In 2002, Sands played Toby, a recurring love interest to the angst-ridden teen, Claire Fisher (played by
Lauren Ambrose), on the
HBO television series
Six Feet Under (2001–2005) and co-starred in
Me and Daphne (2002), a short film directed by
Rebecca Gayheart and produced by
Brett Ratner. He has also co-starred in the independent film
Pack of Dogs (2002), directed by Ian Kessner. Sands made his feature-film debut opposite
Natasha Lyonne and
Jason Priestley in
Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), an adaptation of
Charles Busch's
play of the same name. He also appeared in the films
Chasing Liberty (2004), with
Mandy Moore, as well as
Shall We Dance (2004), with
Richard Gere and
Jennifer Lopez. In 2007, he received a nomination for a
Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his role in the
Broadway revival of ''
Journey's End''. From May 2 to June 8, 2008, he performed the role of Alex in
A Seagull in the Hamptons at the
McCarter Theatre in
Princeton,
New Jersey. Sands also participated in the seven-episode HBO miniseries
Generation Kill about the 2003 Iraq invasion, airing during the summer of 2008. In the miniseries he played Marine Lt.
Nathaniel Fick. Sands previously played a U.S. Marine, Walter Gust, in
Flags of Our Fathers. Additional theater credits include the 2009 musical adaptation of
Bonnie & Clyde at the
La Jolla Playhouse, The
Classic Stage Company's production of
The Tempest which earned him the Actors' Equity Foundation's St. Clair Bayfield Award, which honors the best performance by an actor in a Shakespearean play in the New York metropolitan area. From June 25 to July 12, 2009, Sands appeared in the
Shakespeare in the Park's production of
Twelfth Night, featuring
Anne Hathaway,
Audra McDonald and
Raul Esparza. Sands played the role of Tunny in the Broadway production of
American Idiot, again playing a member of the military. He left the production on March 13, 2011;
David Larsen took over the role. Sands was in the 2010 HBO pilot
The Miraculous Year, which was not picked up by HBO. He was part of the main cast of the
CBS television series
Rookies. The show was picked up for mid-season, under the new name
NYC 22, but was canceled after airing 13 episodes due to inadequate ratings. Sands played the character of Troy Nelson in the film
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013). Sands played one of the lead characters, Charlie Price, in the musical
Kinky Boots which opened at the
Bank of America Theatre in Chicago, Illinois, for a four-week run in October 2012. He reprised his role when the show premiered on Broadway at the
Al Hirschfeld Theatre on April 4, 2013, with previews beginning on March 3, 2013. For his role as Charlie, Sands was nominated for a
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical, but lost to his co-star
Billy Porter. He played his final performance on January 26, 2014. In 2014, Sands was cast in the
NBC pilot
Salvation. This was not picked up to series. Sands was cast in
FOX's pilot,
Minority Report, as Dash, a
precog. The series premiered on September 21, 2015. In 2016, Sands played the Templar in
Classic Stage Company's production of
Nathan the Wise off-Broadway. Sands and his original co-star Porter returned to the Broadway production of
Kinky Boots for a limited 15 week run, starting on September 26, 2017. He also appeared in
Steven Spielberg's 2017 drama film
The Post. In 2019, Sands was cast in the musical
Swept Away as Big Brother. The production was originally announced to premiere in June, 2020, however it was postponed due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. Swept Away premiered at the
Berkeley Repertory Theatre in
Berkeley, California on January 9, 2022 and had its final show on March 13, 2022. In 2022, Sands was cast in the North American tryout of
& Juliet as
William Shakespeare, transferring from the
West End. The production opened in
Toronto, Canada in the
Princess of Wales Theatre on June 22, 2022, and ended on August 14, 2022. & Juliet moved to Broadway in the 2022-23 season into the
Stephen Sondheim Theatre with Sands reprising his role.
Previews began on October 28, 2022, and opening night was on November 17, 2022. He played his final performance on August 6, 2023. Sands reprised his role in Swept Away when it had a run at
Arena Stage in
Washington D.C. Previews began on November 25, 2023. Opening night was on December 6, 2023, and it played through January 14, 2024. On May 17, 2024 it was announced that Swept Away would move to Broadway in the fall of 2024, and that the main four cast members, including Sands, would reprise their roles. ==Personal life==