Michael Paré

Last updated
Michael Paré
Michael Pare 2014.jpg
Paré at the Chiller Theatre Expo in 2014
Born
Michael Kevin Paré [1]

(1958-10-09) October 9, 1958 (age 66)
New York City, U.S.
Education The Culinary Institute of America
Occupation(s)Actor, chef
Years active1981–present
Spouses
(m. 1980;div. 1982)
Marisa Roebuck
(m. 1986;div. 1988)
Marjolein Booy
(m. 1992)
Children1

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. [2]

Contents

—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), and on the series Starhunter (2000–2004).

Early life

Paré was born in Brooklyn, New York, the son of Joan and Francis Paré, who owned print shops. [3] He has six sisters and three brothers. Paré's father was of French-Canadian ancestry. [4] 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. [5] He was working as a chef in New York City when he met talent agent Yvette Bikoff, who convinced him to try acting. [6] In the early 1980s, he studied acting under Uta Hagen. [7] He shot a series of television commercials in Japan. [7]

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 . [8] 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. [8]

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), [9] as well as Streets of Fire (1984) [10] and The Philadelphia Experiment (1984). [11] 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. [12] [13] Other films included Moon 44 (1990), Village of the Damned (1995), [14] Bad Moon (1996), [15] Hope Floats (1998), [16] and The Virgin Suicides (1999). [17]

Paré is best known for his deep, raspy voice, [18] [13] muscular physique, [8] [18] [19] rugged screen presence, [20] 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. [8]

Paré won the Best Actor award at PollyGrind Film Festival for the film Road to Hell , playing again the role of Tom Cody. [21]

On television, Paré starred with Michael Beck in the drama Houston Knights in 1987–1988 [3] as well as the 2001 television series Starhunter . [22] The actor frequently appears in Uwe Boll's works. [23] [24]

Paré has had a very busy workload in recent years, with 114 credits from 2015-24 (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. [8] He lives in California. [8]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1981Crazy TimesHarryTV movie
1983 Eddie and the Cruisers Eddie Wilson
Undercover Max
1984 Streets of Fire Tom Cody
The Philadelphia Experiment David Herdeg
1985 Space Rage Grange
1986 Instant Justice Scott Youngblood
1987The Women's ClubPatrick
1988 World Gone Wild George Landon
1989 Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives! Eddie Wilson / Joe West
1990 The Dark Sun Ruggero Brickman
Moon 44 Felix Stone
The CloserLarry Freed
DragonfightMoorpark
1991Concrete WarJeff
Killing StreetsChris Brandt / Craig Brandt
1992 Into the Sun Captain Paul Watkins
Sunset Heat Eric Wright
Blink of an EyeSam Browning
Empire CityJoey AndreTV movie
1993 Point of Impact Jack Davis
Deadly Heroes Brad Cartowski
1994WarriorsColin
1995The DangerousRandom
LunarcopJoe Brody
Village of the Damned Frank McGowan
TriplecrossTeddy "T.C." CooperTV movie
Raging AngelsColin
1996Coyote RunPershing
The Colony Alec HarkenTV movie
Carver's GateCarverTV movie
Bad Moon Ted Harrison
19972103: The Deadly WakeTarkis
Falling FireDaryl Boden
Strip SearchRobby Durrell
Merchant of DeathJim Randell
1998 Hope Floats Bill Pruitt
Back to EvenBoyle
October 22 Gary
Men of MeansRico "Bullet" Burke
1999 The Virgin Suicides Adult Trip Fontaine
Space FuryKonradVideo
2000PerilVincentVideo
Sanctimony Jim Renart
2001A Month of SundaysTomas McCabe
Blackwoods Sheriff Harding
2002 Heart of America Will Prat
2003FateDetective Cody Martin
Red Serpent Steve Nichols
2004 Gargoyle: Wings of Darkness CIA Agent Ty "Griff" GriffinVideo
2005 Crash Landing Captain Williams
Komodo vs. Cobra Mike A. StoddardTV movie
BloodRayne Iancu
2006SaurianJace RandallTV movie
2007 Seed Detective Matt Bishop
PolycarpDetective Barry Harper
Postal Panhandler
BloodRayne II: Deliverance Pat Garrett Video
Furnace Detective Michael Turner
2008Ninja CheerleadersVictor Lazzaro
Tunnel Rats Sergeant Vic Hollowborn
100 Feet Mike Watson
Alone in the Dark II WillsonVideo
Far Cry Paul Summers
Dark WorldHarry
Road to Hell Tom Cody
2009The Perfect SleepOfficer Pavlovich
Direct Contact Clive Connelly
Rampage Sheriff Melvoy
2010 Tales of an Ancient Empire Oda
Cool DogDean WarnerVideo
Amphibious Jack Bowman
2011 The Lincoln Lawyer Detective Kurlen
Bloodrayne: The Third Reich Commander Ekart Brand
Blubberella Commandant Ekart Brand
2012 Gone Lieutenant Ray Bozeman
Maximum Conviction Chris Blake
The Philadelphia Experiment HaganTV movie
The Come UpRon ZimmermannShort
2013 How Sweet It Is Mike Cicero
Real GangstersFrank "Frankie" D'Cecco
Assault on Wall Street Frank
SuddenlyConklin
Jet SetRyan
2014The Last OutlawSheriff AthertonVideo
SnapshotThe President
Wings of the DragonJackson Lee
The Big Fat StoneDetective Farinelli
201524 HoursCaptain Mike Ryan
A Perfect VacationXander
No Deposit Mickey Ryan
CheckmateCaptain Raymond Mitchell Howard
The Cask of AmontilladoFortunatoShort
The Vatican Tapes Detective Harris
Operator Howard
The ShelterThomas Jacob
Sicilian Vampire Sammy
The Good, the Bad and the Dead Sheriff Olson
Bone Tomahawk Mr. Wallington
2016DecommissionedDetective Tom Weston
SwapCaptain Doug Rice
Abattoir Richard Renshaw
Traded Clay Travis
The Infiltrator Barry Seal
Nessie & Me Dad
The Red Maple Leaf Ambassador Patrick Adams Jr.
2017PovratakMichael Shreder
A Doggone Hollywood Sheriff Evans
American Violence Martin Bigg
Global MeltdownAmos CadeTV movie
The Neighborhood Johnny "Johnny 3"
Gangster Land Captain O'Connor
The Wrong Man Gary MooreTV movie
Jason's Letter Brad Macaulay
2018Battle DroneKarl Kess
Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich Detective Brown
The Debt CollectorAlex "Mad Alex"
AstroAllen Smith
The Wrong Friend Lieutenant ForniTV movie
Talk to the AnimalsTedShort
Reborn Detective Marc Fox
City of Lies Detective Varney
A Christmas in Royal FashionDan CarsonTV movie
2019The Last Big SaveDerek
Making a Deal with the DevilPierre
Hollow PointDamian Wakefield
MaydayAdam Anderson
Once Upon a Time in DeadwoodSwearengen
ManipulatedRoger "Duke" Brown
Big KillColonel Granger
2020Emerald RunMatteo Trino
The InsurrectionSergeant Major
InvincibleTrevor Morgan
CaptorsCharles Dusker
Middleton ChristmasJohnny
2021 The Wrong Fiancé Police Chief SawyerTV movie
Triassic HuntJordan Freedman
The Resonator: Miskatonic UProfessor Wallace
The PenthouseCharles [25]
Mummy DearestDr. Jason
PainkillerDr. Alan Rhodes
Deceived by My Mother-In-LawRossTV movie
Mommy's Deadly Con ArtistRossTV movie
Raunch and RollCarl Weinstein
Mind GamesColonel Reeder
Righteous BloodJericho
Bed BugThe KillerShort
The Wild Man: Skunk ApeCaptain Stryker
South of Heaven Joey
Christmas CollisionJaggar Huntley
2022Beyond the ResonatorProfessor Wallace
Curse of the Re-AnimatorProfessor Wallace
LockdownRoger Kinkaid
Top Gunner: Danger ZoneAir Marshall Tony Wilkes
Shooting StarSheriff Wiley
As Long As I'm FamousOlder Sid
DawnOfficer Barry
Pig KillerDetective Oppal
The Red Tide MassacreSheriff Tom Fuller
They Crawl BeneathBill Moritz
NixIdres
Attack on TitanCitizen Prime Ortiz
Renegades CIA Agent Donovan
Headless HorsemanDevil
Bridge of the DoomedColonel Charon
Space Wars: Quest for the DeepstarKip
2025 Armageddon Thomas Ramsey
3.3 MilesRay
Twisted VinesBranson Wright
Alabama RoseEthan
2023End of Loyalty"Pops"
If I Can't Have YouMr. SklarTV movie
Kings of L.A.Artie
The Beast Comes at MidnightNight
Wrongful DeathDr. David Moore
The PuppetmanDetective Al
Alien ApocalypseDirector Storm
In the ShadowsSam Hammonds
Family OrnamentsGrandpa Pat
The StairwellHollisterShort
A Christmas InternWilliamTV movie
America Is SinkingGeneral Robert Glenn
Very Frightening TalesEdward Barnes
2024ScarsTom
The Wrong Life Coach Detective CloverTV movie
Wanted Man Tinelli
PlanetquakeGeneral West
Tall, Dark, and DangerousBillTV movie
Camp Pleasant Lake Rick Rutherford
SentinelThe President
War of the Worlds: ExtinctionGeneral Andres Alfaro
Kill CraftThomas Delon
Bedtime Stories: Tales of Love and HateFortunato
SteadyRudyShort
Shark IslandCharlieVideo
Alien: RubiconPresident McCoy
In Tenebras: Into the DarknessCaptain Shaw
9 Windows Agent Larry Thurgood
The Vampire and the VigilanteGabriel
Angel with a GunArcher
RevivalMartin
Desert FiendsLeonard

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1981-1983 The Greatest American Hero Tony VillicanaMain Cast: Season 1-2, Guest: Season 3
1987-1988 Houston Knights Sergeant Joey La FiammaMain Cast
2000-2003 Starhunter Dante MontanaMain Cast: Season 1, Recurring Cast: Season 2
2004 Cold Case Randy PriceEpisode: "Greed"
2006 South Beach Charlie EvansRecurring Cast
2007Whatever Happened To?HimselfEpisode: "Rebels"
2011 Memphis Beat Dave HargroveEpisode: "Things We Carry"
House Warden DelaireEpisode: "Twenty Vicodin"
2012 Leverage FBI Special Agent Dennis PowellEpisode: "The Radio Job"
2017Starhunter TransformationDante MontanaMain Cast
2017-2018 Starhunter ReduX Dante MontanaMain Cast
2019Seven DaysO'DonnellEpisode: "Episode #1.1"
2021-2022Keeping Up with the JonesesSheldonMain Cast

Music video

YearArtistSongRole
1983 Eddie and the Cruisers "On the Dark Side"Eddie Wilson

Awards and nominations

Awards

PollyGrind Film Festival

References

  1. "Michael Pare Biography (1959-)". Film Reference. Retrieved October 28, 2008.
  2. "Mr. Beaks Talks THE LINCOLN LAWYER, EDDIE AND THE CRUISERS and STREETS OF FIRE With Michael Paré!". Ain't It Cool News . March 21, 2011. Archived from the original on 2014-03-23. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Bobbin, Jay; Lawler, Sylvia (August 16, 1987). "HOUSTON KNIGHTS' TRIES AGAIN AT 8 P.M. TUESDAYS". The Morning Call . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  4. Lyman, Rick (September 28, 1983). "MICHAEL PARE: COOKING ON SCREEN, NOT IN THE KITCHEN". The Philadelphia Inquirer . p. D01.
  5. "Tom Cody, Pleased To Meet Ya! INTERVIEW: Michael Paré talks with TV STORE ONLINE about the cult classic STREETS OF FIRE". TV Store Online. October 30, 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-03-23. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  6. Price, Jason (May 25, 2016). "BACK IN THE SADDLE: Michael Paré On His Career, Longevity and Role In 'Traded'". Icon Vs. Icon. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  7. 1 2 Frank Garcia; Mark Phillips (2013). Science Fiction Television Series, 1990-2004: Histories, Casts and Credits for 58 Shows. McFarland & Company, Inc. pp. 321–322. ISBN   978-0-7864-2483-2.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Perine, Shawn (2018-05-21). "Our 30 Favorite 'Men's Fitness' Magazine Covers of All Time: Michael Paré". Men's Journal . Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved 2024-10-04.
  9. James, Caryn (August 18, 1989). "REVIEW/FILM; EDDIE DIDN'T DIE: HE JUST WENT FOR A SWIM". The New York Times . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  10. Maslin, Janet (June 1, 1984). "SCREEN: 'STREETS OF FIRE'". The New York Times. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
  11. Maslin, Janet (August 17, 1984). "SCREEN: 'EXPERIMENT,' ON PHILADELPHIA PROJECT". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  12. "Dead Heroes – Full Cast & Crew – TV Guide". TV Guide . Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  13. 1 2 motywu (July 5, 2019). "Zabili go i uciekł ('Komandosi śmierci', 1993)" [They Killed Him and He Ran Away. ("Commandos of Death", 1993)]. yippeekiyaymoviegoer.wordpress.com (in Polish). Archived from the original on 2021-08-28. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  14. Maslin, Janet (April 28, 1995). "FILM REVIEW; Demons' Eye Problems Compound Creepiness". The New York Times. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  15. Thomas, Kevin (November 2, 1996). "'Bad Moon' a Straight-Ahead Werewolf Film". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  16. Thomas, Kevin (May 29, 1998). "Buoyant 'Hope'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  17. Thomas, Kevin (April 21, 2000). "'The Virgin Suicides' an Affecting, Somber Tale of Repressed Lives". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Thomas, Kevin (August 18, 1989). "MOVIE REVIEW : Michael Pare Takes 'Eddie II' for a Pleasure Cruise". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  19. Gene Freese (2017). Classic Movie Fight Scenes: 75 Years of Bare Knuckle Brawls, 1914–1989. McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 289. ISBN   978-1-4766-6943-4.
  20. "Elusive 'Eddie' – The Washington Post". The Washington Post . Nash Holdings. September 30, 1983. Retrieved August 28, 2021.
  21. Moore, Debi (October 22, 2012). "Road to Hell Wins Nine Awards at PollyGrind Film Festival 2012". Dread Central . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  22. Vlessing, Etan (September 16, 2013). "Canadian Sci-Fi Series 'Starhunter' to Relaunch as Web Series". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  23. Child, Ben (October 28, 2016). "The 'world's worst director': are Uwe Boll's movies really that bad?". The Guardian . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  24. Martin, Brett (May 14, 2008). "And the Award for Worst Director Ever Goes to…". GQ . Retrieved March 1, 2019.
  25. Schaefer, Stephen (April 17, 2021). "Stephen Schaefer's Hollywood & Mine". Boston Herald. Retrieved April 17, 2021.