David Anders

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David Anders (born David Anders Holt on March 11, 1981) is an American television and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Julian Sark on the Alias television series.

David was born in Grants Pass, Oregon, to parents Dr. Tony and Jori Holt. He has two brothers, Jason and Arik, and a sister, Maili. The youngest of four children (one biological brother, an adopted brother, and an adopted sister), he was an energetic youth active in many sports, including basketball and tennis.

Anders started acting in local theatre productions like Jesus Christ Superstar and My Fair Lady. After moving to Los Angeles, he soon landed the role of spy Julian Sark ("Mr. Sark") on the television series Alias (2001-2006). He recently made his New York stage debut playing the lead role in the 2005 Fringe Festival production of the original musical, Beautiful.

1 Biography
2 Facts
3 Popular role
4 Filmography
5 Television
6 Video game
7 Broadway
8 Off-broadway
9 External links

[edit] Biography

David began acting as a young boy in school plays in his native southern Oregon, but athletics occupied him until he was a senior in high school. At 17, he played Philip the Apostle in a regional theater production of Jesus Christ Superstar. The following year Anders won the part of George in his high school's production of Our Town. Directly following that, he went on to portray Freddy Eynsford-Hill in a production of My Fair Lady.

Following the closing of My Fair Lady in August of 1999, David faced some big decisions regarding his life and career. He had been accepted at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Pasadena, California, but decided to make the huge leap of immersing himself in the business immediately. One week and 800 miles later, he landed in Los Angeles. He took the stage name of David Anders because there is already an actor named David Holt. He made the decision to go by his middle name, Anders.

On stage, Anders played the lead role in the world premiere of Rockne: The Musical. He also appeared in The Diary of Anne Frank, which received an award for Best Ensemble performance at the Backstage West Garland Awards.

Although there is no such thing as an "overnight success," David landed the role of Alias' Julian Sark after just two film and television credits - the independent film The Surge and an appearance on the Olsen twins television series So Little Time. The role he received was his breakthrough role in J.J. Abrams' Alias, as an assassin with no loyalty, Mr. Sark. It was first a guest starring which eventually became a regular.

The Surge, often called a cult classic, is about four outcast teenagers that acquire mystical powers. Each become "god" like and try to run their school. However, along with the powers come deadly consequences. In this movie Anders played Booji, a school bully. He doesn't have much screen time but still makes life hard for the main characters.

Along with The Surge, Anders also appeared in Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's comedy So Little Time. For this role he played an ordinary High School Senior. In this episode ("Rules of Engagement) both twins sit with him at lunch and ask him about college. In the end he scares both of them away. While this role wasn't big, fans were excited to see him and look back on how he has changed.

To make ends meet before finding success on Alias, Anders worked at The Gap and taught tennis. In December 2001 he appeared in The Source magazine in an ad for the rapper Canibus, in which Anders doubles as Eminem. David was also in many various plays and guest starring roles. He had a part in Charmed and CSI. David is currently working on the independent films Peacock and Left of Darkness. He could also be seen at an Off-Broadway rock musical, Beautiful.

Beautiful, which was shown during the The New York International Fringe Festival, is where David was cast to be a lead, along with Rodney Hicks (an original cast member of the hit Broadway musical Rent) in production. Beautiful is a rock opera about a painter, Sebastian Dunne, who's "art and life become one as his past steps off the canvas. Dark and edgy, Beautiful follows a man held captive by his search for beauty." This was written by Michael Arquilla and Stephen Barnett, and directed by Al Sgro.

David is also currently working on a horror film, Left in Darkness. The movie stars actress Monica Keena (Freddy vs. Jason, TV's Undeclared and Entourage) in the lead role. He will be playing the role of Donavan, a guardian and protector of Kenna's character Celia. The movie is set to be released in theaters in 2006.

Anders still enjoys all athletics and is proficient in most. He loves working with kids and teaches tennis in Los Angeles in the summer. When not in his instructional mode on the tennis court, he likes to play as much golf as he possibly can - recently playing in two Celebrity Pro-Am events at The Riviera and Malibu Country Clubs.

As of 2006 David is now a part of Greg Grunberg's band, Battle of the Network Stars. In it he will be the main vocals along side Boston Legal's Bonnie Sommerville. Other than Grunberg, House's Hugh Laurie (keyboards) and Desperate Housewives' James Denton (guitar) will be a part of the project. The bands major goal is to raise money for major charities. Though don't expect to see these guys playing at the local dive. According to Grunberg they "charge an incredible amount of money to play corporate events", but if it's all going to charity, then it's worth every dime."

David Anders in Circadian Rhythm.

[edit] Facts

Full Name: David Anders Holt
Birthdate: March 11, 1981
Astrological Sign: Pisces
Birthplace: Grants Pass, Oregon
Raised in: Grants Pass, Oregon
Education: Graduated from Grants Pass High School
Height: 6' 00" (1.80 m)
Parents: Tony and Jeri, Father and Mother
Siblings: Jason, Arik and Maili
Breakout Performance: Alias

[edit] Popular role

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

David Anders is best known for his role on Alias. The role he received was a breakthrough change on JJ Abram's hit series. His character was an assassin with no loyalty, the deliciously evil Mr. Julian Sark. It was first a guest starring which eventually became a regular. Though not much is known about Sark, he easily became a favorite among fans. Today many eagerly wait for his return.

While Sark has a huge fan basis, many don't realize that David isn't British. His character has such a strong and convincing accent that he even said people go up to him and wait for the accent, and presume to ask, "Where are you from?". He's even gone as far as joking that he has built up a fan base in Australia and England, because of his accurate accent.

There is much that is not known about Sark. He spent most of his youth in England although it is believed that he was born in Galway, Ireland. He is apparently very wealthy as a result of an inheritance from his father, Andrian Lazarey, a descendant of the Romanovs. He was co-leader of the North American branch of The Covenant; although he routinely changes his alliances, having previously worked underneath Irina Derevko, then known as "the Man". Sark was involved in an affair with the NSC turncoat, Lauren Reed, who was the wife of Michael Vaughn, and later claimed to have been in love with her.

Sark is the dashing young bad guy in Alias. His smarmy attitude often reflects his ability to foil plans for his capture; however, he has been imprisoned by the CIA twice so far. He is generally the right-hand man to others, rarely taking the role of leader for himself. Only Sark seems to know to whom his true allegiance is owed.

As of the start of Season 4, Sark was once again in the custody of the CIA. Midway through the season, after spending a year in a maximum security prison, Sark was released into the custody of Sydney Bristow and Vaughn in order to help track down terrorist Anna Espinosa. Before doing so, Sark demanded to see proof that Lauren was in fact dead. This was provided. During the mission, Espinosa helped Sark escape Sydney and Vaughn's custody, and the two briefly collaborated in the selling of a chemical bomb before Sark abandoned Anna to Sydney's clutches and disappeared.

The fifth season episode "Bob," marks Sark's return to the series. In this episode he and Rachel Gibson have a tryst while waiting for a transmission that neither knows the other intends to intercept. By this point, Sark is said to be working freelance, on this occasion working on behalf of Prophet Five to obtain a weapon of mass destruction, although Sark has no personal allegiance to the organization. After Gibson realizes his identity and reports this to APO, Sark is hired by the agency to help recover the weapon, though he ultimately refuses payment for this after Gibson saves his life. Prior to this, in the episode "I See Dead People" Sloane sends Sark a secret message, though the contents of that message have yet to be divulged.

Sark teams with Sloane and Kelly Peyton to obtain The Horizon, the final Rambaldi artifact Sloane needs to complete his endgame, from Irina in exchange for two missiles. After planting a bomb to destroy APO headquarters (killing Thomas Grace), Sark accompanies Sloane to Mongolia to excavate the tomb of Milo Rambaldi and becomes involved in a stand-off involving Vaughn, Jack Bristow and another of Sloane's operatives. In a gun battle in Rambaldi's tomb, Sark retrieves the Horizon and returns it to Irina in Hong Kong. On Irina's orders, Sark prepares to launch the missiles at Washington, D.C. and London but is captured and shot by Vaughn. He gives Vaughn the codes to abort the launch and Vaughn apparently allows the wounded Sark to depart.

Several years later, Marcus Dixon approaches a semi-retired Sydney and Vaughn and asks for their help with a field assignment. It's revealed that Sark has continued his unbroken track record of survival and is behind the incident Dixon is seeking help with. Sydney jokingly chides Vaughn for allowing Sark to get away years earlier.