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| “ | You won't forget Paul Snider. | „ |
| ~ Paul's most famous line |
Paul Snider is the main antagonist of the 1983 film Star 80. He is the sleazy, abusive husband of model Dorothy Stratten, who becomes increasingly possessive and violent as she becomes famous while he remains a nobody. He is a fictionalized version of the real Paul Snider, who murdered Stratten and committed suicide in 1980.
He is portrayed by Eric Roberts, who also portrayed The Master in Doctor Who, Sal Maroni in The Dark Knight, Richard L'Italien in Oz, Dr. Albert Beck in the Stalked by My Doctor film series, Dark Danny in Danny Phantom, Mongul in Justice League and Justice League Unlimited, and James Munroe in The Expendables.
In the film
Paul Snider is a small-time con artist and pimp who meets 18-year-old Dorothy Stratten at the Dairy Queen she works at, and charms his way into her bed. Seeing in Dorothy a chance to achieve the fame and recognition he has always craved, he grooms her to be a model in hopes of getting her in the pages of Playboy. He sweeps her off her feet with constant attention and flattery, but there are red flags - he tries to run her life, threatens any other man who comes near her, and pays a borderline inappropriate amount of attention to her preteen sister.
They get married soon after their first date, over the objections of Dorothy's mother, who detests Snider on sight. Snider styles himself as Dorothy's "manager", taking nude photos of her to send to Playboy and forging Dorothy's mother's signature on a parental consent form; meanwhile, Dorothy pays all of his bills. Snider's conniving eventually pays off when Playboy invites Dorothy to the legendary Playboy Mansion to meet with publisher Hugh Hefner and do a photo shoot. Snider goes with her, uninvited, and quickly alienates Hefner with his clumsy, intense hero worship.
Dorothy endears herself to Hefner, who hires her as a Playboy Bunny and Playmate of the Month for the August 1979 issue. Hefner dislikes Snider, however, especially when he makes a nuisance of himself by hanging around the Playboy Mansion, uninvited. Dorothy soon realizes that she does not really love Snider, but stays in the marriage out of fear and a sense of obligation.
Snider purchases a Mercedes with the vanity license plate STAR 80, but feels dejected after losing money on failed business ventures and being eclipsed by Dorothy's success. As their marriage crumbles, Snider becomes increasingly paranoid and violent, hitting her whenever he fears she is going to leave him.
Dorothy catches the eye of movie director Aram Nicholas (modeled on Peter Bogdanovich), who auditions her for a part in his latest film. Snider hires a private investigator to follow Dorothy and learns she and Nicholas are sleeping together. When Dorothy tells Snider she has outgrown him and wants a divorce, Snider buys a shotgun.
Disregarding Nicholas' plea for her to not see Snider again, Dorothy agrees to meet with him to arrange a divorce settlement. Snider pleads with her not to leave him, but she says the marriage is over. Enraged, he rapes her and shoots her dead, and then violates her corpse. He tells Dorothy's dead body that people will think of him whenever they think of her; he then commits suicide by putting the shotgun in his mouth and pulling the trigger.
