Paul Sparks Biography

Fast Facts

• Studied chemical engineering in Oklahoma before moving on to drama at New York University, where he also minored in philosophy
• Appeared as an understudy in Richard Greenberg's Take Me Out in 2003, but considers his Broadway debut a starring role in a 2009 revival of Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler, costarring Mary-Louise Parker
• Earned fifth Drama Desk Award nomination for Stephen Belber's Dusk Rings a Bell in 2011; his first was in 2000 for Bruce Graham's Coyote on a Fence
• Has type 1 diabetes, and ran his first marathon—in 3:52:46, by the way—in New York City in 2011 to raise money for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation; he's since become an avid runner