Stark Sands (born 1978or1979) 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.[7]
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 previously played a U.S. Marine, Walter Gust, in Flags of Our Fathers.
Sands played the role of Tunny in the Broadway production of American Idiot, again playing a member of the military.[9] He left the production on March 13, 2011; David Larsen took over the role.[10]
Sands was in the 2010 HBO pilot The Miraculous Year, which was not picked up by HBO.[11] He was part of the main cast of the CBS television series Rookies.[12] 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.[14] 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.[15]
In 2014, Sands was cast in the NBC pilot Salvation.[16] This was not picked up to series. Sands was cast in FOX's pilot, Minority Report, as Dash, a precog.[17] The series premiered on September 21, 2015.[18]
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.[20] He also appeared in Steven Spielberg's 2017 drama film The Post.[21]
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]
Sands reprised his role in Swept Away when it had a run at Arena Stage in Washington D.C. Previews began on November 25, 2023. Opening night was on December 6, 2023, and it played through January 14, 2024.[28] 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.[29]
Personal life
On July 9, 2011, Sands married British journalist Gemma Clarke at Bovey Castle, England.[30] They met while Sands was vacationing in London.[31] They have a son born in 2015 and a daughter born in 2018.[32]
Harvey Forbes Fierstein is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter, known for his distinctive gravelly voice. He gained notoriety for his theater work in Torch Song Trilogy, winning both the Tony Award for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play. He went on to win the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for La Cage aux Folles, then Best Actor in a Musical for playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, a role he reprised for the Hairspray Live! television special.
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.
Aaron John Walpole is a Canadian actor and singer, who placed third on the third season of Canadian Idol. He is best known for playing the role of Lonnie in the 2010 Toronto run of Rock of Ages and Annas in the 2012 Broadway run of Jesus Christ Superstar. He appeared in the 2014 Broadway revival of Les Misérables, as a part of the ensemble.
Kinky Boots is a 2005 British comedy-drama film directed by Julian Jarrold and written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth. Nominated for Best Film 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.
Eric Anderson is an American actor. 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.
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, Edmund in the 2016 Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey Into Night, and Mate in the 2024 Broadway production of Swept Away. 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. He is 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. He also played Shakespeare on Broadway and in the west end of London.
William Ellis Porter II is an American actor and singer. Porter gained notice performing on Broadway before starting a solo career as a singer and actor. Porter won the 2013 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role as Lola in Kinky Boots. He credits the part for "cracking open" his feminine side to confront toxic masculinity. For the role, Porter also won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical and Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical.
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.
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.
Amy Florence Lennox is a Scottish actress. She is known for her musical theatre work, earning a Laurence Olivier Award nomination and appearing in the likes of Kinky Boots and Cabaret. She was also in the main cast of the medical drama Holby City for three series playing Chloe Godard.
& Juliet is a 2019 coming-of-age jukebox musical featuring the music of Swedish pop songwriter Max Martin, with a book by David West Read. The story focuses on a "what if" scenario, where Juliet decided not to kill herself at the end of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.
David Hunter is a British actor and singer best known for his work in musical theatre. He is originally from Warrington. Hunter played Dr Pomatter in the Tony Award winning musical Waitress at The Adelphi Theatre, West End from 2019 to 2020. He trained at The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts (LIPA).
Swept Away is a jukebox musical featuring the music of The Avett Brothers, primarily from the album Mignonette. The show's book is by John Logan. It premiered at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2022 before moving to Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., where it ran from November 25 to January 14, 2024. It began previews on Broadway at the Longacre Theatre on October 29, 2024, opening on November 19, 2024. It announced a closing date of December 15, 2024. Shortly after announcing its closure, a two week extension was added due to popular demand, setting the new closing date for December 29, 2024.
Corey Mach is an American stage actor and producer. He is known for his role as "Tyler" in the Original Broadway Revival Cast of Merrily We Roll Along, "Harry" in Kinky Boots on Broadway, and "William Shakespeare" in the First National Broadway Tour of & Juliet. He is also known for Godspell and Hands on a Hardbody on Broadway as well as the National Tours of Wicked, Rent, and Flashdance. He also appeared in the World Premieres of Waitress, Mystic Pizza, From Here to Eternity and Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing, written and directed by James Lapine. He has been seen on TV in supporting roles in "Elsbeth", "Uncoupled", "The Blacklist" and "FBI". He is also the producer and creator of the concert series Broadway Sings.
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