Alex Zahara was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. Alex attended high school at the Grande Prairie Composite High School where he won a scholarship to college for his direction of the stage version of M*A*S*H. He was inducted to the wall of honor at GPCH, where former alumni include Olympic Silver Medalist Willie DeWitt and World Skeleton Champion Michelle Skelly. He attended the University of Alberta and the University of British Columbia where he achieved a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre (Acting).

After graduation Alex started acting professionally with several award-winning plays, and got his first film role in The 13th Warrior (1999) with Antonio Banderas and Omar Sharif. Alex has been nominated for several acting awards, including three Jessie Richardson Awards (Vancouver Theatrical Awards), two for Best Actor, and winning for Best Ensemble. He was also nominated for Best Actor in the 2000 Leo Awards (British Columbia Film Awards).

His breakthrough role was his second television role ever, a guest-starring part on The Sentinel (1996) episode"Night Shift," playing Gabriel, a homeless man/angel. Alex has worked steadily and has appeared in over 76 television and film projects and 35 plays. Some notable performances include: eight different roles for Stargate SG-1 (1997), The Outer Limits (1995) (100th episode, "Tribunal"), Open Range (2003), Jeremiah (2002), Beggars and Choosers (1999), Battlestar Galactica (2003), Masters of Science Fiction (2007) and Masters of Horror (2007) and the Stephen King mini-series Kingdom Hospital (2003). Currently Alex can be seen playing King Midas in the hit show Once Upon a Time.