Szarabajka was born in Oak Park, Illinois, the son of Anne, a school teacher, and Edward Szarabajka, a savings and loan officer.[1]
He attended the University of Chicago, as well as Trinity University in San Antonio, Texas.[2] He studied acting further at the Organic Theater in Chicago in 1972-1978.[2] Szarabajka's surname, pronounced [ʂaraˈbajka] in Polish, means "gray fable".[2] In 1982, he had a supporting role in the Costa-Gavras film Missing.