SpragueGrayden.net
The Sprague Grayden Page
Sprague Grayden, publicity photo
What is it about Sprague Grayden that makes her so engaging?
Sprague Grayden is a great actress. Sprague Grayden is an American television, film, and theatre actress. The Internet Movie Database lists her birthdate as July 21, 1980. [1] Noting that she is “a staple of the small screen,” the web site AskMen.com stated that “Sprague's quirky personality and off-kilter looks have cemented her status as a thinking-man’s sex symbol“ and that she is “one of the more intriguing performers to come around in quite some time.” [2] Early life, education, and theatre The daughter of two schoolteachers, Grayden was born and raised in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts, and began performing at age five, encouraged by her parents and a family friend who was a casting agent in Boston. [3] She appeared in local commercials and plays, including Israel Horowitz’s Strong Man’s Weak Child at the Gloucester Stage Company.
In her school years, Grayden also was a member of the Rebel Shakespeare Company (a youth group which performed at local venues), reportedly taking lead roles in productions of A Midsummer Night's Dream, As You Like It, and The Tempest. [4] Grayden attended Manchester-Essex Regional High School and participated in the high school's debate team, where she qualified for national competitive events and “brought home many championships.” [5] She later enrolled at Barnard College at Columbia University in New York City, graduating cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies. [6] While in college, Grayden joined the off-Broadway theatre ensemble Drama Dept. and performed the lead role in a public screenplay reading of the play Little Diva. Her other theatrical credits during this period included Fool for Love, Hamlet, Hopscotch: The New York Sex Comedy (as a member of Texas Toast Productions), Ordinary Day, The Vagina Monologues, and Waiting for Lefty.
After graduation, Grayden began "pounding the New York City pavements looking for theatrical work,” but quickly found work on the small screen. [7] Television career Grayden broke into network television in 2002 with a guest appearance on NBC's Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, followed by a supporting role on the short-lived Fox series John Doe playing Doe’s assistant, Karen Kawalski. Although her character was eliminated after fourteen episodes, Grayden considers Doe her "first big break." In 2003, Grayden was cast in the starring role in a series pilot called Sixteen to Life for the now-defunct WB network. The series was not picked up and the pilot never aired, but she was soon offered a role in the HBO series Six Feet Under playing Anita Miller, a friend of one of the primary characters. Grayden also had a recurring role in the CBS series Joan of Arcadia in 2004-05 as Joan’s friend Judith Montgomery, as well as guest appearances on NBC’s Crossing Jordan and the WB’s One Tree Hill. In 2005, she was cast as war wife Terry Ryder in the FX drama Over There, which lasted one season, and in 2006 landed a guest part on the CBS series CSI: NY. In the fall of 2006, Grayden took on the role of schoolteacher Heather Lisinski on the CBS post-apocalyptic drama Jericho, which was cancelled in May 2007 after its first season, resurrected three weeks later after an intense campaign by fans, and cancelled again in March 2008 after an abbreviated second season. Much more about this character, including many pictures, can be found on the Heather Lisinski page. In 2007, while Jericho was on hiatus, Grayden appeared in three episodes of the Showtime series Weeds and an episode of the ABC Grey’s Anatomy spinoff Private Practice. In 2008, as Jericho completed its second season, Grayden guest-starred in an episode of the CBS drama Without a Trace, filmed the pilot for the FX series Sons of Anarchy, which is scheduled to air in September, and accepted a recurring role in the Fox drama 24, which is expected to return in early 2009. On Sons of Anarchy, Grayden will portray Donna Winston, the wife of an ex-con biker husband who encourages him to stay away from the gang, while on 24, she will play the President's daughter, Olivia Taylor. Both roles have been described as recurring. As of this writing, there is no word of her possible return to Weeds or of any revival of Jericho, although fans and producers of the latter show continue to work toward a third season. Grayden was named one of the "50 Hottest New Faces on Television" in the October 24, 2005 issue of Inside TV magazine and headlined as "TV's Sizzling New Star" by Netscape Celebrity in 2007. [8] [9]
Film career Although primarily recognized by the public as a television actress, Grayden has made occasional movie appearances, tending toward unusual or challenging roles in small, independent films. As a child, she had a minor role in the 1989 Jack Lemmon motion picture Dad. Her recent appearances include Mini’s First Time, the short film Six Months Later, and the upcoming features The Last Lullaby and Wake. Although IMDb lists her as appearing in Level Seven, a project supposedly in pre-production, Grayden has stated that no such film exists. [10] Personal life Grayden resides in the Los Angeles area. Asked by TheStarScoop.com what she was like in real life, Grayden responded, "I'm kind of a tomboy. I like to read a lot. I like watching TV. I don't think I'm as interesting as my characters, but I like doing what I do ... I live on the beach, so I do a lot of beach activities. I walk the beach. I like to ride my bike. I love to go hiking ... I like yoga. I work out a lot; it kind of clears my head." [11]
In an interview with MediaBlvd.com, Grayden said, "Secretly, I’m a real big nerd. I’d rather stay home and play Scrabble than go to a Hollywood party, any day of the week. And I love reading about history and watching the Discovery Channel." [12] On a panel at the 2008 Los Angeles Comic Book and Sci-Fi Convention, Grayden described herself as being between the "biker chick" she played on Weeds and Heather on Jericho. On her MySpace page, Grayden describes herself as 5' 5", single, and enjoying "movies, reading three books at a time, weekend trips, learning as much as I can." The page also says that she "collects Pez dispensers and is a rabid Battlestar Galactica fan." [13]
Online Interviews and Articles Images
Sprague Grayden as a child
Sprague Grayden in her youth
Sprague Grayden and the cast of Hopscotch
Sprague Grayden at a public reading
Fan Mail Address Sprague Grayden More coming soon! This page is a work in progress. Please advise of any misinformation or dead links. No revenue is being derived from this site. Pictures displayed are for illustrative purposes only under the "fair use" provisions of U.S. copyright law and remain the property of their respective copyright owners. The author specifically prohibits Wiki-pedia from using any information on this page. Comments, additions, and corrections are welcome via e-mail at cingram at aol dot com. Site last updated: August 24, 2008
