Michael Paré

Michael Kevin Paré is an American actor born on October 9, 1958. He is best known for his leading roles in feature films such as Eddie and the Cruisers (1983), Streets of Fire (1984), and The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), as well as his starring role in the television series Houston Knights (1987–1988). Over his career, he became recognized for his deep, raspy voice, muscular physique, rugged screen presence, and classic action hero demeanour.

Paré was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Joan and Francis Paré, who owned print shops. He grew up in a large family with six sisters and three brothers. His father, who was of French-Canadian ancestry, died from leukemia when Paré was five years old, leaving his mother to raise the children. As a youth, he admired actors James Dean, Marlon Brando, Montgomery Clift, Paul Newman, and Robert Mitchum. Before transitioning into acting, Paré worked as a chef in New York City, where he was discovered by talent agent Yvette Bikoff. He subsequently studied acting under Uta Hagen in the early 1980s and appeared in a series of Japanese television commercials.

Paré earned his first starring role as Tony Villicana on the television series The Greatest American Hero. In August 1987, recognized for his physique in early macho roles, Paré was chosen as the cover model for the premiere issue of Men's Fitness magazine. The publication folded into Men's Journal in 2017, which later ranked Paré's cover as the number one cover in the magazine's history of over 300 issues.

His best-known film performances include playing Eddie Wilson in Eddie and the Cruisers (1983) and its 1989 sequel Eddie and the Cruisers II: Eddie Lives!, as well as major roles in Streets of Fire (1984) and The Philadelphia Experiment (1984), later appearing in the latter's 2012 remake. His other film projects include Moon 44 (1990), playing tortured soldier Brad Cartowski in Deadly Heroes (1993), Village of the Damned (1995), Bad Moon (1996), Hope Floats (1998), and The Virgin Suicides (1999). He won the Best Actor award at the PollyGrind Film Festival for playing Tom Cody in Road to Hell.

On television, Paré co-starred with Michael Beck in the drama series Houston Knights from 1987 to 1988 and starred in the 2001 series Starhunter. He has frequently worked with director Uwe Boll and maintained a prolific schedule, logging 114 credits between 2015 and 2024 mostly in low-budget films and TV movies, including twenty roles in 2022 and nineteen in 2024.

Paré has been married three times, first to film producer Lisa Katselas from 1980 to 1984, and then to Marisa Roebuck from 1986 to 1988. He married former fashion model Marjolein Booy in 1992, with whom he shares one child. Paré resides in California.