Paul Sparks (born October 16, 1971, in Lawton, Oklahoma) is an American actor who works across theater, television, and film. He is best known for playing bootlegger Mickey Doyle in HBO's Boardwalk Empire and writer Thomas Yates in Netflix's House of Cards - the latter earning him a Primetime Emmy nomination. A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, he built his reputation on the New York stage before transitioning to screen work.
Paul Sparks was cast in the psychological thriller An Innocent Girl for Netflix, in which Kerry Washington and James Marsden also star.
Sparks signed a contract for the lead role in the absurd crime comedy A Company of Thieves directed by Onur Tukel, which completed filming.
Sparks performed alongside Michael Shannon in a staged reading of Sam Shepard's play True West at the reopening of Cherry Lane Theatre in New York.
The thriller The Better Sister premiered on Amazon Prime Video, in which Sparks plays a supporting role alongside Elizabeth Banks and Jessica Biel.
For the title role in the theatrical play Grangeville at Signature Theatre, Sparks received nominations for the Lucille Lortel and Drama Desk awards.
