So here I am living on the lower eastside of Manhattan with my brother Terrence. He is going to Columbia University studying English Literature and I am going to acting school. We had inherited 300$ each from our grandfather on my father's side Terry was working part time at Rikers Island, Men's House of Detention, and my agent got me some print work once in a while so we were getting by.

I did a student film with a beautiful actress named Vivian and she invited me to dinner at the Laurent in Manhattan. I was surprised to arrive and find myself at dinner with Vivian and Salvador Dalí, his wife Gala, Mia Farrow and an assortment of characters from aspiring artists, actresses, drag queens and even a homeless guy called peaches. I sat next to Gala Dali' and she told my fortune with flower petals and gazing into my eyes. She said a woman would come into my life that would make my name known nationally. She couldn't say who where or why only that it would happen in the next six months.

Well sure enough I heard about a "Cattle Call" being run by Joyce Selznick for the ABC Network's talent development program. I followed another actor in to the audition hall picked up some slides "Audition Scenes" and started studying the scene. A woman came out into the area where all the actors were sitting and studying, she had a cane. She walked over to me and said "if you do what I say I can make you a star, I'm Joyce Selznick." I said, "O.K. Joyce what should I do?" Her partner came back out and gave me their phone # in LA and said to call her next week. I went back home and told my brother about it and went to work; I was back in the restaurant business by now thinking my acting was just a dream.

I called Joyce and Jan exactly a week after she told me to and she said she was sending me a contract to sign. I signed it and sent it back and Joyce called and said she was coming back to NYC to do the screen tests. She sent me slides to study of two test pilots and told me where to be and when. I prepared the scenes and showed up on time did the tests got a free lunch and went to work at the restaurant again.

Joyce called me about a week later and said ABC was sending me a cheque for 8000$ and a round trip ticket to LA first class. I was off to Hollywood to be a supporting role in Stephen Cannell's The Greatest American Hero.

I was born in NYC in 1958. Four years later my father died and my family moved to Westchester New York. Growing up in the 60's there were no contemporary role models for boys. The "WAR" was wrong, the "Establishment" was wrong; it was the beginning of blaming the white man for everything that was wrong in the world. With no role models I guess I turned to movie leading men. All the stars were my role models, Montgomery Clift, Marlon Brando, James Dean, Paul Newman, Clark Gable, Errol Flynn, Robert Mitchum, Rod Steiger, Bruce Dern, Dennis Hopper and Cagney, Bogart, Spencer Tracy. They were all my secret role models.

In high school I started working in a fast food place and by the end I was working in a regular restaurant. I liked restaurants and the work the chef in a restaurant suggested if I planned to make a career in restaurants that I should get a degree like he did. He suggested I apply to a great school in upstate New York. I was accepted and I studied there for one year and then got a job at a great restaurant in NYC owned by Warner LeRoy which would soon prove to be an interesting coincidence. A year or so later I was working on Columbus Avenue in a chic place with a French chef, living off Columbus Avenue, life was cool, I was secure and was looking forward to a career in NYC as a chef.

It was kind of surreal when I remember it but this is how it happened. There was a bar in my neighborhood where a girl friend worked that I spent most nights in. One of those nights a pretty little woman sat next to me and wanted to know all kinds of things about me, we chatted and began to think it odd. Especially after I said lighten up my girl friend works here. That's when she said, Listen I am an agent for actor and I think you should have lunch with me and we can talk. I blew her off but she came back several times and one of the waitresses where I worked said, Go ahead, are you kidding there are a million actors in this town with no agent and one wants to rep you, don't be stupid. Even the chef said, Go have lunch with her and then my brother also said why not.

We had lunch, she gave me an acting teacher to see, Rachel Ward was in the class before she started working. Beautiful chicks were talking to me. Once I got over stage fright and started to understand the craft I was hooked. I really liked acting class, doing scenes from plays that my heroes had done, there was a feeling of transcendence when a scene was really working.

I studied acting during the day and worked in restaurants at night, life had taken on a new meaning, I was doing something only special people could do, artists. This went on for a year or so and then it happened.

Well that's all for now.

Hello there,

Here we go, I was invited to the Estepona Film Festival this month, and I am very proud to announce I was given two awards. One for best actor which I believe was for my performance in Uwe Boll's movie soon to be released in theaters "SEED" and 'The Jury's Life Time Achievement" Award I think. The actual title may be lost in translation. It was really cool. My first Award.


SEED was really an experimental film I did with Uwe. We worked with only an outline which Uwe provided a couple of months before production. Working like this meant at least to me that Uwe was depending a lot on the actors to prepare and show up with a lot of ideas and inspiration which Uwe would sort through before we started to shoot.

I am not so much a mystical actor who can't explain how I prepare. I believe acting is a craft and there are certain reliable steps that I follow. This worked very well I think when working with Uwe because he seems to have a very organized analytical mind. I noticed this first on "Sanctimony" where we all showed up a week early and Uwe wanted to rehearse with the cast assuming everyone would be "Off Book" already.

The best example I have of the fun of working like this is a scene when I am alone at my desk.
Uwe said "Michael you must call your boss, and ask for protection for your family."

I paced around and said "How about I call my boss and complain that I want more protection?" Then Dan Clark, Uwe's producer, said "Wait your boss should call you and complain about something." Then Uwe said "this is what we do, your boss calls to complain about the cost of extra protection for your family, you refuse to comply and agree to work harder."
So this is what we shot. What was cool is the trust between director, actor and producer that all were trying to make a better screen moments before we shot. I may be wrong but it felt very stimulating as an actor.

This week my agent submitted me on a few television projects.
Hollywood will never make sense to me but I don't know where else I could do what I do.




Who knows what the future holds but there is always something cooking. I'll try and post another blog at least once a month unless something hot comes up.

Until then
Michael Paré

Michael has amazing ideas for the supernatural character of the spirit and I think it will be a startling change of pace for him, channeling some of the classic Asian ghost story movies in his performance. You will be blown away by the performance Michael gives in "100 FEET." In terms of his generating powerful emotion and presence without words, it far surpasses "BAD MOON." In fact, I think the Japanese audiences will be particularly attuned what we are going after with his Ghost character because the great tradition of "JU-ON" and "RINGU."

Famke is exceptional in the film, beautiful but playing a real, vulnerable, complex woman. The actress was unafraid not to look pretty when her character was going through hell, which only makes her more beautiful in the manner of actresses like Ms. Moreau. She and Michael have some amazing scenes together at the end.

I'm getting ready to start cutting the film, and the stuff we shot is terrific so I'm sure it will come together well. Michael's the coolest guy to work with and I'll put a role for Michael in every film I do. It's going to be a lot of fun! I certainly will cast Michael as a good guy, hopefully next time. But I must say as an actor he really likes playing edgy and darker characters, so he hasn’t minded!

posted by BlogConcierge with permission from Eric Red, writer/director of 100 FEET

Hi there,

Well recently I finished shooting 100 Feet, a movie by Eric Red. Eric and I worked together a few years ago on his movie "Bad Moon". That was a great experience, fun stimulating and we made a very good movie I think.



So at the AFM of last year I was promoting and seeing a rough cut of some movies I had made when John Fallon, an internet journalist and film critic, came up to me and said Eric Red was looking for me. I said take me to him.

Five minutes later Eric came up to me and said he was making another movie, well before he could say another word I asked if there was a part for me. He said he was making a Ghost story and I said let me play the ghost? He said he wrote the Ghost with me in mind. We didn't talk money or anything but story, who else was going to be in it and where he could send the script.

He sent me the script and I read it, called him and told him, I loved it and we set up a meeting to talk story, character, motive, backstory, my relationship with Marnie (to be played by Famke Janssen) my relationship with my partner (to be played by Bobby Cannavale). We would have to go to Toronto to get a few life casts made for the ghost effect and 1 week rehearsal in Budapest.

I knew what working with Eric was going to be like and it was all I could hope for. He wouldn't want any of this bullshit some actors fall in to like "I want my character to be likeable or redeem himself." I was going to be very real and display some of the darkest sides of humanity. Clinging to all the negative emotions that bind us to this plane of reality.

Budapest was the most accommodating countries to work in of all the ex-Eastern block countries I have worked in. The crew were skilled and the production was really looking at the big picture of Making a Good Movie as being the ultimate goal.

Famke was a real professional, putting the movie first and playing her character to the "Hilt". She was photographed beautifully by Ken Kelsch, Eric's chosen DP. Ken is a great guy with like 30 movies he DP'd a lot of them for Abel Ferrara.

I can't wait until I see some cut together footage.

Well I never BLOGGED before, so I will quit this first attempt and try again in the middle of Aug.

I will try to do this once a month.

Michael Paré