- 10 hours ago
The actor portrays Steve Schneider on Paramount Network's 'Waco'
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00:00Hey everyone, thank you for tuning in to another episode of InStudio. Today we have a special guest, Paul Sparks.
00:10Hi. How are you today? Good. Thanks for coming in. Yeah.
00:13Did you have a nice long weekend? Were you able to enjoy it at all?
00:17It was okay. I was in New York. It was really, really cold.
00:24And then I'm rehearsing a play and so I was doing that and then I flew out here for, you know, TCAs.
00:33For Waco. For Waco. To talk all things Waco.
00:36Now you're here to talk about Waco, but you've been in quite a lot recently.
00:39House of Cards, The Crown, The Greatest Showman, and the upcoming Sweetbitter.
00:44Right. Out of all those roles, I guess, which has stood out to you the most and why?
00:49Out of like your recent roles.
00:52Huh. Which stood out to me? I don't know. I mean, it's hard to, it's sort of hard to delineate.
01:00I mean, I think, I think actually Waco has been a really interesting one. It's probably the one I had the most to do in.
01:05Yeah. It was, it was, it caught, I had to relocate to, you know, Santa Fe for, for a few months.
01:15And so it was just the kind of the most profound impact on my life was probably working on it.
01:21But, you know, they've all, they've, they've all taken a little, taken a little piece of me.
01:28That's great. Yeah.
01:29Yeah.
01:30No, before we just started, I was telling you, I didn't know too much about David Koresh and the story of Waco.
01:36Right.
01:37Because you were very small.
01:38Yeah. I guess I was pretty small. What, how much did you know about it before signing on?
01:42And did you learn anything else?
01:44Sure. Well, I was from, I'm from Oklahoma.
01:47Yeah. And so, which, you know, is we're right down the block from, from Waco. And so I was very aware of kind of the goings on, but I feel like the, the, the narrative that was sort of put out there by the, the PR machine, you know, like what sold newspapers kind of painted a picture of David Koresh, this complete lunatic and these kinds of sexual deviant weirdos, you know, all in this house that, and of course,
02:17you know, when, uh, you take a closer look, uh, as we did the, we found that, you know, there, they were really just, it was a bunch of people, you know, who were complicated and nuanced and maybe had a little bit of some ideas that were a little bit outside the norm, uh, in terms of their religiosity and whatnot, but they, you know, they were a community.
02:39Yeah. And, uh, but if you combine a sort of isolated community, some rumors about, uh, maybe some cultish type things going on. And then you combine, you know, a lot of weapons, which they had because they bought, that's how they supported, uh, themselves was buying and selling, uh, weapons at gun shows.
03:03It just, it turned into a real mess that, that situation. So it was good, but we were, we were lucky. I took it because there was, they're based on two different books and it was based on a book by David Thibodeau, who was one of the survivors.
03:18And it was also based on Gary Nesner's book, who was, uh, the head negotiator for the FBI. And these guys, I don't know that they necessarily totally agree on like what went down. However, they, they were both interested in discussing the complexity and the nuance of like humanity on both sides.
03:36Both sides.
03:36Um, and, uh, the Dowdle brothers who wrote the script were also really interested in that. It's funny. I would like to know what happened on the other side with Mike Shannon and those guys that were doing the FBI guys. Cause I was in the Davidian side and we were this little community and we kind of shot all our stuff together and then they shot all their stuff together. Um, so, but I, I, it was a, it was a, it was a really, uh, interesting project.
04:02Going off of what you, um, just talked about the series, the tone of the series. It doesn't set the Davidians up as, I guess, sympathetic characters per se, but it doesn't paint them in the picture that kind of people going into it may have thought of them as. Can you kind of talk about setting up that tone and how audiences get to kind of see it and learn about them through this investigation and through this story?
04:29Well, I think that the thing that's been lost in the story, uh, and considering it's probably one of the largest tragedies that's happened, you know, certainly with our government involved in actually, you know, uh, being a part of like so many deaths on American soil.
04:47It's like a, it's such a big part of our history that kind of just got glossed over, I think. And, um, there were some really bad decisions that were made.
04:58It seems like in terms of the ATF and also the FBI. And then there were some bad decisions that were made by David Koresh and his people, but, you know, they were trying to figure out a way to like make this work.
05:11And they were just a community, you know, they were, they were a community that had, you know, sort of rules and ideas about the way things ought to be.
05:21And, uh, no one kind of bothered to understand what it was that they were trying to do.
05:27And I think that, you know, that miscommunication sort of led to this.
05:30So hopefully you'll see that you'll see them trying to work that out between each other and how hard it was.
05:35Now, in terms of, uh, your character, Stephen, Stephen Schneider's relationship with David Koresh, um,
05:42Worry Culkin's character points out that you guys are best friends and your reaction to that is on some days.
05:49Can you kind of talk about that dynamic and...
05:51Right. Well, David and Steve Schneider were, were, they, they met, um, Steve Schneider was a theologian.
05:57He was in Hawaii at the time and he, uh, was sort of introduced to David through, um, some audio tapes that he heard David talking about his stuff.
06:06And he was a Seventh-day Adventist, which is a sort of revelations, uh, heavy, sort of a second coming heavy, uh, religion.
06:16And he'd never heard anything quite like David.
06:19And they started out with a kind of an antagonistic relationship where he was really questioning David.
06:25But, uh, David was a really fascinating, you know, he'd memorized the Bible.
06:29He, he, he knew scripture in a way and somehow he spoke to Steve and they became really, uh, good friends.
06:35And I think once they started, uh, together, it really was like this sort of mission that they were both on.
06:43And, uh, but, you know, David was also impulsive and, and, and kind of cruel and manipulative.
06:49And he had a way that was very testing and, uh, Steve being the sort of subordinate person that he was, uh, I think it was very love-hate with him.
07:01You know, he left a lot, you know, he would leave and come back and he would get sent away and come back.
07:06But he was always sort of recruiting people.
07:08Um, and I think that the, the evidence, it looks like, you know, that these guys loved each other, but it was, you know, it was, it was really complicated.
07:19And plus he, you know, he had a child with Steve Schneider's wife.
07:24Going off the head.
07:25Um, that was pretty heartbreaking.
07:27And I feel like Schneider is kind of a way in to, to show the lives of these characters and these, these real emotions and what they were facing.
07:37Um, I guess, what was your react?
07:41Did you know as much about Schneider as you did about David Kress?
07:44No, no.
07:45In fact, I didn't even know that there was Steve Schneider.
07:47You know, I'd never heard, I'd never heard his name before.
07:50Uh, but we were really lucky.
07:51You know, we had David Thibodeau on set who knew Steve, obviously.
07:55Um, and Gary Nesner was on set who negotiated a lot with him.
08:00And I got in touch with, uh, uh, his sister, uh, Sue, who's very gracious and talked to me about Steve and the kind of person that he was.
08:08And I just sort of picked at things and read some books.
08:12Um, there's a book by Mark Brough, which was another guy.
08:15He was kind of the guy that introduced them, um, that had some information.
08:19And, uh, I just sort of compiled what I talked to even Dick DeGarren, who was the lawyer, um, for those guys.
08:27And I, you know, I found out a lot about him in that way that what a sort of congenial, um, kind of fiery, um, funny, happy.
08:38A lucky guy that he was, yeah.
08:41Um, now one thing I love about this show is it is based on true events.
08:46And I love shows like this.
08:48For some viewers, I mean, hopefully most people know about these events, but spoiler alert if not.
08:54Um, the FBI alleged that Schneider was the one to kill David Koresh.
08:59Yeah, there's, there's a lot of, they don't know exactly what happened.
09:03You know, they sort of had to kind of mop through the, the, uh, the ashes after it was over.
09:08And, uh, they found, uh, they found bullet wounds in both David and in Steve Schneider.
09:14And, um, there's some conjecture that, that perhaps, uh, that's what happened.
09:19Um, but there's no way they, it's hard to know, you know, it's not like anybody was still around that was in there.
09:27So, I mean, this is a tough question, but what do you think, I guess?
09:31Well, we, we sort of, we made a decision in the, in the show.
09:37And so, I won't, I won't spoil it with what I think.
09:39Because I, because I do think that, but, but, uh, it's, it's, uh.
09:44Um, I was, I was surprised, I was surprised by the time we, we worked pretty much in order, uh, when we were filming it.
09:53And, um, I was surprised, like, sort of why, the whys and the wherefores of what ended up happening.
10:00I thought were, were surprising.
10:02Yeah.
10:02Yeah.
10:03With the subject matter being a pretty heavy, were you guys able to keep it light on set at all?
10:07Any fun moments that set up for you?
10:09Yeah, I mean, it was, it was.
10:10You guys were all together in Texas?
10:11Yeah.
10:12Right.
10:12Uh, or, we were actually in Santa Fe, um, but, uh, yeah, it was, I mean, I think a little bit we looked to, uh, David Thibodeau to sort of gain some sort of permission to, to make light at times of things.
10:26But, you know, we were a real community, even our, it was the same background every day.
10:30Everybody knew each other.
10:32We, um, you know, we became a little family.
10:35And so there was bound to be humor and, uh, you know, Terry Kitsch is awesome and hilarious and Canadian and, um, he's just, he's so funny.
10:45And, uh, we were all able to kind of come out of, come out of the darkness of it at times and, and have a laugh.
10:53So it was a, it was a love fest.
10:55Yeah.
10:55Working on it.
10:56Now, uh, you were part of, uh, The Night Of, which was a limited series.
10:59And this is kind of dubbed as a six part limited series.
11:02Do you, as an actor, do you like doing limited series or?
11:05I do.
11:06I, you know, I think this, I think this sort of new way of, of telling stories a little bit more long form.
11:12It's, it's very, uh, actor satisfying.
11:15I think sometimes in movies.
11:16It's audience satisfying.
11:17Well, yeah.
11:18Well, I think it is.
11:19I, you know, I think sometimes in movies, uh, though, I totally understand the art of trying to tell a story in a couple of hours.
11:26There, there's something more, uh, delicious about working on something for six hours or, or 10.
11:32And, you know, that, uh, you can really suss out and sort of take your time and, um, do a lot more character development and things like that.
11:42So for me, it's a, it's a much better process, but, you know, I kind of take jobs when I can get them.
11:49That's good.
11:49Um, now you're also recently the author of a bombshell book called Fire and Fury.
11:56Yeah, right.
11:57Your character in House of Cards was writing a book, um, about the White House.
12:02What was your reaction to the book that actually came out about the Trump White House recently?
12:06Well, I haven't read it, so I don't, you know, I don't, I don't really know.
12:10I just, we've heard the, the bits and pieces from the world when, um, uh, I did see a, I saw a little bit of the Saturday Night Live sketch.
12:19That was great.
12:19This weekend.
12:20But, uh, I, I mean, did you relate the two at all or am I just being crazy?
12:27No, I see, I see, I see the relation, you know, there's like a person who's involved in the inside and who had, and who had access and, and knew some things.
12:38And, uh, I mean, it's hard to imagine that, uh, all the things that I've heard are true, but then again, maybe they are true.
12:47You know, I, I don't know.
12:50To me, to me, that side of like what is happening in our political discourse is ultimately, uh, I know it's,
12:57salacious and it's really fun to talk about in the media and they, and they spend, you know, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, like every channel from Fox to MSNBC talking about it.
13:08But, um, ultimately, you know, my hope is that at some point it comes back to like being sort of boring policy that we just kind of talk about policy because I think that that's, you know, uh, ultimately what's, what's the most important.
13:23This other stuff is just theater, you know, definitely.
13:25No, it's, it's really true.
13:26But I guess it's good theater.
13:28So, yes, I, I do, I, I totally get it.
13:30Um, but mine is, I was on a TV show.
13:33Yeah, exactly.
13:34And this is, this is real, our real lives.
13:37Um, now spoiler alert, your character, the way that your character's story ended last season, they won't be in, uh, he won't be in the final season.
13:46At least that we know of.
13:47Unless, unless, unless, unless as, as a, uh, a ghost wandering, still wandering around in the, in the White House.
13:56Well, to haunt the president now, uh, Claire Underwood.
13:59Right, right.
14:00Um, on a more serious note though, uh, given the sexual assault allegations against Kevin Spacey, the show is carrying on without him.
14:07Um, how do you kind of see the show going on without him?
14:10And you worked closely with Robin Wright.
14:12Sure.
14:13Uh, you know, I, I don't know.
14:16It's not like I have, necessarily have a real direct conduit to what's, what's going on there.
14:21I, I, I don't, I mean, I know Melissa Gibson and, uh, Frank, who are the showrunners and, um.
14:28From your theater days, right?
14:29From my theater days.
14:30And I, I'm, I'm certain that they're, you know, figuring out the right way to sort of handle this.
14:37And, uh, they're all in very good hands with Robin.
14:39She's a, she's a pro and she's amazing.
14:42And, um, they're lucky to have, you know, someone there.
14:47I can only imagine how sort of disrupting it's all been.
14:51Um, but this is the necessary, the necessary, uh, part of change.
14:57I think sometimes I think this is, this is how it goes.
15:00And so I'm happy for the crew and I'm happy for the people that sort of haven't had a job for a while.
15:05You know, that they'll be going back to work.
15:07Going back to work.
15:07I just look forward, I look forward to seeing it.
15:09I'm, I'm curious as, as everybody else.
15:11Uh, now another thing a lot of people are talking about is your outgoing role in Sweet Bitter.
15:15Can you kind of talk about that and what drew you to it, I guess?
15:19So, yeah, I read Stephanie Dandler's book, Sweet Bitter, which, uh, she was, uh, a waiter and, and a Union Square Cafe.
15:29Uh, kind of, I think this is sort of, it's sort of a period piece.
15:33It's sort of based around pre-cellphone, like pre, I mean pre-iPhone, like 2006.
15:38Which I think most things should be.
15:40Right, right, right, it's so much more interesting.
15:42So way more.
15:43It's so much more interesting.
15:44So it's, it's sort of a period piece of 2006.
15:47Uh, but, uh, it's kind of about a young girl who, uh, sort of comes of age through the restaurant business.
15:57And it's this kind of fancy restaurant business.
16:00I remember, I, I was going to school at NYU, I mean, it was 10 years earlier, but, you know, just the, the, you know, to me, that particular vibe of the sort of Union Square, like that area in the 20s and, uh, teens up there right in the, uh, like around Fifth Avenue.
16:21To me, that is such a specific, um, thing.
16:27And I feel like Stephanie really wrote to that.
16:29She totally got it.
16:30It was a very, I don't like the word authentic, but it was a really authentic sort of look at that.
16:34I was really interested.
16:35And then when I found out she was on the, uh, writing staff, that she was going to be there, um, I got really interested in, in doing it.
16:43It's a good part.
16:44I play the manager of the thing and he's sort of a peacock and kind of funny.
16:48He's a funny guy, um, who's got, has got some problems and, uh, yeah, Elle Purnell, she's a star, you know, she's, she's, she's, she's amazing.
17:03And, and it's a bunch of young actors, um, that, uh, I'm kind of grandpa on that set, which is, you know, hard for me to take.
17:15I used to be the kid.
17:17You're not grandpa.
17:17Uh, I'm, oh, I'm grandpa on that show.
17:21Um, they don't remember Waco either.
17:24Um, last question.
17:28Your co-star Taylor Kitsch is coming by later today.
17:31Oh, good.
17:31Do you have any fun questions for him or anything you want to know, I guess, from him about his portrayal of Deer Crash?
17:37For sure.
17:38Um, let me find questions.
17:40Uh, I want to know how much weight he lost.
17:46Uh, I want to know how much weight he gained from the time that he got to.
17:52Like, if he, he told me that I think he may have gained a little weight while he was down in Santa Fe.
17:57No.
17:57He wasn't supposed to.
17:58He's supposed to get skin here.
17:59Oh, really?
17:59So I want to know how much weight he gained while he was down there.
18:02Um, I want to know if he likes Canada better than, uh, the United States, uh, even though I know he lives in Texas.
18:12Um, I want to know if you can show him a picture of what I'm wearing because it looks like I, I like coach for the, for the Texas Longhorns.
18:21Which is, it's, it's so sad because I'm from Oklahoma and an Oklahoma Sooners fan.
18:27If this makes him happy.
18:29Okay.
18:30I'll try, I'll try.
18:31So ask him all those questions.
18:32Awesome.
18:33Uh, Waco premieres on the Paramount, Paramount Network, January 24th.
18:38What do you want to say to fans before we go?
18:41Thanks.
18:42Thanks for being fans.
18:44Fans are, fans are good.
18:45Fans are good.
18:45Thanks for watching.
18:46All right.
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