Stark Sands
Two-time Tony Award® Nominated and Grammy Award Winning actor, Stark Sands, joins us On The Couch this week. Swept Away, his current venture, is officially setting sail on Tuesday at the Longacre after a very successful run of previews.
Some of our favorite previous credits include Stephen Spielberg’s The Post, Clint Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers and Broadway’s & Juliet, To Kill a Mockingbird, and American Idiot.
Read our full interview below, where his current obsession is completely heartwarming, and we hear a number of embarrassing stories including a full, 2-minute corpse in To Kill A Mockingbird.
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What do you consider to be your best asset?
Maybe the ability to approach both sides of an issue? I have a large extended family and we don’t always agree on everything — it forces us to look at things from different angles, and to appreciate a different life experience than our own. I think having that diversity of thought is really important, especially these days.
What was your proudest moment?
The day I married my wife.
What is your favorite drink?
A Large Dirty Robin (Hot) from Bird & Branch on 45th & 9th.
What is your favorite food?
Omakase
What is your favorite condiment?
Chipotle Sauce
What is your current obsession?
John Gallagher Jr’s performance in Swept Away. I’ve got the best seat in the house 8 times a week.
If you could give up one of your vices, what would it be?
I think the only vice I have left is coffee, so probably that.
What is the one professional accomplishment you long for most?
I’ve been so incredibly lucky to actually earn a living doing the thing I love to do, so as far as acting goes, I’m very happy with how things are. I do admittedly have an itch to get into producing and have begun to take some early steps in that direction.
What is the one thing you waste too much money on?
Books? But I don’t think it’s a waste really – you can never have too many books.
What is the one activity you waste too much time doing?
Driving to The Home Depot to end up only buying one thing.
What do you consider to be the single greatest threat to your health?
The shipwreck scene in Swept Away.
What’s the single best trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
They taught me how to work hard to achieve what I want.
What’s the single worst trait you inherited or learned from your parents?
I can probably be a bit of a control freak. (Thanks Mom!)
What in the world most thrills you?
Seeing my children laugh.
What current trend in popular culture most irritates you?
Social Media. There is no question that the net negatives outweigh the net positives. It is a distraction from real life and real connection. I believe it’s the source of so many of the ills in modern life.
What was the most embarrassing moment you’ve ever experienced on the job?
I’m embarrassed to say I can’t think of one! But maybe I’m masking my embarrassment with amusement — I can think with great fondness of the many times I have forgotten lyrics onstage and just scatted nonsense for a whole verse of a song. Or one time I got lost in the Boy Band choreography in & Juliet and just had to solo freestyle while my 4 bandmates correctly executed the moves all around me. Oh now I just thought of maybe the best one: in To Kill A Mockingbird I played a very serious prosecutor and in the first scene of the play, I call a witness named “Sheriff Heck Tate” to the stand. At a 10am student matinee my brain broke and in perfect diction I loudly asked for “Shrek Tate” instead… I looked at Jeff Daniels, playing Atticus Finch, and he just cocked his head, scrunched his eyebrows and grinned in bemusement and I was gone. I could not stop laughing through the full 2-minute interrogation. And I had all the lines so there was no escape! I had tears running down my face I was laughing so hard. But I don’t feel embarrassed about it – I cherish it. It may be one of my favorite moments I’ve ever had onstage.
What is your favorite place in the world?
Our bed on a Saturday morning when our kids run into the room and jump in with us.
What is the most important trait you seek in a romantic partner?
Empathy — and my wife has it in spades.
Do you prefer the company of dogs or cats?
Both, but my household currently houses two cats.
What would have to happen to make today the best day of your life?
Wow, what a question. Well, I guess I should go big — My dad passed away in 2003, and I’ve had a recurring dream from time to time where it turns out he didn’t actually die, that it was all a misunderstanding. That he was just really sick and had to go away, but he recovered and is healthy and back in our lives. It would be pretty great to wake up from that dream and for it to be true.
What is your personal motto?
Show Up. Work Hard. Be Kind.