Sam Spruell

Last updated

Sam Spruell
Born (1977-01-01) 1 January 1977 (age 48) [1]
Southwark, London, England
OccupationActor
Years active2002–present
Children1 [2]

Sam Spruell (born 1 January 1977, in Southwark, London) is a British character actor, known for playing mostly villain roles. [1]

Contents

Early life and education

Spruell studied at Hull University before turning to acting. His mother is actress Linda Broughton. [3]

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. [4]

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. [1]

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. [5]

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". [6] In June 2024, it was announced that Spruell would portray Maekar Targaryen in the upcoming series A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms . [7]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
2002 K-19: The Widowmaker Dmitri Nevsky
2003 To Kill a King King's guard
2006 London to Brighton Stuart Allen
Venus Hospital Director
2007 Tick Tock Lullaby Steve
Elizabeth: The Golden Age Torturer
2008 The Hurt Locker Contractor Charlie
Defiance Arkady Lubczanski
2010 Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Kilburns' Drummer
2012 Snow White & the Huntsman Finn
2013 Company of Heroes Sgt. Matherson
Starred Up Governor Hayes
The Counselor Wireman
Sixteen Liam
2014 The Voices Dave
Good People Jack Witkowski
Taken 3 Oleg Malankov
2015 Child 44 Doctor Tyapkin
Legend Jack "The Hat" McVitie
The Martian NASA Psychologist
The Lady in the Van Another Young Man
2017 Sand Castle 1st Lt. Anthony
Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets General Okto-Bar
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 TBAPost-production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
2003 P.O.W. Wilkes6 episodes
2004, 2007 Spooks Jason Belling2 episodes
2005 The Ghost Squad Will SurridgeEpisode: "One of Us"
2006 Rosemary & Thyme Jerome DanielsEpisode: "Seeds of Time"
Silent Witness Robbie SharpeEpisode: "Schism: Part 2"
2007 HolbyBlue Clive BollandEpisode #1.7
2008 City of Vice Duke of Newcastle 4 episodes
2009 Ashes to Ashes Trevor RileyEpisode #2.6
The Fixer Connor O'DricollEpisode #2.5
2010 Foyle's War Tommy DugganEpisode: "Killing Time"
Luther Owen LynchEpisode #1.2
2011 The Runaway Jim Harvey5 episodes
2012 Eternal Law MarcusEpisode #1.6
2013 Mayday Steve Docker5 episodes
2014–2015 The Last Ship Quincy11 episodes
2015 Catastrophe OwenEpisode #1.3
The Bastard Executioner Toran Prichard10 episodes
2019 I Am... BarryEpisode: "I Am Nicola"
2020 Liar Oliver Graham6 episodes
Small Axe: Mangrove PC Frank PulleyEpisode: "Mangrove"
2021 The North Water Cavendish4 episodes
Doctor Who Swarm5 episodes
The Amazing Mr. Blunden BertieTelevision film
2023–2024 Fargo Ole Munch9 episodes
The Gold Charlie Miller3 episodes
2024 Dune: Prophecy Horace2 episodes
2025 A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Prince Maekar TargaryenIn production

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sam Spruell". TV Insider. 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  2. https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/awards/story/2024-05-27/sam-spruell-on-playing-a-terrifying-killer-on-fargo
  3. Edmonds, Lizzie (21 October 2021). "Sam Spruell: My family are pleasantly surprised at me making it in Hollywood". Evening Standard . London. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  4. "Sam Spruell". Royal Court Theatre . 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  5. "Sam Spruell". TV Tropes. 2024. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  6. Hadadi, Roxana (17 January 2024). "Let's Talk About Ole Munch's Last Bite". Vulture . Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  7. Vary, Adam B. (18 June 2024). "'Game of Thrones' Spinoff 'A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms' Begins Filming as 'The Crown,' 'True Detective' Actors Join Cast". Variety.