During the summers, Sparks passed his time hanging out at the local movie theater where he would watch films back to back until his mother picked him up at the end of the day. "I saw the first Star Wars movie 215 times, and that's when I lost count," Spark adds. "That doesn't include post-youth viewings."
Sparks eventually found himself in the role as the class clown, often memorizing and quoting comedy albums to make his friends laugh. Once Sparks moved with his family from Kentucky to Chicago, he soon discovered the vibrant comedy scene, which eventually led to his career goal to be a stand-up comedian. He began studying at The Second City when he was only 16 years old. Sixteen days after graduating from high school, Sparks moved to Los Angeles to pursue comedy and acting gigs. He formed his own sketch comedy group called Here Comes the Neighborhood. Sparks began to earn acting parts in such shows as "Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman," "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," "Cheap Theatrix," "Martial Law," and "Frasier." Ultimately, he landed a steady gig as the sarcastic host of E! Television's news show "Talk Soup." In June 2000, Sparks was hired for his first major role in a film, playing Zoltan, the head of a clan of nerds obsessed with outer space, in Dude, Where's My Car? He then switched gears to star as Michael Novotny in the critically-acclaimed Showtime TV drama "Queer as Folk."
Sparks continued to play small roles in other shows such as "C.S.I." and "Las Vegas" as well as a myriad of reality and pop culture shows including "Extreme Dodgeball," "Video Game Vixens," "Celebrity Paranormal Project," and "Celebrity Duets." He also became a regular commentator for VH-1's pop culture series "I Love the 70s," "I Love the '70s Volume II." "I Love the 80s," "I Love the 80s Strikes Back," "I Love the 80s 3-D," "I Love the 90s," "I Love the 90s: Part Deux," "I Love the Holidays," and "I Love Toys." He also could be seen in the films Dr. Dolittle 2, Dickie Roberts: Former Child Star, Lightning Bug, and Spider-Man 2. Hal is also the lead singer and guitarist for a metal band, Zero 1, and regularly tours as a stand-up comedian.
When he's not on tour, however, he says he likes to relax around the house with his girlfriend (who just so happens to have a tattoo of Queen Amidala on her leg) watching the Star Wars films on DVD. He admits to being much more of an original trilogy fan. "I was not a fan of the Special Editions," Sparks admits. "I will not abide by the Special Editions. I wasn't a big fan of when they took the guns out of E.T. either because I think fearing your government is a good habit to have. And kids should learn at an early age that if you harbor an alien in your bedroom closet that the government will charge in with guns. That being said, I didn't need to see a physical Jabba the Hutt moving around in the Special Editions. I know it's hard for a creator to say 'I wish at the time I'd be able to do this' but if it's a movie that's a classic, then you need to put down the knife and step away from the table."
"I suppose I connect to the models version of Star Wars more than the heavy CG of the prequels," Sparks continues. "For me it's like listening to the first Mötley Crüe record and feeling really invigorated by it even though the production on it isn't that great and the snare is a little tinny. It resonates with you in such a strong way. And then four years later when their Dr. Feelgood record came out and it sounded like there were 900 guitars and 20,000 singers and even though it was technically better than the first one but it doesn't move you as much, because so much time is spent making it perfect."
Watching the films as much as Sparks has, most people might think his favorite scene would be an epic battle, or the dire moment when Han Solo is sinking in carbonite. They'd be wrong. "I love the scene where Yoda eats his food stick and for a moment you are wondering what exactly he's eating," Sparks says. "Because of that I thought in the future all we'd eat would be candy bars. And so I'm a firm believer that while Star Trek is probably responsible for cell phones, Star Wars is most certainly responsible for Power Bars."
While Yoda's eating habits may have intrigued him, it's Lando's assistant that wins Sparks' admiration as one of the most underrated characters in the saga. "That bald guy with the digital stuff on his head -- Lobot, I think his name was -- who sets up their escape off of Cloud City is totally overlooked as an important character," Sparks says. "Without him there would be no set up for the next film. Sure Lando was helpful, but he was only covering for his own mistakes. He redeemed himself which brought him back to zero. Lando didn't earn any extra points in my mind."
