Quick Facts
Biography
"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."
—Paré on being typecast as a macho man.
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).
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.
He also worked as a model. In August 1987, he appeared on the cover of the first issue of Men's Fitness. In 2017, it was ranked among Men's Journal's thirty best magazine covers.
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 wants to made a career as a "the muscular leading guy", and 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.
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
- Crazy Times (1981) as Harry
- The Greatest American Hero (1981–1983) as Tony Villicana
- Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) as Eddie Wilson
- Undercover (1983) as Max
- Streets of Fire (1984) as Tom Cody
- The Philadelphia Experiment (1984) as David Herdeg
- Space Rage (1985) as Grange
- Instant Justice (1986) as Scott Youngblood
- The Women's Club (1987) as Patrick
- World Gone Wild (1988) as George Landon
- Houston Knights (1987–1988) as Sergeant Joey La Fiamma
- Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! (1989) as Eddie Wilson / Joe West
- Dragonfight (1990) as Moorpark
- Moon 44 (1990) as Felix Stone
- Il sole buio (1990) as Ruggero Brickman
- The Closer (1990) as Larry Freed
- Empire City (1991) as Joey Andre
- Killing Streets (1991) as Chris Brandt / Craig Brandt
- The Last Hour (1991) as Jeff
- Into the Sun (1992) as Captain Paul Watkins
- Blink of an Eye (1992) as Sam Browning
- Sunset Heat (1992) as Eric Wright
- Point of Impact (1993) as Jack Davis
- Deadly Heroes (1993) as Brad Cartowski
- Warriors (1994) as Colin Neal
- Carver's Gate (1995) as Carver
- Lunarcop (1995) as Joe Brody
- Village of the Damned (1995) as Frank McGowan
- Triplecross (1995) as Teddy "T.C." Cooper
- The Dangerous (1995) as Random
- Raging Angels (1995) as Colin
- The Colony (1996) as Alec Harken
- Coyote Run (1996) as Pershing Quinn
- Bad Moon (1996) as Ted Harrison
- Merchant of Death (1997) as Jim Randell
- 2103: The Deadly Wake (1997) as Tarkis
- Strip Search (1997) as Robby Durrell
- Falling Fire (1997) as Daryl Boden
- Hope Floats (1998) as Bill Pruitt
- Back to Even (1998) as Boyle
- October 22 (1998) as Gary
- The Virgin Suicides (1999) as Adult Trip Fontaine
- Men of Means (1999) as Rico "Bullet" Burke
- Peril (2000) as Vincent
- Sanctimony (2000) as Jim Renart
- Space Fury (2000) as Konrad
- A Month of Sundays (2001) as Tomas McCabe
- Blackwoods (2002) as Sheriff Harding
- Heart of America (2002) as Will Prat
- Red Serpent (2003) as Steve Nichols
- Fate (2003) as Detective Cody Martin
- Starhunter (2000–2003) as Dante Montana
- Cold Case (2004) as Randy Price
- Gargoyle (2004) as Ty "Griff" Griffin
- Crash Landing (2005) as Captain Williams
- Komodo vs. Cobra (2005) as Mike A. Stoddard
- BloodRayne (2005) as Iancu
- Furnace (2006) as Detective Michael Turner
- Saurian (2006) as Jace Randall
- South Beach (2006) as Charlie Evans
- Seed (2007) as Detective Matt Bishop
- Polycarp (2007) as Detective Barry Harper
- Postal (2007) as Panhandler
- BloodRayne II: Deliverance (2007) as Pat Garrett
- Dark World (2008) as Harry
- Ninja Cheerleaders (2008) as Victor Lazzaro
- 1968 Tunnel Rats (2008) as Sergeant Vic Hollowborn
- 100 Feet (2008) as Mike Watson
- Road to Hell (2008) as Tom Cody
- Alone in the Dark II (2008) as Willson
- Far Cry (2008) as Paul Summers
- The Perfect Sleep (2009) as Officer Pavlovich
- 1968: Tunnel Rats - Behind the Scenes (2009) as Sergeant Vic Hollowborn
- Direct Contact (2009) as Clive Connelly
- Rampage (2009) as Sheriff Melvoy
- Cool Dog (2009) as Dean Warner
- Job (2010) as Detective Remar
- Tales of an Ancient Empire (2010) as Oda
- Amphibious Creature of the Deep (original title: Amphibious 3D) (2010) as Jack Bowman
- Room and Board
- Blubberella (2011) as Commandant
- Bloodrayne: The Third Reich (2011) as Commander Ekart Brand
- The Lincoln Lawyer (2011) as Detective Kurlen
- House (2011 TV show)
- The Philadelphia Experiment (2012) as Hagan
- Gone (2012) as Lieutenant Ray Bozeman
- Leverage (2012) as FBI Special Agent Dennis Powell (Season 4: Episode 17)
- Maximum Conviction (2012) as Chris Blake
- Assault on Wall Street (2013)
- Suddenly (2013)
- Real Gangsters (2013)
- How Sweet It Is (2013)
- The Big Fat Stone (2014)
- Bone Tomahawk (2015) as Mr. Wallington
- No Deposit (2015) as Mickey Ryan
- Sicilian Vampire (2015) as Sammy
- The Good, the Bad and the Dead (2015) as Sheriff Olson
- The Infiltrator (2016) as Barry Seal
- Traded (2016) as Clay Travis
- The Red Maple Leaf (2016)
- Nessie & Me (2016)
- Jason's Letter (2017)
- The Neighborhood (2017)
- Global Meltdown (2017)
- Battle of the Drones (2017) as Karl Kess
- Reborn (2018)
- A Christmas in Royal Fashion (2018)
- City of Lies (2018) as Varney
- Mayday (2019)
- Once Upon a Time in Deadwood (2019)
- Shark Island (2021) as Charlie
- Painkiller (2021) as Dr Alan Rhodes
- The Penthouse (2021)
- South of Heaven (2021) as Joey
- Supersonic (TBA)
Awards and nominations
Awards
PollyGrind Film Festival
- Best Actor: 2012