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.

[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.

He starred as a tortured soldier named Brad Cartowski in the 1993 action film Deadly Heroes, directed by Menahem Golan.

[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.

[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.