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 small suburb outside 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 an online website called AOL. [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 fan, 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]
Witwer serves as the front-man for the band The Crashtones, whose first studio album Colorful of the Stereo was released February 15, 2006. [31] Witwer released a new album May 7, 2019 entitled Revenge of the Crashtones. [32]
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 [33] [34] | Voice; Direct-to-video | |
Wrestling Isn't Wrestling | Chyna | Short film | |
Star Wars: The Force Awakens | Alien, Stormtrooper, Additional Characters [34] | Voices | |
2016 | Rogue One | Stormtrooper, Additional Characters [34] | |
Officer Downe | Burnham | ||
2017 | Star Wars: The Last Jedi | Additional Voices | |
2018 | Solo: A Star Wars Story | Maul [35] | 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" [36] |
Mythic Quest | Ian's father | Episode: "Sarian" [37] |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2008 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed | Starkiller, Emperor Palpatine | Also likeness [38] [34] |
Soulcalibur IV | Starkiller | English version [34] | |
2010 | Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II | Starkiller, Emperor Palpatine | Also likeness [38] [34] |
2012 | Kinect Star Wars | Emperor Palpatine | [34] |
2015 | Disney Infinity 3.0 | 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 [38] |
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order | Emperor Palpatine | Cameo | |
2020 | Star Wars: Squadrons | Walla actor | |
2021 | Star Trek Online | Tenavik | [39] |
2022 | Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga | Maul, Emperor Palpatine | [40] |
The Callisto Protocol | Captain Leon Ferris | Also likeness [41] | |
2023 | Horizon Forbidden West | Walter Londra | Burning Shores downloadable content, also likeness |
Darth Vader is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He is the primary antagonist of the original film trilogy and, as Anakin Skywalker, is the protagonist of the prequel trilogy. Originally a slave on the planet Tatooine, he became a powerful Jedi. He was lured to the dark side of the Force by Chancellor Palpatine, and became the Sith Lord Darth Vader. After being grievously wounded in a lightsaber battle, he was transformed into a cyborg. He was the husband of Padmé Amidala and the biological father of Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa.
Obi-Wan Kenobi is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. Within the original trilogy, Obi-Wan is a Jedi Master as a supporting character and is portrayed by English actor Alec Guinness. In the later-released prequel trilogy, a younger version of the character serves as one of the two main protagonists, alongside Anakin Skywalker, and is portrayed by Scottish actor Ewan McGregor. In the original trilogy he is introduced as Ben Kenobi, an alias he uses while in hiding from the Empire. He is a mentor to Luke Skywalker, to whom he introduces the ways of the Jedi. After sacrificing himself in a duel against Darth Vader, Obi-Wan guides Luke through the Force in his fight against the Galactic Empire. In the prequel trilogy, set two decades earlier, he is initially a Padawan (apprentice) to Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, and later mentor and friend of Luke's father Anakin, who falls to the dark side of the Force and becomes Vader. The character briefly appears in the sequel trilogy as a disembodied voice, speaking to protagonist Rey, and serving as the namesake of Ben Solo. He is frequently featured as a main character in various other Star Wars media, including the streaming television miniseries Obi-Wan Kenobi, in which McGregor reprised the role.
Count Dooku of Serenno, also known by his Sith name Darth Tyranus, is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, created by George Lucas. He is an antagonist in the Star Wars prequel trilogy, appearing in both Episode II – Attack of the Clones (2002) and Episode III – Revenge of the Sith (2005), played by Christopher Lee, as well as associated media, such as books, comics, video games, and television series. Actor Corey Burton has voiced Dooku in most of his animated and video game appearances, most notably Star Wars: Clone Wars (2003–2005), Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and the miniseries Tales of the Jedi (2022). Lee reprised the role in the 2008 animated film that launched The Clone Wars series.
Grand Admiral Thrawn is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise. He appeared as the eponymous character in the 1991–1993 Thrawn trilogy of novels by Timothy Zahn. An Imperial military leader and a member of the Chiss race, Thrawn leads remnants of the scattered Galactic Empire in the aftermath of its fall.
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.
Raymond Park is a British 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 on Heroes.
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 of many works 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. The various antagonistic factions in the franchise, namely the Confederacy of Independent Systems, the First Galactic Empire, the Imperial Remnant and the First Order all originated, with the Sith. Sith, known individually as Sith Lords, are, by nature, ruthless. At any point a single individual assumes absolute authority amongst their kind and is granted the honorific Dark Lord of the Sith. Sith culture is based on perpetual treachery and betrayal. The fate of Sith Lords is, typically, to be murdered and replaced by their own apprentices. Sith teach their apprentices to revere the dark side of the Force, to give full reign to aggressive emotions such as rage and hatred, and to believe that others are expendable in the pursuit of power, it makes the Lords' demise inevitable.
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 created by George Lucas. He first appears on screen in The Empire Strikes Back (1980), in which he is credited as The Emperor, and is the overarching antagonist of the three film trilogies in the Skywalker Saga, in which he is portrayed by Ian McDiarmid. The character is also known by his Sith name, Darth Sidious, which was first used in the novelization of The Phantom Menace (1999). In creating Palpatine, Lucas was inspired by real-world examples of democratic backsliding during the rise and rule of dictators such as Julius Caesar, Napoleon Bonaparte, and Adolf Hitler.
Darth Maul, later known simply as Maul, is a character in the Star Wars franchise. He first appeared in the 1999 film Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace as a powerful Sith Lord and Darth Sidious' first apprentice. Though seemingly killed by Obi-Wan Kenobi at the end of the film, Darth Maul returned in the 2008 animated series Star Wars: The Clone Wars. Star Wars creator George Lucas had intended for the resurrected Maul to serve as the main antagonist of the sequel film trilogy, but these plans were abandoned when Disney acquired Lucasfilm in 2012. The character nonetheless reappeared in the 2014 animated series Star Wars Rebels and the 2018 film Solo: A Star Wars Story, voiced again by Witwer; Park physically reprised the role in Solo. Since his initial defeat in The Phantom Menace, Maul has become an independent criminal mastermind and endured as Obi-Wan's archenemy.
Mace Windu is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, portrayed by Samuel L. Jackson in the prequel trilogy. Jackson later reprised the role with voice only in the 2008 animated film Star Wars: The Clone Wars and the 2019 sequel film The Rise of Skywalker, whilst Terrence C. Carson voiced the character in other projects, such as The Clone Wars animated television series. The character also appears in various canon and non-canon Star Wars media like books, comics, and video games.
Padmé Amidala is a fictional character in the Star Wars franchise, appearing in the prequel trilogy and portrayed by Natalie Portman. First indirectly mentioned in Return of the Jedi, she is introduced in The Phantom Menace as the teenage Queen of Naboo, and after her reign, becomes a senator and an anti-war activist in the Galactic Senate. She secretly marries Anakin Skywalker, a Jedi Knight, then later dies while giving birth to twins Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa. Anakin's fear of losing Padmé serves as the catalyst in driving him to the dark side of the Force and becoming Darth Vader.
Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II is an action-adventure video game developed and published by LucasArts. It is the second installment of The Force Unleashed multimedia project, and the sequel to Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (2008). The game was released in the United States on October 26, 2010, in Australia on October 27, and throughout Europe on October 29 for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii consoles, as well as Windows and the Nintendo DS and iOS portable devices.
Vader Episode I: Shards of the Past is a 2018 Star Wars fan film created by Star Wars Theory. On December 20, 2018, a screening was held at the Landmark's Regent Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, and on December 21, 2018, it was released to YouTube. As of October 2022, a sequel, Vader Episode II: The Amethyst Blade is in pre-production. About six minutes of the episode have been released on YouTube via two cinematic teasers, and the full episode is expected to release within the next couple years with a planned third episode in early development.
"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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