Zach Mendez grew up in Richmond, Virginia, where football dominated his world and shaped his early years. In college, he continued with football but also took classes that taught him how to write screenplays and ultimately introduced him to acting. After college, acting still wasn't part of Zach's story, and he instead moved to Miami, Florida, where he became an elementary school teacher who helped struggling students catch up on math and reading. Beyond academics, Zach joined a nonprofit program where he coached students in creating skits; this finally sparked his own realization that acting might be his calling. Every year, his group would perform at an annual conference, and one year the head organizer approached him, saying, “You got chops. You got real chops.” This was the encouragement Zach needed to start his acting career, and he began by finding acting opportunities on Craigslist, where he landed his first roles in student films. There were times he would go to set after class, shoot all night, and then head right back to the classroom to teach. Although it was exhausting, he says, "I was having the most fun!" His habit of scouring Craigslist even led him to his first manager, who eventually brought him to Los Angeles to further his dream and find bigger challenges.

Zach’s journey into Los Angeles brought its own set of realizations, transformations, and rewards. Early in his career, he approached each role with a competitive edge, always “performing with something to prove.” But over time, he realized this approach wasn’t serving him, especially after his acting teacher advised, “You can’t prove anything with your acting; otherwise, it’ll take you out of the truth.” Embracing this advice, and despite his sports upbringing, Zach let go of his need to compete with other actors, shifting his mindset to one of gratitude. Now, every day on set, he reminds himself, “Look where you are,” savoring each day on set as one of the best days of his life. This new outlook allowed him to "find his fun" with acting and his career continued to grow. One way he found fun was by staying in his Spanish accent whenever he visited a particular casting office, which regularly called him in for auditions. Eventually, this playful approach paid off—when BioWare asked if the casting office knew anyone with a Spanish accent, they immediately thought of Zach! This led to his role in Dragon Age: The Veilguard, where he entered the world of motion capture for the first time. Initially, he struggled with imposter syndrome, frequently wondering if “someone made a horrible mistake.” However, he soon adopted a new mantra: “You belong,” which allowed him to embrace and fall in love with mocap. For Zach, acting in mocap is part of a much larger creative effort, where “actors are just the icing on the cake,” and every team member is an essential resource. He especially loves the creative freedom it offers, saying he’s never heard the phrase “Let’s try that!” more than on a mocap set.