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Born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, to Seymour and Dorothy Zelniker, he graduated from Dawson College's Conservatory Acting School (Dome Theatre) before relocating to Toronto. There, he worked with many of Canada's premier theaters, including the National Arts Centre, St. Lawrence Centre, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Neptune Theatre, Toronto Free Theatre, Factory Theatre Lab, Globe Theatre, and Bathurst Street Theatre. His stage credits include "American Buffalo," "Henry V," "Mother Courage," "Streamers," "Total Eclipse," and "Stepdance." Zelniker's favorite role was Mozart in "Amadeus," performed at the Wool Warehouse Theatre in New Mexico.
As his film and television career grew, Zelniker moved to Los Angeles, appearing in over 20 feature films and numerous television shows. Notable roles include Red Rodney in Clint Eastwood's "Bird," Allen Ginsberg in David Cronenberg's "Naked Lunch," and James Bertram Collip in PBS's "Glory Enough For All." He starred opposite Robert Duvall in "The Terry Fox Story," winning a Canadian Academy Award (Genie Award), and appeared with John Malkovich and Kevin Bacon in "Queen's Logic," as well as with Christopher Plummer in the ABC mini-series "Crossings." His guest appearances include "Murder She Wrote," "Chicago Hope," "Millennium," "Profiler," "In the Heat of the Night," and "Dead Zone."
Zelniker co-wrote, produced, and starred in the festival award-winning feature "Stuart Bliss." He also co-wrote, produced, and directed the low-budget experimental film "Falling...," which won the 2012 Best of Festival Award at Indie Fest USA International Film Festival. While working on a series of one-act plays at the Coast Playhouse in Los Angeles, he met Dea Lawrence, whom he married two years later. Together, their company, Aion Pictures, produces films and theater.
From 2013 to 2018, Zelniker taught Acting for Film and Technique at the New York Film Academy (NYFA), after previously teaching and directing at AMDA, College and Conservatory for the Performing Arts from 2004 to 2013. A lifelong environmentalist, he joined Al Gore's Climate Reality Project Leadership Corps in August 2018, serving as the Los Angeles Chapter Co-Chair for 2.5 years.
His feature documentary, "The Issue with Tissue - a boreal love story," which he wrote, produced, directed, filmed, and edited, highlights the boreal forest and its Indigenous Peoples. It toured theaters and film festivals across North America throughout 2023, earning recognition as a finalist for Best Documentary at the Next Generation Indie Film Awards and as Audience Choice Award Runner-up at the Cinefest Sudbury International Film Festival. A five-hour series adaptation is planned for release in early 2025.
In 2024, Zelniker traveled to 20 countries over 185 days, collecting stories for a new documentary on the global water crisis titled "The Struggle for Mother Water," scheduled for release in late 2025.
