Sam Adegoke

{{Infobox person

| name = Sam Adegoke

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Samuel Oluwaseyi Adegoke

| birth_place = Lagos, Nigeria

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1982|9|20}}

| alma_mater = University of Minnesota

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 2014–present

}}

Samuel Oluwaseyi Adegoke is a Nigerian-American actor known for playing Jeff Colby in the Dynasty reboot series.

Personal life

Adegoke was born in Lagos, Nigeria, but raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota and St. Paul, Minnesota. His parents were missionary ministers and came to the United States when he was a young child.{{cite web|url=https://www.parlemag.com/2017/12/sam-adegoke-interview/amp|title=Actor Sam Adegoke Keeps Impacting The World Through The Art of Acting|work=Parlé Mag|date=December 12, 2017|access-date=February 8, 2018|archive-date=July 12, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180712160707/https://www.parlemag.com/2017/12/sam-adegoke-interview/amp/|url-status=dead}}{{Cite web |date=2018-02-09 |title=Actor Sam Adegoke Keeps Impacting The World Through The Art of Acting |url=https://www.parlemag.com/2017/12/sam-adegoke-interview/amp/ |access-date=2024-01-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209063845/https://www.parlemag.com/2017/12/sam-adegoke-interview/amp/ |archive-date=2018-02-09 }}

He is the youngest of seven children. Adegoke studied marketing and finance at the University of Minnesota, and was president of the Black Student Union, vice-president of his fraternity, and served in student government.{{cite web|url=http://www.okayafrica.com/sam-adegoke-dynasty-nigerian-flair-mainstream-tv/|title= Sam Adegoke Is the Actor Bringing Nigerian Flair to Mainstream|date=March 26, 2018|access-date=April 9, 2018|first=Antoinette|last=Isama|work=OkayAfrica.com}}

In 2015, after a two-week nationwide search that garnered more than 7,000 submissions, Adegoke was named the winner of the third annual ABC Discovers: Digital Talent Competition.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2015/07/abc-winner-2015-talent-competition-1201482557/|title=ABC Announces Winner Of Its 2015 Digital Talent Competition|date=July 20, 2015|access-date=November 3, 2017|author=Denise Petski}} Adegoke lives in Los Angeles.

Career

On January 30, 2017, Adegoke was cast as a lead in the Lifetime biopic Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland playing Michael Jackson's bodyguard Javon Beard.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/01/michael-jackson-searching-for-neverland-cast-sam-adegoke-jackson-bodyguard-1201897722/|title=Michael Jackson: Searching for Neverland: Sam Adegoke Cast as Lead of Lifetime Biopic|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Denise|last=Petski|date=January 30, 2017|access-date=April 29, 2018}} Adegoke also recurred on Murder in the First and had guest spots on Code Black and NCIS: Los Angeles.

In February 2017, he was cast as Jeff Colby in a Dynasty reboot for The CW,{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/02/dynasty-sam-adegoke-cast-the-cw-reboot-1201911599/|title=Dynasty: Sam Adegoke To Star In The CW Reboot|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=February 14, 2017|access-date=May 11, 2017}} which premiered in October 2017.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2017/06/the-cw-fall-premiere-dates-dynasty-valor-the-flash-1202109659/|title=The CW Sets Fall 2017 Premiere Dates For Dynasty & Valor and Returning Series|last=Andreeva|first=Nellie|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=June 8, 2017|access-date=April 29, 2018}} Adegoke pitched the idea to showrunner Sallie Patrick for his character to be Nigerian, who involved him in the casting of Hakeem Kae-Kazim as Cecil Colby, Jeff's father. This allowed for scenes to incorporate this lingual and cultural interaction, featuring both English and Yoruba language in the characters' dialogue.

In 2018, Adegoke was cast in 8000 Shots, an indie film written and directed by Talia Lugacy, and co-produced by Rosario Dawson. Adegoke was set to star as Will Larue, "a combat veteran who served in the Iraq war, who loses his friend and fellow vet to suicide, which resurrects his past and forces him to confront the fact that healing from war is not possible."{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2018/07/dynasty-sam-adegoke-frances-fisher-rosario-dawson-produced-8000-shots-movie-1202427569/|title=‘Dynasty’s Sam Adegoke, Frances Fisher Star in Rosario Dawson-Produced Indie ‘8000 Shots’|date=July 17, 2018|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Amanda|last=N'Duka|access-date=April 7, 2024}} The film was renamed This Is Not a War Story and was released in 2021.

In June 2023, Adegoke was cast in Dark Days & the Dawn, the latest film from This Is Not a War Story director Talia Lugacy. "I count This Is Not a War Story as one of the most impactful experiences of my life both as an actor and on a personal level," Adegoke said in a statement to Variety, "When Talia [Lugacy] told me she wanted to work hand-in-hand developing this film together, I didn't hesitate for even a second. Our mutual trust is unwavering and I believe this is just a second step in a long road of collaboration together."{{Cite web|url=https://variety.com/2023/film/news/rosario-dawson-sam-adegoke-talia-lugacy-dark-days-and-the-dawn-1235637582/|title=Rosario Dawson, Sam Adegoke Join Cast of Talia Lugacy’s ‘Dark Days & the Dawn’ (EXCLUSIVE)|website=Variety|first=Brent|last=Lang|date=June 8, 2023|access-date=April 7, 2024}}

In 2024, Adegoke was cast in a recurring role for the Peacock miniseries, Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist.{{Cite web|url=https://www.thewrap.com/peacock-fight-night-the-million-dollar-heist-sam-adegoke/|title=Peacock’s ‘Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist’ Adds ‘Dynasty’ Star Sam Adegoke|website=TheWrap|first=Loree|last=Seitz|date=March 21, 2024|access-date=April 7, 2024}}