One of his early roles was in the movie Barbarian Queen (1985) in which he played opposite Lana Clarkson. Like several other American B movie stars he made many of his movies in Europe, especially in Italy. He starred in Ten Zan: The Ultimate Mission (1988) an Italian production filmed in North Korea, one of few foreign films filmed in that country (according to Director Ferdinando Baldi, Zagarino was jailed for two days in North Korea because the Koreans suspected he was an American spy because he liked taking photos). He later appeared in American movies such as Project Shadowchaser (1992) and its three sequels, and Operation Delta Force (1997). He also appeared in the computer game Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun (1999) as Nod Commander Anton Slavik.
