigmata, the supernatural horror film directed by Rupert Wainwright. He had a smaller role as Steven. The film was a commercial success despite critical dismissal as it grossed $89.4 million worldwide and Muldoon was there among an ensemble that included Portia de Rossi and Nia Long.
Other film credits included Black Cat Run, Bad Karma, and Born to Ride, on which he reunited with Casper Van Dien. He was prolific in television movies for Lifetime and Hallmark channels.
Patrick Muldoon’s legacy
But beyond the roles and the career arc, people who worked with him remembered him as a genuinely good person. He was known as “Bobo” to his loved ones, affectionate in a way that contrasted with the edgier characters he played. Alison Sweeney, who worked with him on Days of our Lives made a statemente and said,
“Pat was a rare kind of person — brilliantly talented, endlessly kind, and generous in spirit. I was so lucky to have worked with him when I first started at Days, he made me feel at ease right away. He brought his unique charm and humor to work every day. A truly gifted guy, and one who will be profoundly missed.”
Patrick Muldoon was also a musician as he was the lead singer of the band The Sleeping Masses. He was an artist in multiple mediums and in his later years, he became increasingly active as a producer, working on films like Arkansas and The Card Counter. His final Instagram post, just days before his death, announced his excitement about producing Kockroach, featuring Chris Hemsworth, Taron Egerton, and Zazie Beetz.
Patrick Muldoon’s death feels unfair in the way that most sudden deaths do. He was still working, still creating, still engaged with his craft and would have definitely worked on many more blockbusters. For years to come, his legacy will be held and remembered, especially his iconic role as Zander Barcalow.
Edited by Nibir Konwar