Sprague Grayden, who was born on July 21, 1980 in Manchester-by-the-Sea, Massachusetts is an alumna of Barnard College, Columbia University, where she graduated !$#!# laude. Upon completing her studies, she worked as a performing member of the Drama Department in New York City.
Grayden believed in the value of education. "My parents decided my education was more important, and it worked really well for me. There were so many things I could do with a degree, it was a real sense of freedom," the actress said. "[Education] allows you the opportunity to really love and appreciate your art."
Acting since the age of five, Grayden has a number of theater credits to her name, including Waiting for Lefty, Ordinary Day, Hamlet, Fool for Love, The Vagina Monologues and Hopskotch. She has also worked in films, including Six Months Later, Mini's First Time, Biohazardous and Dad.
Grayden has also appeared on the small screen, as she graced the sets of Law & Order: SVU, John Doe, Crossing Jordan , Joan of Arcadia, Six Feet Under , Over There, CSI: NY, Weeds and Jericho. Her role in the post-apocalyptic drama, Jericho, was to be the face of Heather Lisinski, the love interest of the pivotal lead character, Jake Green, played by Skeet Ulrich. When the series ended, she decided to take on other roles. She got a part on The Last Lullaby, and was next seen on an episode of Without a Trace. In 2008, she obtained the role of Donna Lerner on three episodes of Sons of Anarchy. Also that year, she signed on for roles in 24: Redemption, Wake and Level Seven.
In talking about how the fans have helped Jericho back in the airwaves, Grayden said, "We're completely indebted to them. I've said in other interviews I've done that every time, as an actor, you get a job you feel indebted somewhere, because there's the 5% of us who work. It's always something you want to do well at or make whoever gave you the job proud, but now we're part of something so much bigger. We're part of something that people have chosen to believe in. There's such a responsibility that comes with that. It doesn't even compare to the individual responsibility of wanting to make this producer happy because they were nice to me, it's so beyond that."
"For me, I've never ever seen a reaction to a character I've played like the reaction to Heather," she said of the support she has received from the fans of Jericho. "It feels amazing, but I'm so indebted and have such respect, and humbled and... it's rad. It's really an awesome trip to be on."
(Photos courtesy of CBS and WireImage)
-When she is off from work, Sprague likes to walk on the beach, ride her bike, and go hiking. She also works out a lot, does cardio, Pilates, and bikram Yoga.
-Sprague admits to being a sci-fi geek and is a fan of the new Battlestar Galactica and the Star Wars Trilogy. She is also into the fantasy genre and enjoys the Harry Potter series and Eragon.
-Sprague collects Pez dispensers. She already has a huge collection in her apartment that keeps on growing since people keep giving them to her. She has them stored except for the special ones which she displays.
- 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.
- I think I'm a part of all the characters I play, definitely at different times in my life. In real life, I'm kind of a tomboy. I like to read a lot I like watching T.V. I don't think I'm as interesting as my characters, but I like doing what I do.
- You just have to keep choosing work you believe in. Look for the good writing, hopefully the great writing, the fully formed characters. If you're loving what you do, the work will always come.