Oliver Stark

The gas salesman who didn't want to sell

Oliver Stark sold gas and electricity contracts door to door across London before anyone knew his name. It was a stretch of doors slammed in his face and paychecks that barely covered rent in a city that has no mercy for empty pockets. He also cleaned sports centers and worked in call centers to get by.

And he wasn't very good at it.

His training didn't come from a grand academy with centuries of history, but from the North London Performing Arts Centre. In 2011 he shot the short film Follow and began landing brief appearances on British series such as Casualty and Luther. They were one-afternoon shoots, the kind that pay the bills but don't get the industry to take you seriously.

In 2015, his luck changed with Into the Badlands. He played Ryder for two seasons, and that project required him to move to the United States to understand how the machinery of major networks worked. It was the dress rehearsal for what came next.

The firefighter of a hundred episodes

Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk were looking for a face that combined physical toughness with an almost childlike vulnerability for their new emergency series. In 2018, Stark landed the role of Evan Buckley in 9-1-1. The character, known as Buck, starts out as the archetype of a reckless, adrenaline-addicted firefighter who makes major mistakes on every shift.

But the script went beyond the fires.

Audiences connected with the birthmark on his left eye, a physical trait Stark refused to cover up with makeup from the very first day of filming. In 2024, the series took a major narrative turn when his character explored his bisexuality after a kiss with Tommy Kinard. That episode drew ratings that ABC hadn't seen in that time slot in years.

American television doesn't usually forgive mistakes.

Stark has managed the pressure of a production that shoots more than twenty episodes per season with 14-hour days. In 2025, the actor completed his seventh year playing the same character, which in today's industry is equivalent to a lifetime. His salary per episode is above six figures, a fact that contrasts with his days selling energy supplies in London's working-class neighborhoods.

Off camera, he is in a relationship with actress Hannah Gottesman. He doesn't often hang out at Los Angeles parties or chase headlines unrelated to his craft in front of the camera. His approach is that of a showbiz working man who knows fame is a loan with very high interest.

In May 2026, the network confirmed the series' renewal for a tenth season after it reached 150 aired episodes. Stark remains one of the few original cast members still active who has never missed a shoot for contractual reasons.