Patrick Muldoon, the seasoned actor known for his roles in the cult sci-fi film Starship Troopers and the series Days of Our Lives and Melrose Place, has passed away at the age of 57. Muldoon died of a heart attack at his home in Beverly Hills, where he lived with his girlfriend, on Sunday.

Born on September 27, 1968, in San Pedro, California, Muldoon attended Loyola High School in Los Angeles and later studied English and Communications at USC. Graduating in 1991, he played football in both high school and college and also worked as a model. After being discovered by a talent scout, he landed his first TV role in ABC's Who's the Boss? in 1990. This was followed by a guest role in NBC's popular teen series Saved by the Bell in 1991.

Muldoon's major breakthrough came in 1992 when he won the role of Austin Reed in NBC's long-running soap opera Days of Our Lives. He portrayed the beloved character Reed, who had a famous relationship with Christie Clark's character Carrie. Besides returning to the show between 2011 and 2012, the actor also reprised this character in the cinematic productions Night Sins (1993) and Winter Heat (1994).

After his nice guy character, Muldoon took on the role of the villainous Richard Hart in the popular 1990s Fox primetime soap opera Melrose Place. Joining the show in its third season in 1995, he remained until his character's death in the fifth season. However, Muldoon's most iconic film role was that of the arrogant pilot Zander Barcalow in the cult sci-fi action film Starship Troopers, directed by the renowned Paul Verhoeven in 1997. Zander was a rival to Casper Van Dien's character Johnny Rico and openly pursued Denise Richards' character Carmen Ibanez.

Muldoon's other film credits include Stigmata (1999), Bad Karma (2001), and Born to Ride (2011), in which he starred alongside Van Dien. In television, he frequently appeared in productions such as Chain of Command (2000), Project Viper (2002), and A Boyfriend for Christmas (2004). Muldoon will be remembered through the legacy left by his friend Miriam Rothbart and his sister Shana Muldoon-Zappa, who was the wife of Frank Zappa's son Ahmet.