Wolé Parks (born July 27, 1982) is an American actor, best known for his roles as Dallas Griffin in the CBS daytime soap opera ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other so ...

'', and as Sam Alexander in the Lifetime comedy-drama series ''

Devious Maids ''Devious Maids'' is an American television comedy-drama and mystery series created by Marc Cherry, produced by ABC Studios, and executive produced by Cherry, Sabrina Wind, Eva Longoria, Paul McGuigan, Larry Shuman, David Lonner, John Mass, ...

''. He appeared in the 8th season of ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson (screenwriter), Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the The Vampire Diaries (novel series), book series ...

'', playing the role of 'Cade' and portrays

John Henry Irons Steel is a superhero appearing in comic books published by DC Comics. He is a genius engineer who builds a mechanized suit of armor that mirrors Superman's powers. Steel initially seeks to replace Superman, who has been killed by Doomsday (DC Comi ...

in ''

Superman & Lois ''Superman & Lois'' is an American superhero drama television series developed for The CW by Todd Helbing and Greg Berlanti, based on the DC Comics characters Superman and Lois Lane, created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster. Tyler Hoechlin and ...

''.

Early life and education

Parks was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, to a

Belize Belize is a country on the north-eastern coast of Central America. It is bordered by Mexico to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and Guatemala to the west and south. It also shares a maritime boundary with Honduras to the southeast. P ...

an mother named Lilith Parks and a

Tanzania Tanzania, officially the United Republic of Tanzania, is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It is bordered by Uganda to the northwest; Kenya to the northeast; the Indian Ocean to the east; Mozambique and Malawi to t ...

n father whom he did not meet until he was an adult. He is a graduate of

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

with a B.F.A. in Fine Arts and a B.A. in Mathematics.

Career

He first joined the cast of the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

soap opera ''

'' on November 14, 2007, taking over the role of Dallas Griffin. Parks guest-starred in ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

'', its spin-off '' Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' and ''

Gossip Girl ''Gossip Girl'' is an American teen drama television series created and developed by Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage and based on the series of novels of the same name by Cecily von Ziegesar. It follows a group of students on Manhattan's ...

'', as well as starring in the sixth season of

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

's anthology series ''

Undressed ''Undressed'' is an American anthology series that aired on MTV from July 26, 1999, to September 5, 2002. The series was created and executive produced by British director Roland Joffé. Synopsis The series follows the relationships (both rom ...

''. In film, Parks was seen alongside

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...

in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...

telefilm ''

Taking Chance ''Taking Chance'' is a 2009 American historical drama television film directed by Ross Katz, from a screenplay by Michael Strobl and Katz, based on the journal of the same name by Strobl, who also serves as military consultant. Kevin Bacon's p ...

'' and with

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy for his leading perform ...

in the 2012 film ''

Premium Rush ''Premium Rush'' is a 2012 American action thriller film directed by David Koepp and written by Koepp and John Kamps. The film stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Michael Shannon, Dania Ramirez, and Jamie Chung. It follows a bicycle messenger chased aroun ...

''. In 2013, he has series regular role in the Lifetime comedy-drama ''

''. In the final season of ''

'', Parks had a recurring role as

Arcadius Arcadius ( ; 377 – 1 May 408) was Roman emperor from 383 to his death in 408. He was the eldest son of the ''Augustus'' Theodosius I () and his first wife Aelia Flaccilla, and the brother of Honorius (). Arcadius ruled the eastern half of ...

. In May 2020, Parks was cast as "The Stranger" in the CW

superhero A superhero or superheroine is a fictional character who typically possesses ''superpowers'' or abilities beyond those of ordinary people, is frequently costumed concealing their identity, and fits the role of the hero, typically using their ...

drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

television series ''

'', later revealed to be a version of

from an unidentified Earth where his

Superman Superman is a superhero created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, which first appeared in the comic book ''Action Comics'' Action Comics 1, #1, published in the United States on April 18, 1938.The copyright date of ''Action Comics ...

became evil.

Personal life

Parks is an active volunteer with School on Wheels and has been tutoring students in mathematics since 2013. He is also heavily involved with AIDS/LifeCycle, a seven-day cycling tour through California to raise money in support of the fight against

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

Driving accident

In 2006, at the age of 23, Parks accidentally killed a 25-year old graduate student while driving with a suspended license. On the evening of January 22, Parks was charged with leaving the scene of an accident. The Assistant District Attorney concluded that Parks "had the green light, was not speeding, committed no traffic infractions and did not appear intoxicated." Four hours later, Parks showed up at the 94th Precinct in Brooklyn to turn himself in. Following a lengthy investigation, Parks later pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of leaving the scene of an accident after causing physical injury, and received one year of probation, 250 hours of community service, and counseling.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Parks, Wole American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors American gay actors 21st-century American male actors 21st-century African-American male actors African-American LGBTQ people LGBTQ people from New York (state) Male actors from New York City Living people New York University alumni 1982 births