Ian Ziering

The Eternal Blond of Beverly Hills

Ian Ziering landed his first major paycheck before turning twelve. By 1976 he was already shooting national commercials and appearing in Broadway productions. He was the quintessential blond boy from New Jersey, with the perfect smile to sell cereal or life insurance.

But his destiny did not lie in classical theater. In 1990, Aaron Spelling was looking for a young cast for a series about troubled rich teens in California. Ziering landed the role of Steve Sanders in Beverly Hills, 90210, and his face ended up plastered across half the world's teen bedroom walls.

The truth is, nobody expected that phenomenon to last ten seasons in a row.

Throughout that decade, the actor became a fixture on global television. His character evolved from a spoiled kid into a man with a bit more depth. But the teen idol label is a trap few manage to escape with dignity. When the series ended in 2000, the phone stopped ringing as often.

Survival and Digital Sharks

After the recording studios on West Pico Boulevard closed, Ziering did not sit around waiting for a call from Scorsese. He turned to voice work for animated shows like Biker Mice from Mars or Spider-Man. His voice became his main working tool while big-budget films ignored him.

In 2007, he took part in Dancing with the Stars to regain some visibility. He made it to the semifinals. That experience taught him that the audience was still there, but that the rules of the game had changed forever. It was no longer about being a movie star, but about being an entertainment professional.

In 2013, he accepted a script that seemed like a cruel joke. It was called Sharknado.

The premise was ridiculous, and the budget barely covered basic special effects. A tornado of sharks was invading Los Angeles, and he had to stop it with a chainsaw. Ziering accepted the role of Fin Shepard just to pay for his family's health insurance. He had no idea that this B-movie would become an unprecedented viral phenomenon.

The franchise continued until 2018 with six installments filmed in record time.

Thanks to those cheap CGI sharks, the actor found a very lucrative second career. He became the king of fan conventions and direct-to-TV premieres. He recognized that the niche of spoof disaster movies was an untapped market and decided to exploit it to the fullest.

Business and Returning to the Swamp

Outside the Hollywood spotlight, the actor has diversified his income with a boldness rare in the industry. In 2013, he joined the Chippendales show in Las Vegas as master of ceremonies. It was a purely financial decision that made headlines across the country.

In 2019, he tried to return to the superhero genre with the series Swamp Thing, playing Blue Devil. Critics responded well to his work, but the show was canceled after its first season due to financial problems unrelated to the cast. That same year, he produced and starred in Zombie Tidal Wave for the Syfy channel.

Despite its ups and downs, he maintains an enviable physical discipline that lets him keep landing action roles well past sixty. He also runs a skincare product line and takes part in multi-level marketing platforms. He has no qualms about squeezing every dollar out of his name.

Ian Ziering earns about 200,000 dollars for each installment of the flying shark franchise. His contract for the latest film included a clause sharing in the profits from international merchandise sales. Filming of his action scenes is usually completed in less than twelve working days.