Sam Trammell
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Sam Trammell (born January 29, 1969) is an American actor, best known for his role as Sam Merlotte on the HBO fantasy drama series True Blood. He was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for his performance as Richard Miller in Ah, Wilderness!
Early life and education
Trammell was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, and was raised in Charleston, West Virginia. He attended Brown University, graduating in 1991.
Career
Trammell has worked in theater, Broadway, Off-Broadway, film, and television. His stage credits include a Tony Award-nominated performance in Ah, Wilderness! at Lincoln Center. Off-Broadway, he starred in Dealer's Choice, My Night with Reg, If Memory Serves, and Ancestral Voices, as well as in Kit Marlowe at the Joseph Papp Public Theater.
Trammell's big break came when he landed the role of Sam Merlotte on the HBO series True Blood. In 2013, he played Darrell Mackey in the drama film White Rabbit. He played Hazel (Shailene Woodley)'s father, Michael Lancaster, in the 2014 film The Fault in Our Stars, based on the novel of the same name by John Green.
In 2019, Trammell starred in the Netflix horror-drama series, The Order.
He played vice president Benjamin Hayes in the final season of Homeland who is signed in as commander-in-chief after the sitting president is killed.
Personal life
Trammell met actress Missy Yager in 2003 while performing theatre in New York City. The couple's twin sons were born in August 2011. The couple later parted ways at an unknown time.
He has been in a relationship with actress Emmanuelle Chriqui since 2020.
Awards
For his work on HBO's True Blood, Trammell was nominated for:
- Breakout Performance – Male at the 2009 Scream Awards
- Best Supporting Actor at the 2010 Scream Awards.
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series at the 16th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Childhood's End | Greg Chute | |
| 1997 | The Hotel Manor Inn | Nolan | |
| 1998 | Wrestling with Alligators | Will | |
| 2000 | Beat | Lee | |
| Fear of Fiction | Red/Tom Hopkins | ||
| Autumn in New York | Simon | ||
| Followers | John Dietrich | ||
| 2003 | Undermind | Derrick Hall/Zane Waye | |
| 2004 | The Last Full Measure | —N/a | Short film |
| 2007 | Aliens vs. Predator: Requiem | Tim O'Brien | |
| 2008 | Miracle of Phil | Taylor | Short film |
| 2010 | Children of the Spider | Alex | Short film |
| The Inn Keeper | Jeb | Short film | |
| 2011 | The Details | Chris | Uncredited |
| 2012 | Guns, Girls and Gambling | Sheriff Cowley | |
| 2013 | Crazy Kind of Love | Jeff Lucas | |
| The privileged | Preston Westwood | ||
| White Rabbit | Darrell Mackey | ||
| 2014 | After the Fall | Lee | |
| The Fault in Our Stars | Michael Lancaster | ||
| Me | David | ||
| 2015 | All Mistakes Buried | Sonny Coles | |
| 3 Generations | Matthew Walker | ||
| The Track | Scott | ||
| I Am Wrath | Detective Gibson | ||
| 2016 | Imperium | Gerry Conway | |
| 2017 | Say You Will | Dean Hall | |
| 2018 | It's Time | Coach Billy Brewer | |
| 2019 | I See You | Todd | |
| Breakthrough | Dr. Kent Sutterer | ||
| Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase | Carson Drew | ||
| 2021 | Unsilenced | Daniel Davis | |
| American Refugee | Winter | ||
| 2022 | The Tiger Rising | Rob Horton Sr. | |
| 2023 | Big George Foreman | Reverend Virdell Stokes | |
| 2023 | Organ Trail | Logan | |
| 2024 | 72 Hours |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Harvest of Fire | Simon Troyer | Television film |
| 1998 | Maximum Bob | Sonny Dupree | 2 episodes |
| 1998 | Trinity | Liam McCallister | 3 episodes |
| 2001–02 | Going to California | Kevin "Space" Lauglin | Main role; 20 episodes |
| 2004 | House | Ethan Hartig | Episode: "Maternity" |
| Anonymous Rex | Vincent Rubio | Television film | |
| 2005 | Strong Medicine | Kiko Ellsworth | Episode: "First Response" |
| Judging Amy | Marty Levine | 3 episodes | |
| Bones | Ken Thompson | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 2006 | CSI: NY | Charles Wright | Episode: "Heroes" |
| Numb3rs | Thomas Gill | Episode: "Hot Shot" | |
| Justice | Kevin O'Neil | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| Dexter | Matt Chambers | Episode: "Crocodile" | |
| 2007 | What If God Were the Sun? | Jeff | Television film |
| Cold Case | Porter Rawley (1981) | Episode: "Blood on the Tracks" | |
| 2008–14 | True Blood | Sam Merlotte | Main role; 81 episodes |
| 2009 | Medium | Dr. Brian Seward | Episode: "Things to Do in Phoenix When You're Dead" |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent | Gray Vanderhoven | Episode: "Identity Crisis" | |
| 2013 | Filthy Sexy Teen$ | Tom Saxson | Television special |
| Childrens Hospital | Denizen Stoop | Episode: "My Friend Falcon" | |
| 2015 | Cocked | Richard Paxson | Main role |
| 2017 | Training Day | Emmet Rourke | Episode: "Blurred Lines" |
| 2016–17 | This Is Us | Ben | 4 episodes |
| 2019–20 | The Order | Eric Clarke | Main role (Season 1); Guest role (Season 2) |
| 2019 | Reckoning | Leo Doyle | Main role; Mini-series (10 episodes) |
| 2020 | Homeland | VP Benjamin Hayes | Recurring role |
| 2023 | The Rookie: Feds | Neal Wizaro | Episode: "Red One" |
| 2026 | Euphoria | Ellis | 3 episodes |
| 2026 | The Gray House (TV series) | Jefferson Davis | Reoccurring role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Paul the Male Matchmaker | Stu | Episode: "Know When You Are Too Old" |
External links
- atIMDb
- at theInternet Broadway Database
- at theInternet Off-Broadway Database(archived)