Paul Sparks

Paul Sparks is an American screen and stage actor. He has gained recognition for his performances in several prominent television series and feature films, establishing a career across drama, comedy, and period projects.

Born on October 16, 1971, Sparks spent his childhood in Marlow, Oklahoma, after being born in Lawton. He went to Marlow High School, where he participated in the speech team under the guidance of two coaches, and his father served as the football coach. Following his high school graduation in 1990, he initially received a scholarship to study chemistry at Oklahoma State University. However, he changed his academic path and transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama in 1995.

Sparks achieved widespread visibility on television beginning in 2010 when he joined the main cast of the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire, playing the mobster Mickey Doyle across all five seasons until its conclusion in 2014. Beyond this breakthrough, his major television credits include playing author Thomas Yates in the Netflix political series House of Cards, attorney David Tellis in the Starz anthology drama The Girlfriend Experience, and business owner John Breem in the Apple TV+ series Physical. He also secured a recurring role in the limited series The Night Of.

In addition to his television endeavors, Sparks has appeared in numerous motion pictures throughout his career. His film work includes roles in productions such as Deception, Afterschool, and The Missing Person, all released in 2008. He later appeared in the drama Mud in 2012, the historical drama Parkland in 2013, and Stealing Cars in 2015. His subsequent feature credits include the 2017 films Thoroughbreds and The Greatest Showman.

In his personal life, Sparks met actress Annie Parisse in 2005, and the couple later married. They have two children, a son named Emmett born in 2009 and a daughter named Lydia born in 2014. Diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, Sparks collaborates with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He also maintains a close friendship with actor Michael Shannon, with whom he has co-starred in multiple projects, including Mud, Boardwalk Empire, The Missing Person, Waco, Midnight Special, and The Bikeriders.