Paul Sparks

Paul Sparks (born October 16, 1971) is an American actor. He is known for his role as Mickey Doyle in the HBO period drama series Boardwalk Empire and for his Primetime Emmy Award-nominated role as Thomas Yates in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. He has also appeared in the films Deception (2008), Afterschool (2008), The Missing Person (2008), Mud (2012), Parkland (2013), and Stealing Cars (2015).

Sparks was born and raised in Lawton, Oklahoma, to Mike Sparks, a high school football coach, and an elementary school teacher mother. He attended Marlow High School, where his father coached, graduating in 1990. Sparks earned a scholarship to Oklahoma State University to study chemistry, but later transferred to New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in drama in 1995.

In 2010, Sparks began portraying the regular role of Mickey Doyle on HBO's drama series Boardwalk Empire, which was created by Terence Winter and executive produced by Martin Scorsese and Mark Wahlberg. The series ended in 2014, after completing five seasons.

Sparks is married to actress Annie Parisse, after meeting in 2005. Their first child, a son named Emmett, was born in October 2009. The couple are also parents to a daughter, whose name and birth date have not been disclosed. Sparks suffers from diabetes mellitus type 1 and works with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He is good friends with fellow actor Michael Shannon; the two have worked together on a number of projects including The Missing Person, Mud, Boardwalk Empire, and Midnight Special.

Film

Television