Paul Sparks Wiki
When the biographic musical drama “The Greatest Showman” was released in December 2017, besides the lead roles portrayed by Michelle Williams, Hugh Jackman and Zac Efron, one other character caught the eye of the audience, that of James Gordon Bennett, portrayed by the talented, renowned actor, Paul Sparks.
He was born under the zodiac sign of Libra on 16 October 1971, in Lawton, Oklahoma USA; he holds American nationality and his ethnicity is of English descent. Paul is an actor with over 55 credits to his name, and besides the mentioned role, he’s perhaps known best for his roles in television series such as “Boardwalk Empire”, “The Girlfriend Experience”, and “House of Cards”, which in 2016 brought him the Primetime Emmy nomination for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series,.
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Early life and education
Although born in Lawton, Paul was raised in Marlow, Oklahoma, by his parents, mother Jane, who was an elementary school teacher, and father Michael, who was a high school football coach. Paul hasn’t spoken about having any siblings, thus it’s believed that he was raised an only child.
He attended Marlow High School, and upon matriculating in 1990, enrolled at Oklahoma State University, but later he transferred to New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, from which he graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Arts, in 1995.
Roles in series
Paul made his acting debut in 1998, portraying Rod in an episode of the series “Trinity”, and two years later, he was seen as Paul Luterik in an episode of the popular crime drama series “Law & Order”, followed by his guest roles in “Law & Order: Special Victims Unit” and “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, in 2005.
In the following year, Paul was cast to play Aaron in “Brotherhood”, and five years later he was seen as Ted Hobey in the TV mini-series “Mildred Pierce”, also starring Kate Winslet, Evan Rachel Wood, and Guy Pearce; the series had 42 award nominations and won 26, including five Primetime Emmys.
In 2012, Paul appeared as Guy Doyle in “Underemployed”, and then had guest roles in “Person of Interest” and “Believe” before playing one of his most notable television roles as Mickey Doyle in the historic crime drama “Boardwalk Empire”, also starring Steve Buscemi, Michael Shannon, and Kelly Macdonald; the series had 184 award nominations and won 64, including 20 Primetime Emmys.
Paul was three times nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and he and the rest of the crew, winning two in 2012 and ’13.
In 2015, Paul appeared in the recurring role as Thomas Yates in “House of Cards”, and was also seen as David Tellis in “The Girlfriend Experience”, and as Don Taylor in “The Night Off”, while in the following year, he guest-starred in “Get Shorty” and then in “The Crown”, which brought him the MovieGuide Grace Award Most Inspiring Performance in Television, in 2016.
Later in the decade, Paul appeared as Steve Schneider in “Waco”, the TV mini-series created by Drew and John Erick Dowdle, which won three Primetime Emmy Awards, and then Paul was cast to play Howard in “Sweetbitter”, followed in 2019 by his role as John ‘Ace’ Merrill in “Castle Rock”, also starring Bill Skarsgard, Andre Holland and Lizzy Caplan.
In the comedy drama series “Physical”, Paul portrayed John Breem, and then he was seen in “Joe Pickett”, his most recent television roles in 2021.
Roles in movies
Paul made his first big-screen appearance as Jason in “Headspace”, in 2005, followed by his role as Andre in “The Treatment”, in 2006, and then in 2008 he starred in “Blackbird”, “Deception”, and “The Understudy”, followed by “The Missing Person” in 2009.
In 2010, Paul was cast to play Northampton Police Detective in “Edge of Darkness”, also starring Mel Gibson, Danny Huston, and Ray Winstone, followed by his role as Ed in “Return”, in 2011.
In the following year, after he was seen as Tanner in “Forgetting the Girl”, Paul was cast to play Carver in the drama “Mud”, alongside Matthew McConaughey, Jacob Lofland, and Tye Sheridan – the movie had 39 award nominations and 15 wins, with Paul and the rest of the movie crew wining the Film Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award.
In 2013, Paul was seen in “Trust Me” and “Parkland”, and he then starred in “Early Light” in ’14, “Stealing Cars” in ’15, “Midnight Special”, “Buried Child”, and in 2016, “All the Birds Have Flown South”, “In the Radiant City”, and “A Bear Lands on Earth”.
In the following year, he portrayed Mark in “Thoroughbreds” before he was cast to play one of his most significant movie roles as James Gordon Bennett in “The Greatest Showman”; the movie had 33 award nominations, including the Oscar for Best Achievement in Music Written for Motion Pictures (Original Song), for the song “This Is Me”, and won 17.
Two years later in the drama “Human Capital”, Paul portrayed Jon, and then in 2020, he was cast to play Moustache in “The Lovebirds”, followed by his roles in “Giving Birth to a Butterfly” and “Hands that Bind”, in 2021.
Paul has no social media accounts, thus it’s hard to find out what is he up to, however, his fans hope to enjoy his acting talent for many years to come.
Love life and relationships
Paul hasn’t been the subject of any rumors and controversies concerning his love life, and although he prefers to keep his personal matters away from the media’s attention, it’s widely known that he’s been a married man since 2005. His wife is Annie Parisse – real name Anne Marie Cancelmi – also an actress, perhaps known best for her role as Alexandra Borgia in the series “Law & Order”. The two haven’t spoken about how they met, but their fans believe that it was in 2006 on the set of the mentioned series in which Annie was starred, and in which Paul had a guest role.
Their exact wedding date is also unknown, however, as of April 2022, Paul and Annie are still married, and they have two children together. In 2009, she gave birth to their first child, a son, named Emmett, and their second child, a daughter named Lydia, who was born in 2014.
Age, height, and net worth
Paul’s age is 50, he has blonde hair and blue eyes; he weighs around 165lbs (75kgs) and is 6ft 1in (1.85m) tall.
Paul’s primary source of income is his acting career, and as of early 2022, his net worth has been estimated at close to $5 million, and that of his wife Annie about the same.
