Sam Robards

Sam Robards
Born	Sam Prideaux Robards (1961-12-16) December 16, 1961 (age 63) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1980–present
Spouses	Suzy Amis ​ ​ (m. 1986;div. 1994)​ Sidsel Jensen Robards ​ ​ (m. 1997)​
Children	3
Parents	Jason Robards Lauren Bacall
Relatives	Stephen Humphrey Bogart (maternal half-brother)

Sam Prideaux Robards (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in American Beauty (1999) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). For his performance in the Broadway production of The Man Who Had All the Luck , he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.

Early life

Robards was born in New York City, the son of actor Jason Robards (1922–2000) and actress Lauren Bacall (1924–2014). He is the only child of their marriage, though he has seven half-siblings: five through his father (three elder, two younger); and two – Stephen Humphrey Bogart and Leslie Bogart – through his mother's previous marriage to Humphrey Bogart. ^[1] He lived for a time in London, where he attended the American School in London, then returned to New York City, where he attended Collegiate School. ^[2]

Robards then attended Sarah Lawrence College. ^[3] In the fall of 1980, he attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.

Career

Robards began his acting career in 1980 in an off-Broadway production of Album, and made his feature-film debut in director Paul Mazursky's 1982 film Tempest . In 1985, Robards starred alongside Kevin Costner and future wife Suzy Amis in Fandango . Robards acted opposite his father in the 1988 film Bright Lights, Big City , which was their only collaboration before his death in 2000. Also in 1988, he was cast in the lead role of Kevin Keegan in the CBS drama TV 101 .

In 1990, he played the role of Chris Elliott's friend, Larry, on the Fox sitcom Get a Life . In 1994, Robards starred in two films: Robert Altman's film Prêt-à-Porter , where he was a part of an ensemble that included his mother; and Alan Rudolph's biographical film of Dorothy Parker, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle , where he portrayed the first editor of The New Yorker , Harold Ross.

In 2002, Robards received acclaim for his performance as Gustav Eberson in the Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's The Man Who Had All the Luck , winning the Clarence Derwent Award and earning nominations for the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award. ^[4] In July 2008, he took over the role of Richard Hannay in the Broadway run of The 39 Steps . ^[5]

In 2025, Robards was cast in the role of David/Raf's Dad in the Broadway run of Punch. ^[6]

His film credits also include Casualties of War , Beautiful Girls , American Beauty , A.I. Artificial Intelligence , Life as a House , The Other Side of the Tracks , and The Art of Getting By .

Robards's television credits include a recurring roles on and appearances on Spin City , The West Wing , Law & Order , Law & Order: Criminal Intent , Sex and the City , The Good Wife and Hotel Cocaine . He had recurring roles on the series Gossip Girl and Treme .

Personal life

In 1986, he married actress Suzy Amis, his co-star in Fandango . They have a son, Jasper, born before their divorce in 1994. ^[7] In 1997, Robards married Danish model Sidsel Jensen. They have two sons, Calvin and Sebastian. ^{[8] [9]}

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Tempest	Teddy
1985	Fandango	Kenneth Waggener
	Not Quite Paradise	Mike	[10]
1988	Bright Lights, Big City	Rich Vanier
	Bird	Moscowitz
1989	Casualties of War	Chaplain Kirk
1993	The Ballad of Little Jo	Jasper Hill
1994	Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle	Harold Ross
	Prêt-à-Porter	Regina's Assistant
1996	Beautiful Girls	Steve Rossmore
1997	Dinner and Driving	Frank
1998	Love from Ground Zero	Henry (voice)
1999	American Beauty	Jim Berkley
2000	Bounce	Todd Exner
2001	A.I. Artificial Intelligence	Henry Swinton
	Life as a House	David Dokos
2004	Catch That Kid	Tom
	Surviving Eden	Gary Gold
	Marmalade	Roger
2007	Awake	Clayton Beresford Sr.
2008	The Other Side of the Tracks	David
	Che: Part One	Tad Szulc
	Perestroika	Sasha
2009	The Rebound	Frank
	Company Retreat	Ron Gable
2011	The Art of Getting By	Jack Sargent
2014	Grand Street	Gary
2016	The Late Bloomer	Dr. Lawson
	Broken Links	Jack
2017	Where Is Kyra?	Carl
2022	Isle of Hope	William

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1983	Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number	Daniel Timerman	Television film
1985	Spenser: For Hire	Chip Holmby	Episode: "The Choice"
	Into Thin Air	Stephen Walker	Television film
1988	Pancho Barnes	Gene McKendry
1988–1989	TV 101	Kevin Keegan	17 episodes
1990–1991	Get a Life	Larry Potter	24 episodes
1993, 2009	Law & Order	Davis Webb / Daniel Hendricks	2 episodes
1995	The Outer Limits	Ben Kohler	Episode: "Living Hell"
	Donor Unknown	Dr. David Bausch	Television film
1996	The Man Who Captured Eichmann	David
1997	The Trial of Adolf Eichmann	Avraham Aviel
1998	Maximum Bob	Sheriff Gary Hammond	7 episodes
1998–1999	Spin City	Arthur	4 episodes
1999	Black and Blue	Mike Riordan	Television film
2000	Sex and the City	Tom Reymi	Episode: "Running with Scissors"
	Hamlet	Fortinbras	Television film
2001	The Warden	Axel
	On Golden Pond	Bill Ray
2002	Obsessed	David Stillman
2003	My Life with Men	Jess Zebrowski
2004	The Blackwater Lightship	Paul
	Clubhouse	Bennet	Episode: "Chin Music"
	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Paul Whitlock	Episode: "Magnificat"
2004–2005	The West Wing	Greg Brock	8 episodes
2006	CSI: Miami	Mitchell Collett	Episode: "Dead Air"
2007–2012	Gossip Girl	Howie 'The Captain' Archibald	16 episodes
2010	Vamped Out	Audition Actor #1	Episode: "A New Day"
2011	Body of Proof	Bradford Paige	Episode: "Pilot"
	Blue Bloods	Roger Carson	Episode: "My Funny Valentine"
	The Good Wife	Jarvis Bowes	Episode: "Killer Song"
2012–2013	Treme	Tim Feeny	11 episodes
2013–2014	Twisted	Kyle Masterson	19 episodes
2015	Limitless	Miles Amos	Episode: "Badge! Gun!"
2019	Madam Secretary	Major Brad Jenkins	Episode: "Valor"
2021	Y: The Last Man	Dean Brown	2 episodes

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1983	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture	Tempest	Nominated
2002	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play	The Man Who Had All the Luck	Nominated
	Clarence Derwent Awards	Most Promising Male		Won
	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actor in a Play		Nominated

References

1. Bacall, Lauren. (2006). By Myself and Then Some. p. 377. HarperCollins, New York City. ISBN   978-0-06-112791-5.
2. The Dutchman (the Collegiate School yearbook), 1975 edition, p. 35 (8th grade photos)
3. Hammer, Josh (October 18, 1982). "Having Survived the Tempest of Life with a Famous Mom and Dad, Actor Sam Sets Sail on His Own". People . Retrieved February 25, 2019.
4. Jones, Kenneth (May 22, 2002). "Anne Hathaway and Sam Robards Named 2002 Clarence Derwent Recipients". Playbill .
5. Jones, Kenneth (June 4, 2008). "Sam Robards Is the Next Pursued Man of Broadway's 39 Steps". Playbill . Retrieved July 12, 2008.
6. "Victoria Clark, Cody Kostro, Piter Marek Complete Cast of Broadway's Punch". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2025-09-16.
7. Kolson, Ann (1993-04-04). "Actress Suzy Amis Is Great, Critics Say, But Nobody Knows It − Yet". Philadelphia Inquirer . Archived from the original on June 11, 2016. Retrieved 2016-05-26.
8. "Sam Robards". Turner Classic Movies . Retrieved 2016-05-27.
9. Green, Adam (2014-08-13). "Call Me Betty: Vogue's Theater Critic Remembers Family Friend Lauren Bacall". Vogue . Retrieved 2016-05-27.
10. Vagg, Stephen (11 September 2025). "Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation 1982-1997". Filmink. Retrieved 11 September 2025.

External links

• Sam Robards at IMDb