[1] After his parents' divorced, he lived in Wyoming for a time with his father, whom he referred to as Hemingwayesque, and who had combined ranching and fashion photography.

In the early 1990s, he had dated actress Lisa Zane; he had written the role of Josephine Marcus in Tombstone with her in mind.

""He had a role in the short A Hero of Our Time (1985), directed by Michael Almereyda and based on Mikhail Lermontov's novel of the same title, and screened in the 1992 Sundance Film Festival.

He was especially fascinated by the American Civil War, which led to his in-depth research of the 54th Massachusetts Regiment which inspired his screenplay for Glory (1989).

[5] He played a bit part as a quarrelsome soldier who picks a fight and later, as the 54th regiment heads for battle, yells, "Give 'em hell, 54th!"

[19] In addition to his produced work, Jarre was considered for, or had written several scripts that were never produced, such as a movie about the Hell's Angels that would've been directed by Steve De Jarnatt and starred Mickey Rourke,[20] an Adventure/Redemption story "of Saint Paul set in modern L.A." that he would’ve directed,[21] an adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula,[22][23][24][25] a film about the life and times of Wild Bill Hickok that he would've directed, a remake of The Magnificent Seven, a screenplay called Golden Gate Iron that he co-wrote with Derick Martini, two screenplays titled Dead of Summer, and Father and Son (Valhalla's Wake),[26][27] a Civil War suspense story about Ward Hill Lamon, the friend and bodyguard of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln,[28][29] a script idea called Hot Springs,[30] and Blood Mark, a screenplay co-written with Desmond Nakano.