A fleshy, barrel-chested character player of stage, film, and TV, Dzundza can draw upon his Ukrainian ancestry to play Russians and Eastern Europeans but his upbringing on New York's Lower East Side also lends authority to his portrayals of working-class urbanites. Dzundza enjoyed fleeting fame as the fatherly cop, Detective Sergeant Max Greevey, paired with the youthful Chris Noth during the initial season of NBC's critically acclaimed "Law & Order". He departed the series (in a pine box), however, before it became one of the network's dramatic staples. Dzundza has worked in some interesting and/or popular films over the course of his career including Michael Cimino's "The Deer Hunter" (1978), Robert Altman's "Streamers" (1983), "No Way Out" (1987), Clint Eastwood's "White Hunter, Black Heart" (1990), and "Basic Instinct" (1992). A TV-movie veteran, Dzundza has also done many TV guest spots. His stage credits include "The Ritz" and "Legend" on Broadway and a starring role in the national touring production of "That Championship Season."
Continuing to work steadily on the big screen and in television movies, Dzundza also got some breaks on series television. He landed a regular spot on the series "Jesse" playing Christina Appelgate's father and in 2002 headed up the cast of the CBS drama "Robbery Homicide Division."
Profession(s):
Actor
Sometimes Credited As:
Venice Film Festival Best Actor Award "Streamers" 1983
2002 Appeared in Robert Dinero film "City by the Sea"
2002 Landed role on CBS series "Robbery Homicide Division"
1999 Appeared in crime thriller "Instinct" with Anthony Hopkins
1998 Returned to series TV as co-star of the fall NBC sitcom "Jesse"; role reduced from regular to recurring
1994 Starred in title role of "Babymaker: The Dr. Cecil Jacobson Story", a fact-based CBS TV-movie about the fertility doctor indicted for inseminating his patients with his own sperm
1990 - 1991 Co-starred during the first season of successful police/legal series, "Law and Order"
1982 Starred in the short-lived ABC sitcom, "Open All Night"
1981 Moved to L.A.
1978 TV-movie debut, "The Defection of Simas Kudirka", a CBS biopic
1978 Had supporting role in "The Deer Hunter"
1975 Feature debut, "The Happy Hooker"
1973 Stage debut in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of "King Lear"
1956 Immigrated to US; settled in NYC
1949 Moved to Amsterdam
Born in Germany
Spent part of childhood in displaced persons camps
Raised on NYC's Lower East Side
Toured in "That Championship Season"
TV debut, guest shot on "Starsky and Hutch"
