Stark Sands

Stark Bunker Sands (born September 30, 1978) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Tunny in the original Broadway cast of American Idiot, and originating the role of Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway. He is a two-time Tony Award nominee. He is also known for the roles of Lance Sussman in Die, Mommie, Die! and Lt. Nathaniel Fick in Generation Kill. He starred as Dash in FOX's series Minority Report.

Stark Sands
Sands in 2007
Born	Stark Bunker Sands September 30, 1978 Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Alma mater	University of Southern California
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2002–present
Spouse(s)	Gemma Clarke ​ (m. 2011)​ [1]
Children	2

Early life and education

Sands was born in Dallas, Texas. Stark is his mother's maiden name, and Bunker was his late father's middle name, as well as his maternal great-grandmother's maiden name.[2] He has a fraternal twin brother, Jacob, and an older sister.[3][4] Sands attended Highland Park High School,[5] and went on to gain his BFA in acting from the University of Southern California (class of 2001).[6]

Career

In 2002, Sands played Toby, a recurring love interest to the angst-ridden teen, Claire Fisher (played by Lauren Ambrose), on the HBO television series Six Feet Under (2001–2005) and co-starred in Me and Daphne (2002), a short film directed by Rebecca Gayheart and produced by Brett Ratner. He has also co-starred in the independent film Pack of Dogs (2002), directed by Ian Kessner.

Sands made his feature-film debut opposite Natasha Lyonne and Jason Priestley in Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), an adaptation of Charles Busch's play of the same name. He also appeared in the film Shall We Dance (2004), with Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez.

In 2007, he received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in the Broadway revival of Journey's End.[7]

From May 2 to June 8, 2008, he performed the role of Alex in A Seagull in the Hamptons at the McCarter Theatre in Princeton, New Jersey.

Sands also participated in the seven-episode HBO miniseries Generation Kill about the 2003 Iraq invasion, airing during the summer of 2008. In the miniseries he played Marine Lt. Nathaniel Fick. Sands had previously played a U.S. Marine, Walter Gust, in Flags of Our Fathers.

Additional theater credits include the 2009 musical adaptation of Bonnie & Clyde at the La Jolla Playhouse, The Classic Stage Company's production of The Tempest which earned him the Actors' Equity Foundation's St. Clair Bayfield Award, which honors the best performance by an actor in a Shakespearean play in the New York metropolitan area. From June 25 to July 12, 2009, Sands appeared in the Shakespeare in the Park's production of Twelfth Night, featuring Anne Hathaway, Audra McDonald and Raul Esparza.

Sands played the role of Tunny in the Broadway production of American Idiot, again playing a member of the military.[8] He left the production on March 13, 2011; David Larsen took over the role.[9]

Sands was in the 2010 HBO pilot The Miraculous Year, which was not picked up by HBO.[10] He was part of the main cast of the CBS television series Rookies.[11] The show was picked up for mid-season, under the new name NYC 22, but was canceled after airing 13 episodes due to inadequate ratings.

Sands played the character of Troy Nelson in the film Inside Llewyn Davis (2013).[12]

Sands played one of the lead characters, Charlie Price, in the musical Kinky Boots which opened at the Bank of America Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, for a four-week run in October 2012.[13] He reprised his role when the show premiered on Broadway at the Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013, with previews beginning on March 3, 2013. For his role as Charlie, Sands was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, but lost to his co-star Billy Porter. He played his final performance on January 26, 2014.[14]

In 2014, Sands was cast in the NBC pilot Salvation.[15] This was not picked up to series. Sands was cast in FOX's pilot, Minority Report, as Dash, a precog.[16] The series premiered on September 21, 2015.[17]

In 2016, Sands played the Templar in Classic Stage Company's production of Nathan the Wise off-Broadway.[18]

Sands and his original co-star Porter returned to the Broadway production of Kinky Boots for a limited 15 week run, starting on September 26, 2017.[19] He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2017 drama film The Post.[20]

Personal life

On July 9, 2011, Sands married British journalist Gemma Clarke at Bovey Castle, England.[21] They met while Sands was vacationing in London.[22] They have a son born in 2015.[23]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Me and Daphne	Brother	Short film
2002	Pack of Dogs	David	Short film
2003	Die, Mommie, Die!	Lance Sussman
2003	11:14	Tim
2004	Chasing Liberty	Grant Hillman
2004	Catch That Kid	Chad
2004	Shall We Dance?	Evan Clark
2005	Pretty Persuasion	Troy
2006	Jack Rabbit	David	Short film
2006	Flags of our Fathers	Walter Gust
2008	Day of the Dead	Bud Crain
2008	My Sassy Girl	Soldier
2013	Broadway Idiot	Himself	Documentary about the making of American Idiot
2013	Inside Llewyn Davis	Troy Nelson	Soundtrack: "The Last Thing On My Mind", "Five Hundred Miles"
2017	The Post	Don Graham

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002	Six Feet Under	Toby	Recurring; 2 episodes
2003	Lost at Home	Will Davis	Main cast
2004–05	Hope & Faith	Henry	Recurring; 3 episodes
2006	Family Guy	Justin Hackeysack (voice)	Episode: "You May Now Kiss the... Uh... Guy Who Receives"
2006	Nip/Tuck	Conor McNamara – 2026	Episode: Conor McNamara, 2026
2006–07	American Dad!	Tino / Williams / Conservative #1	Voice; 2 episodes
2008	Generation Kill	Nathaniel Fick	Miniseries
2010	The Miraculous Year	Duke Ellis	Unsold pilot
2012	NYC 22	Kenny McLaren	Main cast
2014	Salvation	Paul	Unsold pilot
2015	Minority Report	Dash Parker	Main cast
2020	Law and Order: Special Victims Unit	Bobby Frost	Episode: Swimming with the Sharks

Theatre

Year	Title	Genre	Role	Theatre	Location	Notes
2007	Journey's End	drama	2nd Lt. Raleigh	Belasco Theatre	New York City, New York	revival
2008	A Seagull in the Hamptons		Alex	McCarter Theatre	Princeton, New Jersey
2009	Bonnie & Clyde	musical	Clyde Barrow	La Jolla Playhouse	San Diego, California	originated role
2009	The Tempest	comedy	Ferdinand	CSC Theatre	New York City, New York
2009	Twelfth Night		Sebastian	Delacorte Theatre	New York City, New York
2010–11	American Idiot	musical	Tunny	St. James Theatre	New York City, New York
2012–14	Kinky Boots	musical	Charlie Price	Bank of America Theatre Al Hirschfeld Theatre	Chicago, Illinois New York City, New York	originated role
2016	Nathan the Wise	drama	Templar	CSC Theatre	New York City, New York
2017–18	Kinky Boots	musical	Charlie Price	Al Hirschfeld Theatre	New York City, New York
2018	To Kill a Mockingbird	drama	Horace Gilmer	Shubert Theatre	New York City, New York

Awards

List of awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Result	Title
2007	Tony Award	Best Featured Actor in a Play	Nominated	Journey's End
2007	Theatre World Award	Outstanding New York City Stage Debut Performance	Won
2009	Bayfield Award	Best Performance by an Actor in a Shakespearean Play in the New York Metropolitan Area	Won	The Tempest
2010	Broadway.com Audience Award	Favorite Featured Actor in a Broadway Musical	Nominated	American Idiot
2013	Tony Award	Best Actor in a Musical	Nominated	Kinky Boots
2013	Grammy Award	Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album	Won

See also

• List of Broadway musicals stars
• List of people from Dallas
• List of people from New York City

References

1. "Stark Sands and Gemma Clarke Wedding". So 80s.co.uk. July 9, 2011. Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
2. "14 Reasons Why Minority Report Star Stark Sands Is Cooler Than Your Boyfriend". TV Guide. June 2, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
3. "Stark Sands". Broadway.com. February 22, 2007. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
4. "Interview with Stark Sands of American Idiot". talkingbroadway.com. April 28, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
5. "Actor Stark Sands, who grew up in a wealthy Dallas family, portrays Clyde Barrow onstage". dallasnews.com. January 11, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
6. "From College Classmates to Tony Nominations, Broadway Buddies Stark Sands and Charl Brown Enjoy the Journey". Playbill.com. June 14, 2013. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013.
7. Simpson, Robert (June 9, 2007). "Stark Sands Comes to Journey's End's End with No Regrets". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 22, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
8. Jones, Kenneth (January 28, 2010). "Broadway's American Idiot Cast Announced; Troupe Will Appear on Grammys Jan. 31". Playbill. Archived from the original on February 6, 2010. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
9. "Joshua Henry Returns to American Idiot; David Larsen and P.J. Griffith Also Join Cast". Broadway.com. March 15, 2011. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
10. Eng, Joyce (July 9, 2010). "Pushing Daisies and Law & Order Alums Join The Miraculous Year". TV Guide. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
11. Andreeva, Nellie (February 18, 2011). "Five Broadcast Pilots Add to Casts". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
12. "Stark Sands Joins Coen Bros' Inside Llewyn Davis". Cinemablend.com. February 10, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
13. "Broadway World Stark Sands Billy Porter to Lead Broadway-Bound KINKY-BOOTS". BroadwayWorld.com. June 30, 2012. Retrieved September 20, 2012.
14. "Tony Award Nominee Stark Sands Exits Broadway's Kinky Boots Jan. 26". Playbill.com. Archived from the original on January 28, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2014.
15. "Ashley Judd and Stark Sands Among Quintet Cast in NBC Drama Pilot Salvation". Deadline Hollywood. February 25, 2014. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
16. "Stark Sands to Topline in Fox's Minority Report". The Hollywood Reporter. February 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
17. "Fox Fall Premiere Dates: Gotham, Minority Report, and more". IGN. June 26, 2015. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
18. "Tickets Now Available to See F. Murray Abraham & Stark Sands in Nathan the Wise Off-Broadway". Broadway.com. February 18, 2016. Retrieved February 18, 2016.
19. "Everybody Say Yeah! Original Kinky Boots Stars Billy Porter & Stark Sands Will Return to Hit Musical". Broadway.com. August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
20. "Everybody Say Yeah! Original KINKY BOOTS Stars Billy Porter and Stark Sands Will Return this Fall". Broadwayworld.com. August 2, 2017. Retrieved August 21, 2017.
21. "Wedding Channel". Wedding Channel. Retrieved December 4, 2012.
22. "Green Day's Soldier Stark Sands". The New York Observer. March 31, 2010. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
23. "O&M Co Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved May 22, 2015.

External links

• Stark Sands at the Internet Broadway Database
• Stark Sands at IMDb
• Stark Sands at the Internet Off-Broadway Database