After studying with Lee Strasberg and Warren Robertson, Robert landed a lead role in the Broadway show "Fame", a play about the life of Marilyn Monroe. After 5 weeks of rehearsal, the play opened at the "Golden Theater" and sadly closed the following day.

Robert started his film career in New York, when director Michael Winner cast him as one of the muggers in the original Death Wish (1974) with Charles Bronson. Shortly after that, Howard Koch met Robert at the Plaza Hotel singing in the Green Tulip room. He offered Robert a role in the movie Badge 373 (1973) with Robert Duvall. After that, Robert had another calling and decided to move to Los Angeles, where he has lived for the past 30 years. In that period of time, Robert has appeared in over 100 feature films in starring or co-starring roles with actors like Al Pacino and Johnny Depp in Donnie Brasco (1997) where Robert played "Sonny Red". He co-starred with Jeremy Irons in Dungeons & Dragons (2000), a cameo with Kim Basinger in Jumpshot (2004) directed by Mark Rydell, with Morgan Freeman in Edison (2005), with Christopher Walken and Benicio Del Toro in The Funeral (1996) directed by Abel Ferrara, just to name a few.

Robert has also guest-starred on numerous TV shows like Frasier (1993), Caroline in the City (1995), The Shield (2002), Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993), as a regular on General Hospital (1963), a recurring role on The Young and the Restless (1973), and many more.