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 Parker in FOX's series Minority Report.
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.[citation needed]
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.[citation needed]
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 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]
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]
In 2019, Sands was cast in the musical Swept Away as Big Brother.[21] The production was originally announced to premiere in June, 2020, however it was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Swept Away premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in Berkeley, California on January 9, 2022.[22] Sands reprised the role when Swept Away had a run at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. Previews began on November 25, 2023, and opening night was on December 6, 2023.[23] On May 17, 2024 it was announced that Swept Away would move to Broadway in the fall of 2024, and that the main four cast members, including Sands, would reprise their roles.[24]
In 2022, Sands was cast in the North American tryout of & Juliet as William Shakespeare,[25] transferring from the West End. The production opened in Toronto, Canada in the Princess of Wales Theatre on June 22, 2022, and ended on August 14, 2022. & Juliet moved to Broadway in the 2022-23 season into the Stephen Sondheim Theatre with Sands reprising his role. Previews began on October 28, 2022, and opening night was on November 17, 2022.[26] He played his final performance on August 6, 2023.[27]
Personal life
On July 9, 2011, Sands married British journalist Gemma Clarke at Bovey Castle, England.[28] They met while Sands was vacationing in London.[29] They have a son born in 2015.[30]
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He is best known for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy and Hairspray and film roles in Mrs. Doubtfire, Independence Day, and as the voice of Yao in Mulan and Mulan II. Fierstein won two Tony Awards, Best Actor in a Play and Best Play, for Torch Song Trilogy. He received his third Tony Award, Best Book of a Musical, for the musical La Cage aux Folles and his fourth, the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he revived in its live television event, Hairspray Live! Fierstein also wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals Kinky Boots, Newsies, and Tony Award-nominated, Drama League Award-winner A Catered Affair. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.
Justin Guarini is an American singer, songwriter and actor who in 2002 was the runner-up on the first season of American Idol.
Stephanie Janette Block is an American actress and singer, best known for her work on the Broadway stage.
Kinky Boots is a 2005 British comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth. Nominated at the 64th Golden Globe Awards, it is based on a true story. The film tells of struggling shoe factory owner Charlie, who forms an unlikely partnership with Lola, a drag queen, to save the business. Charlie develops a plan to produce custom footwear for drag queens, rather than the men's dress shoes that his firm is known for, alienating many in the process.
Mary Benton Faber is an American actress. She graduated from the Governor's School for the Arts and Brandeis University.
Eric Anderson is an American actor and singer. On Broadway, he has originated roles in Waitress, Kinky Boots, The Last Ship, Rocky, and Soul Doctor, and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. He portrayed Mr. O’Malley in The Greatest Showman (2017). In 2022, he took over the role of Harold Zidler in the jukebox musical Moulin Rouge! on Broadway.
Laura Ann Osnes is an American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. She has played starring roles in Grease as Sandy, South Pacific as Nellie Forbush, Anything Goes as Hope Harcourt, and Bonnie and Clyde as Bonnie Parker, for which she received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical. She also starred in the title role of Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella on Broadway, for which she received a Drama Desk Award and her second Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
John Howard Gallagher Jr. is an American actor and musician best known for originating the role of Moritz Stiefel in the 2006 rock musical Spring Awakening, which earned him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical. He also played Johnny in Green Day's Broadway musical, American Idiot, Lee in the 2011 Broadway production of Jerusalem, and Edmund in the 2016 Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night. He portrayed Jim Harper in Aaron Sorkin's drama series The Newsroom, starred in the HBO mini-series Olive Kitteridge, and played Emmett DeWitt in 10 Cloverfield Lane.
Annaleigh Ashford is an American actress, singer, and dancer. Her early roles on Broadway include in the musicals Wicked (2007), Legally Blonde (2007), and Hair (2010). She received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Essie Carmichael in You Can't Take It With You (2014–2015). Her other Tony-nominated roles include Lauren in Kinky Boots (2013) and Mrs. Lovett in Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2023). She also starred in the Broadway revival of Sunday in the Park with George (2017).
Oliver Tompsett is a British actor and singer, best known for his work in musical theatre. He originated leading roles in multiple West End productions, including Drew Boley in Rock of Ages and William Shakespeare in & Juliet. In addition, Tompsett is known for his portrayal of Fiyero in Wicked and Galileo in We Will Rock You.
Natalie Joy Johnson is an American actress.
Mirvish Productions, commonly known as Mirvish, is a Canadian theatrical production company, based in Toronto. Founded in 1986 by David Mirvish with his father, Ed Mirvish, it is the largest commercial theatre company in Canada. Mirvish Productions own and operate four theatres in the downtown Toronto area: the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Princess of Wales Theatre, Ed Mirvish Theatre, and the CAA Theatre.
American Idiot is a sung-through rock musical based on the concept album of the same name by rock band Green Day. After a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009, the show moved to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Previews began on March 24, 2010, and the musical officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show closed on April 24, 2011, after 422 performances. While Green Day did not appear in the production, vocalist/guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong performed the role of "St. Jimmy" occasionally throughout the run.
Killian Donnelly is an Irish tenor singer and stage actor. He has appeared in musicals such as Les Misérables, The Phantom of the Opera, and Kinky Boots.
Kinky Boots is a musical with music and lyrics by Cyndi Lauper and book by Harvey Fierstein.
The 67th Annual Tony Awards were held June 9, 2013, to recognize achievement in Broadway productions during the 2012–13 season. The ceremony returned to Radio City Music Hall in New York City, after two years at Beacon Theatre, and was broadcast live on CBS television. Neil Patrick Harris hosted for the third consecutive year, his fourth time as host. Awards in four of the eight acting categories, were given to African-American performers. Furthermore, it is the second time in Tony history that both directing prizes went to women. Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor had previously won in 1998. Kinky Boots had a season best 13 nominations and 6 awards. Cyndi Lauper, composer of the score for Kinky Boots, is the first solo female winner for Best Original Score.
Kinky Boots is a Broadway original cast album for the homonym musical Kinky Boots. It was released on May 28, 2013, less than two months after the show opened on Broadway. It was produced by Cyndi Lauper, who wrote the songs, Stephen Oremus, the orchestrator and conductor, and William Wittman. On release it premiered at number one on the Billboard Cast Albums Chart and number fifty-one on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the highest charting Broadway cast recording since The Book of Mormon's album was released two years earlier. Vocalists on the album include Stark Sands, Billy Porter and Annaleigh Ashford,.
Celina Consuela Gabriella Carvajal, known professionally as Lena Hall, is an American actress and singer. She originated the role of Nicola in the Broadway musical Kinky Boots and won the Tony Award for her performance as Yitzhak in the 2014 revival of Hedwig and the Angry Inch, which also earned her a Grammy nomination for the musical's official album. She made history by becoming the first person to play both Hedwig and Yitzhak in the same production during the national tour of the musical in 2016. Her other Broadway credits include Cats, 42nd Street, Dracula, the Musical and Tarzan, the Musical. Hall has also starred in Off-Broadway productions such as Radiant Baby, Bedbugs!!!, Rooms: A Rock Romance, The Toxic Avenger, Prometheus Bound, Chix6, Little Shop of Horrors, and the 2017 original play How to Transcend a Happy Marriage.
Taylor Elizabeth Louderman is an American actress, singer, and dancer. She is best known for originating the role of Regina George in the Broadway musical Mean Girls, for which she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical in 2018.
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