Sam Witwer | |
---|---|
Born | |
Education | Juilliard School |
Occupation(s) | Actor, voice actor, musician |
Years active | 2001–present |
Sam Witwer (born October 20, 1977) [2] is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Crashdown in Battlestar Galactica , Davis Bloome in Smallville , Aidan Waite in Being Human , Mr. Hyde in Once Upon a Time , Ben Lockwood in Supergirl , and Rupert Chipping in Riverdale .
Witwer has worked on numerous projects in the Star Wars franchise, having first provided his voice and likeness for Starkiller in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game series. He later notably voiced Darth Maul in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels , as well as the film Solo: A Star Wars Story . He has also voiced the Son and Emperor Palpatine in The Clone Wars and Rebels, respectively. Witwer portrayed protagonist Deacon St. John through motion capture for the video game Days Gone by Bend Studio.
Witwer was born on October 20, 1977, [2] and grew up in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. Ever since he was a child, Witwer showed enthusiasm in other pursuits he enjoyed more than school. He spent his free time huddled over a computer, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or making music.
He attended Glenbrook South High School, during which time he was involved in drama and theater classes, as well as being the lead singer of a high school band called "Love Plumber". After barely graduating high school, his parents made him apply to drama departments of various schools. Finally getting accepted to the Juilliard School. When he was 18 he became friends with fellow actor Glenn Howerton. [3]
After 2 years at Juilliard, Witwer got kicked out from school as he didn't take it seriously enough. [4] He finally made the decision to pursue acting after asking actor Bruce Campbell for advice on the AOL website. [5]
Witwer's first on-screen credit was that of a Chicago Bulls commercial. He soon found himself in speaking roles on hit television series, such as ER .
Witwer's first major recurring role came in the form of portraying raptor pilot 'Crashdown' (his call sign) on Battlestar Galactica , [6] although he has credited much of his current success to his role as Neil Perry on the Showtime series Dexter . [7] Witwer also appeared as Private Wayne Jessup in the film The Mist . [8]
From 2008 to 2009, Witwer was cast in season 8 of Smallville as Davis Bloome, a charming paramedic who struggles with a darkness within as he is the human camouflage of Doomsday. Witwer played Davis while Doomsday was played by stuntman Dario Delacio. Witwer's performance in Smallville was incredibly well-received, and he has stated that his experience on the show had opened more opportunities for him in the future of acting. Witwer’s contract gave him the option to return in season 9 as Zod, though he ultimately declined. Though he considered his time on the show enjoyable and was flattered by the offer to stay on, he passed on the role as he felt it would be difficult for both the characters and audience to accept. [9]
Witwer made a cameo appearance in The Walking Dead as a dead zombie soldier in a tank in the season 1 episode "Days Gone Bye" which reunited him with director Frank Darabont from The Mist. [10] Coincidentally, in 2019 he went on to portray the main protagonist (both voice and motion capture) of a video game called Days Gone , which also tackles the topic of zombie apocalypse.
From 2011 to 2014, Witwer starred in the North American remake of Being Human . He played the lead role of vampire Aidan Waite. [11] The show, as well as his performance, was well received and lasted 4 seasons. [12]
He voiced Ocean Master in the animated film Justice League: Throne of Atlantis for the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series, [13] replacing fellow Star Wars actor Steve Blum from Justice League: War .
In 2016, Witwer played Edward Hyde on Once Upon a Time , recurring for part of its sixth season after debuting at the end of the fifth season. [14]
In 2018, Witwer joined the main cast of The CW drama series Supergirl , portraying the fourth season's main antagonist Ben Lockwood / Agent Liberty. [15]
Sam is an avid player of both pen-and-paper and video role-playing games. This is a hobby that he has engaged in for years. He has been a frequent guest on the Podcast Order 66 and has expressed a love for all iterations of Star Wars role-playing games Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (by West End Games) to Star Wars Roleplaying Game (by Wizards of the Coast) and to the series of cross-compatible Star Wars roleplaying games by Fantasy Flight Games. [16]
Sam appeared in episode 19 of Geek and Sundry's Tabletop playing the Dragon Age role-playing game, [17] and episodes 29 [18] and 55 of Dice Camera Action as Mordenkainen. [19]
In January 2017, he appeared as a guest on a play-through of ScratchPad Publishing's Dusk City Outlaws, alongside Elisa Teague, Tom Lommel, Spencer Crittenden, and game designer Rodney Thompson. [20]
A lifelong Star Wars superfan, Witwer provided both his voice and likeness for lead character Galen Marek / Starkiller (Darth Vader's secret apprentice) in the 2008 video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and 2010 sequel Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II . He also voiced Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) in the first game, and reprised it for the games Disney Infinity 3.0 and Battlefront and for the original season 2 premiere of Star Wars Rebels ; [21] however, in 2019, the role was re-dubbed by Ian McDiarmid who portrayed Palpatine in the films and in Rebels season 4. [22]
For Star Wars: The Clone Wars , Witwer had also vocally performed the Son in a three episode story arc (known as the Mortis trilogy) in season 3 as well as the iconic former Sith Maul in the season 4 finale episodes, four episodes of season 5, and the "Siege of Mandalore" arc in season 7. He also lent his voice for Maul in other projects such as the Star Wars: Episode I Brisk commercial as well as the Cartoon Network special Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out , and again for Star Wars Rebels. [23] On September 27, 2012, a feature-length "director's cut" of Witwer's season 4 finale episodes of The Clone Wars were released as a direct-to-video film, Darth Maul Returns, initially made available exclusively at Target. [24]
Witwer attended The Clone Wars season 5 Red Carpet Premiere in Orlando, Florida on August 24, 2012, during Celebration VI along with some of his co-stars Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Daniel Logan, Stephen Stanton and Ashley Eckstein, as well as Supervising Director Dave Filoni. During Celebration VI, he also had his own panel called: Sam Witwer "The Maul Within" on August 26, 2012. [25] In 2013, he attended for the first time the annual event, Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida for a three-day weekend [26] and fans praised him for his roles in The Force Unleashed games and on The Clone Wars. During the live show "Behind the Force", Sam showed his acting skills by saying one or two lines of the characters that he's played in the Star Wars universe.
Witwer has also voiced an alien as well as a First Order stormtrooper during the siege of Maz Kanata's palace in Star Wars: The Force Awakens . [27]
In 2018, Witwer reprised his portrayal as Maul and performed the voice acting role for the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story , marking the sixth project for which Witwer voices Maul, and the first live-action performance. [28]
In 2020, Witwer was cast as an unidentified dark side character in the StarWarsKids.com and YouTube game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge , which premiered on June 3, 2020. [29] [30]
In 2024, Witwer took part in the OTOY's [31] production titled 765874 - Unification, [32] where he played the role of Capt. James T. Kirk , along with William Shatner . The role involved the use of "digital prosthetic" technology, where Shatner's facial features were overlaid onto Witwer's, as Witwer performed the role of Kirk in three different timelines. Discovering Shatner’s lack of “inner monologue,” as the actor has described in an autobiography, greatly informed Witwer’s performance. Not only in words, he said, but in action and presence. Witwer made the discovery when he viewed his performance in one take and was unhappy with how “un-Kirklike” it seemed. “Shatner would never passively walk into a scene,” Witwer said in an interview. “He leads us into a scene. He takes the audience with him and they go on a story.” With that, Witwer adjusted his performance and was much happier with it. [33]
Witwer serves as the front-man for the band The Crashtones, whose first studio album Colorful of the Stereo was released February 15, 2006. [34] Witwer released a new album on May 7, 2019, entitled Revenge of the Crashtones. [35]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Crank | Shootout Henchman | |
2007 | The Mist | Private Jessup | |
2008 | Pathology | Party Boy | |
2009 | Gamer | Social Worker | |
2010 | The United Monster Talent Agency | Dracula | Short film |
No God, No Master | Eugenio Ravarini | ||
2011 | The Return of Joe Rich | Joe Neiderman | |
2012 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Darth Maul Returns | Maul [24] | Voice |
2014 | Space Dogs: Adventure to the Moon | Kazbek | Voice; English dub |
2015 | Tales of Halloween | Hank | Short film |
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis | Ocean Master [36] [37] | Voice; Direct-to-video | |
Wrestling Isn't Wrestling | Chyna | Short film | |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Alien, Stormtrooper, Additional Characters [37] | Voices | |
2016 | Rogue One | Stormtrooper, Additional Characters [37] | |
Officer Downe | Burnham | ||
2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Additional Voices | |
2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | Maul [38] | Voice; cameo |
2019 | Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker | Additional Voices |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2001 | ER | Tommy | Episode: "Fear of Commitment" |
2001, 2003 | JAG | Beasley, Sonar Operator | 2 episodes |
2001 | Arliss | Mourner | Episode: "Of Cabbages and Kings" |
2002 | Dark Angel | Marrow | Episode: "Love in Vein" |
She Spies | Jason | Episode: "Daddy's Girl" | |
2003 | Angel | John Stoler | Episode: "Shiny Happy People" |
The Lyon's Den | Bryce Cherot / Chucke Porter | Episode: "Duty to Save" | |
Star Trek: Enterprise | Sloth #3 | Episode: "The Shipment" | |
2004 | Cold Case | James Creighton | Episode: "The Plan" |
NCIS | Staff Sgt. Rafael | Episode: "Split Decision" | |
Star Trek: New Voyages | Guardian's Voice | Episode: "In Harm's Way" | |
2004–05 | Battlestar Galactica | Crashdown | 11 episodes |
2006 | Dexter | Neil Perry | 3 episodes |
Bones | Mitchell Downs | Episode: "The Titan On The Track" | |
2007 | It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Muscular Guy in Store | Episode: "Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead" |
Shark | Richard Lee Franco | Episode: "Every Breath You Take" | |
2007–08 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Officer Casella | 2 episodes |
2008–09 | Smallville | Davis Bloome | Main role (Season 8), 12 episodes |
2010 | The Walking Dead | Tank Soldier | Uncredited; Episode: "Days Gone Bye" |
2011–14 | Being Human | Aidan Waite | 52 episodes Nominated–Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role |
2011–14, 2020 | Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Maul, The Son | Voices; 14 episodes Nominated–Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program |
2012 | Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out | Maul, Emperor Palpatine | Voices; Television special |
2014 | Grimm | Max Robbins | Episode: "The Show Must Go On" |
2015–18 | Star Wars Rebels | Maul, Emperor Palpatine | Voices; 7 episodes |
2015 | Stalker | Jamie Tolliver | Episode: "Love Kills" |
Rosewood | Heath Casablanca | Episode: "Aortic Atresia and Art Installations" | |
2016 | Once Upon a Time | Mr. Hyde | 5 episodes |
2017 | Electric Dreams | Chris | Episode: "Real Life" |
2018–20 | Supergirl | Benjamin Lockwood / Agent Liberty | 18 episodes |
Star Wars Resistance | Hugh Sion | Voice; 3 episodes | |
2019–20 | Riverdale | Rupert Chipping | 5 episodes |
2020 | DC Universe All Star Games | Himself / Host | 6 episodes |
Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge | Dark Side agent | ||
2021 | Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales | Maul / Trudgen | |
2021–22 | The Book of Boba Fett | Rodian, sous-chef droid | Voice; uncredited; 2 episodes |
2022 | Andor | Shoretrooper | Voice; uncredited; Episode: "Announcement" [39] |
Mythic Quest | Ian's father | Episode: "Sarian" [40] | |
2024 | 765874 - Unification [41] | Capt. James T. Kirk |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | Starkiller, Emperor Palpatine | Also likeness [37] [42] |
Soulcalibur IV | Starkiller | English version [37] | |
2010 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II | Starkiller, Emperor Palpatine | Also likeness [42] [37] |
2012 | Kinect Star Wars | Emperor Palpatine | [37] |
2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | Darth Maul, Emperor Palpatine | |
Star Wars Battlefront | Emperor Palpatine | ||
2016 | Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens | ||
2017 | Star Wars Battlefront II | Maul, Emperor Palpatine | |
2019 | Days Gone | Deacon St John | Also likeness [42] |
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Emperor Palpatine | Cameo | |
2020 | Star Wars: Squadrons | Walla actor | |
2021 | Star Trek Online | Tenavik | [43] |
2022 | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Maul, Emperor Palpatine | [44] |
The Callisto Protocol | Captain Leon Ferris | Also likeness [45] | |
2023 | Horizon Forbidden West | Walter Londra | Burning Shores downloadable content, also likeness |
Darth Vader is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was first introduced in the original film trilogy as one of the leaders of the Galactic Empire. The prequel trilogy chronicles his transformation from the Jedi Knight Anakin Skywalker into the Sith Lord Darth Vader. His metamorphosis begins when he is lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, who later becomes the Emperor. After a lightsaber battle with his former mentor Obi-Wan Kenobi, Vader is severely injured and is transformed into a cyborg. He serves Palpatine for over two decades, hunting down the remaining Jedi and attempting to crush the Rebel Alliance. When Palpatine tries to kill Vader's son, Luke Skywalker, the Sith Lord turns against his master and destroys him. Vader is the husband of Padmé Amidala, the father of Luke and his twin sister Leia Organa, and the grandfather of Ben Solo.
Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi is a character in the Star Wars franchise. In the original film trilogy, he is a Jedi Master who trains Luke Skywalker in the ways of the Force. In the prequel trilogy, he mentors Luke's father, Anakin Skywalker. Obi-Wan is portrayed by Alec Guinness in the original trilogy and by Ewan McGregor in the prequel films. McGregor also plays the character in the television series Obi-Wan Kenobi. Guinness's performance in Star Wars (1977) earned him the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor, as well as a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Count Dooku, also known as Darth Tyranus, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was introduced in the prequel film trilogy, first appearing in Attack of the Clones (2002) and then returning in Revenge of the Sith (2005). He is portrayed by Christopher Lee in both films, and is voiced by Corey Burton in most of the video games and animated productions in which he appears. The animated productions include the series Clone Wars (2003–2005), The Clone Wars, and Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee voices Dooku in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars. Dooku also appears in novels and comics.
Yoda is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He is a small, green humanoid alien who is powerful with the Force. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back, in which he is voiced and puppeteered by Frank Oz, who reprised the role in Return of the Jedi (1983), the prequel trilogy, the sequel trilogy, and the animated series Star Wars Rebels. Other actors who voice Yoda are Tom Kane, Piotr Michael, John Lithgow, Tony Pope and Peter McConnell. In addition to films and television series, Yoda appears in comics, novels, video games and commercials.
General Grievous is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He was introduced in the 2003 animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars, before appearing through computer-generated imagery in the 2005 live-action film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith. Wood reprised the role in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2024 anthology series Tales of the Empire.
Raymond Park is a Scottish actor, martial artist and stuntman. He is best known for physically portraying Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace and Solo: A Star Wars Story, along with a motion capture performance in the final season of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Toad in X-Men, Snake Eyes in G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra and G.I. Joe: Retaliation, and Edgar in Heroes.
Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith is an action video game based on the movie of the same name. It was released on May 5, 2005, for the PlayStation 2, Xbox, Game Boy Advance, Nintendo DS, and Symbian OS. For the Xbox 360's backwards compatible lineup, Revenge of the Sith is one out of the 400+ backwards compatible games for the 360. As part of the PlayStation 2 classics program, the PlayStation 2 version was re-released in Europe on the PlayStation Network on February 11, 2015, and in North America on April 28, 2015. Meanwhile, the Xbox version was also added to the backwards compatibility list for the Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S on November 15, 2021.
Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an American animated television series created by George Lucas. It is part of the Star Wars multimedia franchise, and is set predominantly between the events of Star Wars: Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005). Lucas, who closely collaborated with supervising director Dave Filoni on the series, called it a continuation of the previous Genndy Tartakovsky-produced 2003 Clone Wars series. The series began with a theatrical feature film that was released on August 15, 2008, and debuted on Cartoon Network two months later on October 3, 2008.
The Sith are the main antagonists in the fictional universe of the Star Wars franchise. They are the antithesis and ancient enemies of the Jedi. The Sith Order is depicted as an ancient cult of warriors who draw strength from the dark side of the Force and use it to seize power by any means necessary, including terrorism and mass murder; their ultimate goals are to destroy the Jedi and rule the galaxy.
Ahsoka Tano is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She was introduced as the 14-year-old Togruta Jedi Padawan of Anakin Skywalker in the animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) before appearing in the subsequent animated television series ; the sequel series Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018); in the live-action film Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) as a voiceover cameo; and in the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022), voiced by Ashley Eckstein. In 2020, Ahsoka made her live-action debut in the second season of the Disney+ series The Mandalorian, portrayed by Rosario Dawson. Dawson reprised the role in a 2022 episode of the spin-off series The Book of Boba Fett, and the 2023 series, Ahsoka.
Sheev Palpatine is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1980 film The Empire Strikes Back as The Emperor. He is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of the 1999 film The Phantom Menace.
Ian McDiarmid is a Scottish actor and director of stage and screen. Making his stage debut in Hamlet in 1972, McDiarmid joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1974, and has since starred in a number of Shakespeare's plays. He has received an Olivier Award for Best Actor for Insignificance (1982) and a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Faith Healer (2006).
Darth Maul is a character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. He first appeared in the prequel film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). Maul returned in the animated television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels (2014–2018), as well as the standalone film Solo: A Star Wars Story (2018). Lucas had intended for Maul to feature in the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were discarded when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012.
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He was introduced in the prequel trilogy as a Jedi Master who sits on the Jedi High Council during the final years of the Galactic Republic. He is portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in all three prequel films. Windu also appears in the 2008 animated film The Clone Wars, the television series of the same name, and in novels, comics, and video games.
Padmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. She first appeared in the 1999 film The Phantom Menace as the teenage queen of the fictional planet Naboo. In the following two films of the prequel trilogy, Padmé becomes a member of the Galactic Senate and secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé drives him toward the dark side of the Force, which results in his transformation into Darth Vader. Padmé eventually dies after giving birth to the twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Natalie Portman portrays Padmé in all three prequel films. In addition to films, Padmé appears in animated series, novels, comics and video games.
Darth Plagueis is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise created by George Lucas. A Sith Lord with the ability to cheat death and create life, Plagueis is the enigmatic mentor of Palpatine, who eventually betrays Plagueis by murdering him in his sleep, taking his place as Sith Master in accordance with the Sith's Rule of Two. The character was first mentioned on-screen in the 2005 film Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith, in which Palpatine frames his life and death as a "legend" to pique Anakin Skywalker's curiosity about the dark side of the Force. Plagueis has a more prominent presence in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.
"Twin Suns" is the twentieth episode of the third season of the American 3D animated science fiction television series Star Wars Rebels. The episode was written and directed by series creator Dave Filoni, with co-executive producer Henry Gilroy serving as co-writer. The episode originally aired in the United States on March 18, 2017, on Disney XD.
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