Paul Sparks

Paul Sparks
Born	October 16, 1971 Lawton, Oklahoma, U.S.
Education	New York University
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1998–present
Spouse(s)	Annie Parisse
Children	2

Paul Sparks (born October 16, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for playing Mickey Doyle on the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire and Thomas Yates on the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. He has also appeared in the films Deception (2008), Afterschool (2008), The Missing Person (2008), Mud (2012), Parkland (2013), and Stealing Cars (2015).

Early life

Sparks was born and raised in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Mike Sparks, a high school football coach, and an elementary school teacher mother.^[1] He attended Marlow High School, where his father coached, graduating in 1990.^[2] Sparks earned a scholarship to Oklahoma State University to study chemistry, but later transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.^[2][3] He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama in 1995.^[4]

Career

In 2010, Sparks began portraying the regular role of Mickey Doyle on HBO's drama series Boardwalk Empire, which was created by Terence Winter and executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg.^[5] The series ended in 2014, after completing five seasons.^[6]

Personal life

Sparks is married to actress Annie Parisse, after meeting in 2005.^[7] Their first child, a son named Emmett, was born in October 2009.^[2] The couple are also parents to a daughter, whose name and birth date have not been disclosed.^[8] Sparks suffers from diabetes mellitus type 1 and works with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation.^[9] He is good friends with fellow actor Michael Shannon; the two have worked together on a number of projects including The Missing Person, Mud, Boardwalk Empire, and Midnight Special.^[10]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2005	Headspace	Jason
2006	The Treatment	Andre
2007	Blackbird	Baylis
2008	Synecdoche, New York	Derek
2008	Rachel Getting Married	12 Step Member
2008	Deception	Detective Burke
2008	Afterschool	Detective Eclisse
2008	The Missing Person	Gus Papitos
2008	The Understudy	Bobby
2010	Please Give	Blind Date
2010	Edge of Darkness	Police Detective
2011	Return	Ed
2012	Forgetting the Girl	Tanner
2012	Mud	Carver
2012	Sparrows Dance	Wes
2013	Trust Me	Ray
2013	Parkland	Harry McCormick
2015	Stealing Cars	Conrad Sean Lewis
2016	Midnight Special	Agent Miller
2016	In the Radiant City	Michael Yurley	In post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Law & Order	Paul Luterik	Episode: "Panic"
2001	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Marvin Posen	Episode: "Manhunt"
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Keith Durbin	Episode: "Shibboleth"
2010–14	Boardwalk Empire	Mickey Doyle	36 episodes
2011	Mildred Pierce	Ted Hobey	Miniseries; episode: "Part Five"
2012–13	Underemployed	Guy Doyle	3 episodes
2013	M.Y.C.	Mickey Mothstein	Television short
2013	Person of Interest	Wilson	Episode: "Relevance"
2014	Believe	Karl McKenzie	Episode: "Bang and Blame"
2015–present	House of Cards	Thomas Yates	15 episodes
2016	The Girlfriend Experience	David Tellis	Main cast
2016	The Night Of		Miniseries

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2000	Coyote on a Fence	Bobby Reyburn	Urban Stages, Off-Broadway
2003–04	Take Me Out	Jason Chenier	Walter Kerr Theatre, Broadway
		Shane Mungitt
		Kippy Sunderstrom
2004	Blackbird	Baylis	Edge Theater Company, Off-Broadway
2005	Orange Flower Water	Brad
2006	Landscape of the Body	Marvin Holahan	Signature Theatre Company, Off-Broadway
2007	Essential Self-Defense	Yul	Edge Theater Company, Off-Broadway
2009	Hedda Gabler	Ejlert Lovborg	American Airlines Theatre, Broadway
2010	Dusk Rings a Bell	Ray	Atlantic Theater Company, Off-Broadway
2016	Buried Child	Tilden	The New Group, Off-Broadway

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2000	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Coyote on a Fence	Nominated
2004			Blackbird	Nominated
2005		Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	Orange Flower Water	Nominated
2007		Outstanding Actor in a Play	Essential Self-Defense	Nominated
2010	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Boardwalk Empire	Won
2011				Won
	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Actor in a Play	Dusk Rings a Bell	Nominated
2012	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Boardwalk Empire	Nominated
2013				Nominated
	Film Independent Spirit Awards	Robert Altman Award	Mud	Won
2014	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Boardwalk Empire	Nominated
2016	Lucille Lortel Awards	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	Buried Child	Pending

References

1. Rooney, David (July 15, 2010). "Embracing a Tragic Masculinity". The New York Times. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
2. Hayer, Melissa. ""Boardwalk to Success": Oklahoma native Paul Sparks turns advice, acting experiences into successful career". The Oklahoman. Retrieved December 7, 2014.
3. "Boardwalk Empire Cast & Crew: Paul Sparks". HBO.com.
4. Lardaro, Mariangela (January 31, 2011). "Tisch Alumni Rack Up Accolades". New York University. Tisch School of the Arts.
5. Hetrick, Adam (February 11, 2009). "Hedda Gabler's Sparks Signed for HBO Pilot "Boardwalk Empire"". Playbill. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
6. "Q&A with Paul Sparks". HBO.com. October 25, 2012. Retrieved March 10, 2013.
7. Simon, Lizzie (April 2, 2012). "The Theater Of Discomfort". The Wall Street Journal.
8. Scott, Marcus (March 28, 2016). "American Horror Story Star Transitions to the Stage With the Help of Her Buried Child Cast". Playbill.
9. "On the Rise: Paul Sparks On His Career, Role In Clark Gregg's 'Trust Me' & More!". Icon vs Icon. August 29, 2014.
10. "Film: Michael Shannon – Interviewed by Paul Sparks". The Lab Magazine. March 29, 2011.

External links

• Paul Sparks at the Internet Movie Database
• Paul Sparks at the Internet Broadway Database
• Paul Sparks at the Internet Off-Broadway Database