Oklahomans Paul Sparks, Dylan Brodie to be named Icons at OKC film fest
Two of Oklahoma’s rising cinematic stars — one working in front of the camera and the other making his name behind it — will be honored as Oklahoma Film Icons at Oklahoma City’s 2024 deadCenter Film Festival.
Paul Sparks, a Lawton native and stage and screen actor known for his roles in the acclaimed television series “Boardwalk Empire” and “House of Cards,” and Dylan Brodie, a Ramona native known for his behind-thescenes work on the celebrated madein-Oklahoma projects “Minari,” “Reservation Dogs” and “Fancy Dance,” have been selected as this year’s Oklahoma Film Icons.
“There is a lot to be excited about this year, including our amazing Icons, Dylan Brodie and Paul Sparks, who will both be at the festival with dynamic film projects,” said deadCenter Film Executive Director Cacky Poarch in an email.
The 24th Annual deadCenter Film Festival is set for June 6-9 in downtown OKC, with screenings at Harkins Bricktown 16, Oklahoma City Museum of Art, Rodeo Cinema Film Row, Scissortail Park and the new dC Hub at the Fordson Hotel (formerly 21c Museum Hotel). Passes are on sale for $200 at deadcenterfilm.org.
Brodie and Sparks to be added to the Oscar-qualifying festival’s “hall of fame,” joining the likes of fellow Oklahomans and deadCenter alumni like Academy Award winner Gray Frederickson, Oscar-nominated actress Alfre Woodard, Emmy-nominated actor James Marsden, respected actor, filmmaker and writer Tim Blake Nelson, Peabody Award-winning “Reservation Dogs” cocreator Sterlin Harjo, Senior Director of Cherokee Film Jennifer Loren and “Fancy Dance” writer-director Erica Tremblay.
Who is 2024 deadCenter Oklahoma Film Icon Paul Sparks?
Arguably best known for his roles in “Boardwalk Empire” and “House of Cards,” Sparks also is known for his acting the feature films “The Lovebirds,” “The Greatest Showman” and “Midnight Special.”
The Oklahoma native’s series credits also include “Joe Pickett” and “Waco” for Paramount+, Stephen Kings’ “Castlerock” for Hulu, “The Night Of ” for HBO and “The Girlfriend Experience” and “Sweetbitter” for Starz.
Based in New York, Sparks next will be seen in Jeff Nichols’ anticipated period film, “The Bikeriders,” opposite Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Jodie Comer and Michael Shannon, for 21st Century Fox; his close friend Shannon’s directorial debut, the school shooting drama “Eric Larue,” co-starring Judy Greer, Alexander Skarsgard and fellow Oklahoman Tracy Letts; and the survival thriller “Lost on a Mountain in Maine,” based on Donn Fendler’s best-selling memoir of the same name.
Plus, Sparks is currently shooting Season 3 of the Apple TV+ series “Physical” opposite Rose Byrne.
Also a renowned theater actor, Sparks’ work on stage has earned him five Drama Desk Awards nominations in collaboration with some of theater’s brightest playwrights, including Adam Rapp, Craig Wright and Stephen Belber.
“I am deeply honored to receive this recognition from my home state. Oklahoma has always been a source of inspiration for me. Though I’ve lived in New York City for many years, my Oklahoma-ness is incurable,” Sparks said in a statement. “I think there are qualities that all of us share: friendliness, resilience, earnestness, a wry sense of humor; these traits are part of our DNA.”
To honor the actor, deadCenter will screen the 2021 prairie Gothic feature film “Hands That Bind,” co-starring Bruce Dern, on June 8.
“As I survey the past recipients of this award, I am grateful to the deadCenter Film Festival for bringing attention to these unique voices and nurturing new ones. I am very proud to be a part of its legacy,” Sparks said.
Who is 2024 deadCenter Oklahoma Film Icon Dylan Brodie?
Hailing from Ramona, a small town of about 500 people north of Tulsa, Brodie began editing films in 2008, making his way from local to national film festivals, leading to work on Food Network productions and feature films for Magnet Releasing and Blumhouse Productions.
He later worked as unit production manager and associate producer on Harjo’s 2015 feature film “Mekko” and produced the series “Flipping The Heartland” for HGTV.
He has worked on movies and TV shows of all sizes, including the Starz series “American Gods” as well as the feature films “The Mule,” “Stillwater,” “Borat Subsequent Moviefilm” and “Killers of the Flower Moon.”
Brodie has been the unit production manager on commercials for companies including Nike, 2K Sports, Dish Network and Warstic baseball bats featuring Jack White.
He continues to produce and production manage diverse projects, recently working as the unit production manager for the Oscar-winning movie “Minari” and the 2023 dead Center Film Festival Best Narrative Feature and Best Indigenous Feature “Fancy Dance” and serving as associate producer on the
groundbreak FX on Hulu streaming series “Reservation Dogs,” which ended its acclaimed three-season run last year.
Brodie is the producer of two short films that will be shown at this year’s deadCenter Film Festival: “Vivian” by Cheyenne Scarborough, centers on the precarity of the working-class female experience as the title character tries to make $300 in one day to avoid eviction, and (Meet Me at the Creek)” by director Loren Waters, about interconnectedness and Cherokee values as seen through the lifelong fight of Waterkeeper Warrior Rebecca Jim, who leads the effort to restore Tar Creek near Miami, Oklahoma, which has been designated as irreversibly damaged by U.S. government officials.