Sam Spruell
{{Short description|British actor (born 1977)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{Use British English|date=December 2024}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Sam Spruell
| image =
| alt =
| caption =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|df=y|1977|1|1}}{{cite web |url=https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-spruell/ |title=Sam Spruell |date=2024 |website=TV Insider |access-date=18 January 2024}}
| birth_place = Southwark, London, England
| known_for =
| occupation = Actor
| years_active = 2002–present
}}
Sam Spruell (born 1 January 1977, in Southwark, London) is a British actor.
Early life and education
Spruell studied at Hull University before turning to acting. His mother is actress Linda Broughton.{{cite news |last=Edmonds |first=Lizzie |date=21 October 2021 |title=Sam Spruell: My family are pleasantly surprised at me making it in Hollywood |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/sam-spruell-family-hollywood-success-b959078.html |work=Evening Standard |access-date=18 January 2024 |location=London}}
Career
=Theatre=
He made his stage debut with the Royal National Theatre. He has appeared in The Caretaker (at Trafalgar Studios); Pornography (Tricycle); The Alchemist and The Life of Galileo (the National); King Lear (Sheffield Crucible); Othello (Royal Exchange); A Midsummer Night's Dream, They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, and Pippin, (Bloomsbury Theatre); and elsewhere.{{cite web |url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/cast/sam-spruell/|title=Sam Spruell|date= 2024 |website=Royal Court Theatre|access-date=18 January 2024}}
=Cinema=
Spruell's first screen appearance came in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine drama K-19: The Widowmaker in 2002.
His film credits include To Kill a King (2003); London to Brighton (2006); Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007); The Hurt Locker (2008); Defiance (2008); and others. He played hit man Jack "The Hat" McVitie in the 2015 film Legend, about the story of the Kray twins.
In 2012, Spruell had a starring role in the film Snow White & the Huntsman, as brother to the Evil Queen that was played by Charlize Theron.
=Television=
His television roles include the recurring cameo of Jason Belling in Spooks (2007 in Episode 6.9 and 2004 in Project Friendly Fire), and the recurring role of Wilkes in P.O.W. (2003). In March 2013, he appeared in one of the lead roles in the BBC One thriller drama series Mayday. He was cast in the television adaptation of The Last Ship later in the year. In 2015, Spruell played Oleg Malankov, the secondary villain in Taken 3 and then played Owen Lynch in the drama series Luther in episode 1.2. In the 13th series of Doctor Who, Spruell played Swarm.{{cite web |url=https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Creator/SamSpruell |title=Sam Spruell |date=2024 |website=TV Tropes|access-date=January 18, 2024}}
In 2023, he starred as Ole Munch in the fifth season of the Fargo series, an "immortal hired gun" figure who "exists outside of time and society's rules," a "collection of contrasts".{{cite news |last= Hadadi|first=Roxana|date=17 January 2024|title=Let’s Talk About Ole Munch’s Last Bite|url=https://www.vulture.com/article/fargo-finale-ole-munch-ending-biscuit-explained.html|work=Vulture|access-date=18 January 2024}} In June 2024, it was announced that Spruell would portray Maekar Targaryen in the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.{{cite news|last1=Vary|first1=Adam B. |title=‘Game of Thrones’ Spinoff ‘A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms’ Begins Filming as ‘The Crown,’ ‘True Detective’ Actors Join Cast |url=https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/game-of-thrones-knight-of-the-seven-kingdoms-production-1236041563/|work=Variety|date=18 June 2024}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | K-19: The Widowmaker | Dmitri Nevsky | |
| 2003 | To Kill a King | King's guard | |
| rowspan="2"|2006 | London to Brighton | Stuart Allen | |
| Venus | Hospital Director | ||
| rowspan="2"|2007 | Tick Tock Lullaby | Steve | |
| Elizabeth: The Golden Age | Torturer | ||
| rowspan="2"|2008 | The Hurt Locker | Contractor Charlie | |
| Defiance | Arkady Lubczanski | ||
| 2010 | Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll | Kilburns' Drummer | |
| 2012 | Snow White & the Huntsman | Finn | |
| rowspan="4"|2013 | Company of Heroes | Sgt. Matherson | |
| Starred Up | Governor Hayes | ||
| The Counselor | Wireman | ||
| Sixteen | Liam | ||
| rowspan="3"|2014 | The Voices | Dave | |
| Good People | Jack Witkowski | ||
| Taken 3 | Oleg Malankov | ||
| rowspan="4"|2015 | Child 44 | Doctor Tyapkin | |
| Legend | Jack "The Hat" McVitie | ||
| The Martian | NASA Psychologist | ||
| The Lady in the Van | Another Young Man | ||
| rowspan="2"|2017 | Sand Castle | 1st Lt. Anthony | |
| Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets | General Okto-Bar | ||
| rowspan="2"|2018 | The World Is Yours | Bruce | |
| Outlaw King | Aymer de Valence, 2nd Earl of Pembroke | ||
| 2019 | The Informer | Slewitt | |
| 2021 | Locked Down | Martin | |
| 2022 | The Hanging Sun | Aaron / Nicolas | |
| 2023 | The Settlers | Colonel Martin | |
| 2025 | The Thing with Feathers | {{TableTBA}} | Post-production |
=Television=
| class="wikitable sortable" | |||
| Year | Title | Role | class="unsortable"|Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | P.O.W. | Wilkes | 6 episodes |
| 2004, 2007 | Spooks | Jason Belling | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | The Ghost Squad | Will Surridge | Episode: "One of Us" |
| rowspan="2"|2006 | Rosemary & Thyme | Jerome Daniels | Episode: "Seeds of Time" |
| Silent Witness | Robbie Sharpe | Episode: "Schism: Part 2" | |
| 2007 | HolbyBlue | Clive Bolland | Episode #1.7 |
| 2008 | City of Vice | Duke of Newcastle | 4 episodes |
| rowspan="2"|2009 | Ashes to Ashes | Trevor Riley | Episode #2.6 |
| The Fixer | Connor O'Dricoll | Episode #2.5 | |
| rowspan="2"|2010 | Foyle's War | Tommy Duggan | Episode: "Killing Time" |
| Luther | Owen Lynch | Episode #1.2 | |
| 2011 | The Runaway | Jim Harvey | 5 episodes |
| 2012 | Eternal Law | Marcus | Episode #1.6 |
| 2013 | Mayday | Steve Docker | 5 episodes |
| 2014–2015 | The Last Ship | Quincy | 11 episodes |
| rowspan="2"|2015 | Catastrophe | Owen | Episode #1.3 |
| The Bastard Executioner | Toran Prichard | 10 episodes | |
| 2019 | I Am... | Barry | Episode: "I Am Nicola" |
| rowspan="2"|2020 | Liar | Oliver Graham | 6 episodes |
| Small Axe: Mangrove | PC Frank Pulley | Episode: "Mangrove" | |
| rowspan="3"|2021 | The North Water | Cavendish | 4 episodes |
| Doctor Who | Swarm | 5 episodes | |
| The Amazing Mr. Blunden | Bertie | Television film | |
| rowspan="2"|2023–2024 | Fargo | Ole Munch | 9 episodes |
| The Gold | Charlie Miller | 3 episodes | |
| 2024 | Dune: Prophecy | Horace | 2 episodes |
| 2025 | A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms | Prince Maekar Targaryen | In production |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name}}
- {{Rotten Tomatoes}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spruell, Sam}}
Category:British male film actors
Category:British male television actors
Category:21st-century British male actors
Category:20th-century British male actors
Category:British emigrants to the United States
Category:Actors from the London Borough of Southwark
Category:People from Southwark
Category:British male stage actors
{{UK-screen-actor-stub}}