Paul Sparks (born October 16, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as gangster

Mickey Doyle Mieczyslaw "Mickey Doyle" Kuzik is a fictional character in the HBO TV series ''Boardwalk Empire''. He is played by Paul Sparks. Mickey Doyle is loosely based on Polish American mobster Mickey Duffy. Mickey is a gangster in Prohibition-era Atla ...

in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

period drama series ''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

'', writer Thomas Yates in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

political drama series ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an expression that dates back to 1645 meaning a structu ...

'', mall owner John Breem in the

Apple TV+ Apple TV is a digital media player and microconsole developed and marketed by Apple Inc. It is a small network appliance hardware that plays received media data such as video and audio to a television set or external display. Since its secon ...

comedy-drama series ''

Physical Physical may refer to: *Physical examination In a physical examination, medical examination, or clinical examination, a medical practitioner examines a patient for any possible medical signs or symptoms of a medical condition. It generally co ...

'', attorney David Tellis in the

Starz Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...

anthology drama series ''

The Girlfriend Experience ''The Girlfriend Experience'' is a 2009 American slice of life drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and starring then-pornographic actress Sasha Grey. It was shot in New York City, and a rough cut was screened at the Sundance Film Festiva ...

'', and a recurring role in the limited series ''

The Night Of ''The Night Of'' is a 2016 American eight-part crime drama television miniseries based on the first season of ''Criminal Justice'', a 2008 British series. The miniseries was written by Richard Price and Steven Zaillian (based on the original ''C ...

''. Sparks has also starred in the films ''

Deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

'' (2008), ''

Afterschool ''Afterschool'' is a 2008 American drama film written and directed by Antonio Campos and stars Ezra Miller in their film debut. Filmed at the Pomfret School in Pomfret, Connecticut, ''Afterschool'' premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in th ...

'' (2008), '' The Missing Person'' (2008), ''

Mud A MUD (; originally multi-user dungeon, with later variants multi-user dimension and multi-user domain) is a Multiplayer video game, multiplayer Time-keeping systems in games#Real-time, real-time virtual world, usually Text-based game, text-bas ...

'' (2012), '' Parkland'' (2013), '' Stealing Cars'' (2015), ''

Thoroughbreds The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word ''thoroughbred'' is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed. Thoroughbreds are co ...

'' (2017), and ''

The Greatest Showman ''The Greatest Showman'' is a 2017 American biographical musical drama film directed by Michael Gracey in his directorial debut, written by Jenny Bicks and Bill Condon and starring Hugh Jackman, Zac Efron, Michelle Williams, Rebecca Ferguson, ...

'' (2017).

Early life and career

Sparks is a native of

Marlow, Oklahoma Marlow is a city in Stephens County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,662 at the 2010 census. Geography Marlow is located in northern Stephens County, in the southern part of the state, at (34.643410, -97.958806). According t ...

, and attended Marlow High School, where his father coached football, graduating in 1990. While attending school in Marlow, Paul was a part of the Marlow Outlaw Speech Team (M.O.S.T.) where he was coached by Paula and Gary McConnell. Sparks earned a scholarship to

Oklahoma State University Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

to study chemistry, but later transferred to New York University's

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Fine Arts A Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) is a standard undergraduate degree for students for pursuing a professional education in the visual, fine or performing arts. It is also called Bachelor of Visual Arts (BVA) in some cases. Background The Bachelor ...

degree in drama in 1995. In 2010, Sparks began portraying the regular role of Mickey Doyle on

's drama series ''

'', which was created by

Terence Winter Terence Patrick Winter (born October 2, 1960) is an American writer and producer of television and film. He is the creator, writer, and executive producer of the HBO television series ''Boardwalk Empire'' (2010–14). Before creating ''Boardwal ...

and executive produced by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

and

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), former stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, businessman, and former rapper. He has received multiple accolades, including a BAFTA Award, and nominations for two Academy Awards, three ...

. The series ended in 2014, after completing five seasons.

Personal life

Sparks is married to actress

Annie Parisse Anne Marie Cancelmi (born July 31, 1975), known professionally as Annie Parisse, is an American actress. She portrayed Alexandra Borgia on the drama series '' Law & Order''. Parisse has also starred as Julia Snyder on the soap opera ''As the W ...

, after meeting in 2005. Together they have two children, son Emmett (born 2009), and daughter Lydia (born 2014). Sparks has

diabetes mellitus type 1 Type 1 diabetes (T1D), formerly known as juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune disease that originates when cells that make insulin (beta cells) are destroyed by the immune system. Insulin is a hormone required for the cells to use blood sugar f ...

and works with the

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation JDRF is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that funds type 1 diabetes (T1D) research, provides a broad array of community and activist services to the T1D population and actively advocates for regulation favorable to medical research and approval o ...

. He is good friends with fellow actor

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

; the two have worked together on a number of projects including ''Waco'', '' The Missing Person'', ''

'', ''

'', and '' Midnight Special''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Sparks, Paul 1971 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male film actors American male stage actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Oklahoma Oklahoma State University alumni People from Lawton, Oklahoma People from Marlow, Oklahoma Tisch School of the Arts alumni People with type 1 diabetes