Biography
Blessed with the kind of youthful looks which enabled him to land teenage parts well into his twenties, Stark Sands also virtually cornered the market in playing men in uniform during a career which has continually shifted from the Broadway stage to Hollywood to the small screen. Born into a wealthy Dallas family in 1978, Sands graduated with a fine arts degree from the University of Southern California in 2001 and a year later made his on-screen debut as Claire's recurring love interest in Alan Ball's funeral drama "Six Feet Under" (HBO 2001-05). Sands was cast as pot-smoking sexual predator Lance in the camp satire "Die Mommie, Die!" (2003), landed the role of Tim in indie thriller "11:14" (2003) and played Will in the short-lived sitcom "Lost At Home" (ABC 2003). Sands then continued to build up his filmography by taking on the parts of Mandy Moore's date Grant in romantic comedy "Chasing Liberty" (2004), Max Theriot's mean older brother Brad in children's adventure "Catch That Kid" (2004) and Richard Gere's son Evan in "Shall We Dance" (2004). Following a three-episode stint as Sydney's boyfriend in the sitcom "Hope & Faith" (ABC 2003-06), Sands returned to the big screen as Evan Rachel Wood's ex in the black comedy "Pretty Persuasion" (2005) and appeared in Clint Eastwood's World War II epic "Flags Of Our Fathers" (2006) in what would be the first of several military-based roles. After guesting as the future version of Sean's son Conor in "Nip/Tuck" (FX 2003-2010), Sands then played Private Bud Crain in the reimagining of George A. Romero's zombie classic "Day Of The Dead" (2008), a soldier in the US remake of South Korean hit "My Sassy Girl "(2008) and most notably, Lt. Nathaniel Fick in critically-acclaimed Iraq war drama "Generation Kill" (HBO 2008). Sands also continued his affiliation with the armed forces on stage, picking up a Best Featured Actor Tony Award nomination for his performance in the Broadway revival of "Journey's End" and taking on the role of injured war hero Tunny in the Green Day-inspired rock musical "American Idiot." Roles in Kathryn Bigelow's passed-on HBO pilot "The Miraculous Year" and swiftly-cancelled procedural drama "NYC 22" (CBS 2012) then followed before Sands landed arguably his most high-profile film gig as folk-singing soldier Troy Nelson in the Coen Brothers' "Inside Llewyn Davis" (2013) and picked up a second Tony Award nod for his starring role in the Cyndi Lauper-penned musical "Kinky Boots. "
