Michael Paré

I've been playing heroes, and heroes are not normal people. You can't find a leading man doing a nine-to-five job on Wall Street. And that hurt because they said, "You can't play a regular person." Tom Cody was also bigger than life. And in The Philadelphia Experiment, I'm a time traveler for god's sake. So for a long time, all I played was cops, heroes and soldiers.

Michael Kevin Paré (born October 9, 1958) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles in the films Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Streets of Fire (1984), and The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), and on the series Houston Knights (1987–1988).

Early life

Paré was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Joan and Francis Paré, who owned print shops. He has six sisters and three brothers. Paré's father was of French-Canadian ancestry. His father died from leukemia when Paré was five, leaving his mother to raise the large family of children.

Growing up, Paré was a fan of James Dean, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman, and Robert Mitchum, and felt he was "a kindred spirit" to them. He was working as a chef in New York City when he met talent agent Yvette Bikoff, who convinced him to try acting. In the early 1980s, he studied acting under Uta Hagen. He shot a series of television commercials in Japan.

In August 1987, noted for his physique in his macho roles in The Greatest American Hero, Eddie and the Cruisers and Streets of Fire, Paré was chosen as the cover model for the first issue of Men's Fitness. The magazine was folded into Men's Journal in 2017; in 2018, Men's Journal ranked Paré's as the No. 1 cover in the former magazine's more than 300-issue history.

Career

His first starring role was as Tony Villicana on the television series The Greatest American Hero. His best-known film roles were as Eddie Wilson in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and its sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989), as well as Streets of Fire (1984) and The Philadelphia Experiment (1984). Paré also appeared in the 2012 remake of The Philadelphia Experiment. He starred as a tortured soldier named Brad Cartowski in the 1993 action film Deadly Heroes, directed by Menahem Golan. Other films included Moon 44 (1990), Village of the Damned (1995), Bad Moon (1996), Hope Floats (1998), and The Virgin Suicides (1999).

Paré is best known for his deep, raspy voice, muscular physique, rugged screen presence, and classic action hero demeanour. In his 2017 interview for Men's Journal he revealed that as a young actor he wasn't sure if he wanted to make a career as “the muscular leading guy", and instead tried to follow in the footsteps of his idols — Marlon Brando and James Dean.

Paré won the Best Actor award at PollyGrind Film Festival for the film Road to Hell, playing again the role of Tom Cody.

On television, Paré starred with Michael Beck in the drama Houston Knights in 1987–1988 as well as the 2001 television series Starhunter. The actor frequently appears in Uwe Boll's works.

Paré has had a very busy workload in recent years, with 114 credits from 2015–2024 (mostly in low-budget films and TV movies), including twenty roles in 2022 alone and another 19 in 2024.

Personal life

He has married three times. His first wife (1980–1984) was film producer Lisa Katselas; his second wife, Marisa Roebuck (1986–1988); his present wife (since 1992) is Marjolein Booy, a former fashion model, with whom he has one child. Paré stated that he lives "a good, clean life", and trains frequently. He lives in California.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music video

Awards and nominations

Awards

PollyGrind Film Festival

• Best Actor: 2012

External links

• at IMDb
• at the TCM Movie Database