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Sam Spruell

Highest Rated: 99% Starred Up (2013)

Lowest Rated: 13% Good People (2014)

Birthday: Jan 1, 1977

Birthplace: London, England, UK

English character actor Sam Spruell essayed a wide variety of tough, often ruthless roles in both UK and American features and television, including "The Hurt Locker" (2008), "Taken 3" (2014) and "The Bastard Executioner" (FX, 2015-15). Raised in London, Spruell studied at Hull University before making his stage debut with the National Theatre. His first screen credit came in Kathryn Bigelow's submarine drama "K-19: The Widowmaker" (2002), which preceded a lengthy stint as guest performer and occasional series regular on British television. He soon established himself as a character actor with great diversity, segueing from a mobster's vengeful son in the gritty "London to Brighton" (2006) to a husband struggling to conceive a child with his wife in the comedy-drama "Tick Tock Lullaby" (2007). By the following year, Spruell had made inroads to American features, landing supporting roles in Bigelow's Oscar-winning "The Hurt Locker" and Ed Zwick's "Defiance" (2008), and in 2012, he was cast as the sycophantic brother of Charlize Theron's evil queen in "Snow White and the Huntsman" (2012). The exposure afforded by these projects led to more substantive roles in his native England; Spruell was among the leads in the drama series "Mayday" (BBC One, 2013- ), about the disappearance of a young woman in a small English town during the May Day Festival. By the following year, Spruell had appeared in a slew of projects, including Ridley Scott's "The Counselor" (2013) and as the villain in "Taken 3," while also maintaining a supporting role in the first season of "The Last Ship" (TNT, 2014- ). His character, a paleobiologist, was killed at the conclusion of the season, allowing Spruell to join the cast of Kurt Sutter's historical action-drama "The Bastard Executioner" as a trusted friend of the series' hero, Wilkin Brattle (Lee Jones). Spruell was also featured as the infamous London gangster Jack "Jack the Hat" McVitie in Brian Helgeland's "Legend" (2015), about the notorious Kray brothers, who ruled Britain's underworld in the late '60s.

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Highest rated movies

99% 84% Starred Up
Watchlist
96% 84% The Hurt Locker
Watchlist
95% 63% The World Is Yours
Watchlist
93% 76% The Settlers Watchlist
68% 74% London to Brighton
Watchlist
63% 69% Outlaw King Watchlist
58% 72% Defiance
Watchlist
48% 52% Snow White and the Huntsman
Watchlist
47% 53% Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets Watchlist 42% 27% Locked Down Watchlist

Filmography

Movies

Credit
93% 76% The Settlers Unknown (Character) $49.6K 2023
No Score Yet 62% The Hanging Sun Aaron (Character) - 2022
42% 27% Locked Down Martin (Character) - 2021
No Score Yet No Score Yet The Amazing Mr Blunden Bertie (Character) - 2021
95% 63% The World Is Yours Bruce (Character) - 2018
63% 69% Outlaw King Valence (Character) - 2018
No Score Yet No Score Yet Cowboy Dave Cowboy Dave (Character) - 2017
47% 53% Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets General Okto-Bar (Character) $40.4M 2017
30% 42% Child 44 Dr. Tyapkin (Character) $1.2M 2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet Give Jason (Character) - 2014
13% 43% Taken 3 Oleg Malankov (Character) $89.3M 2014
13% 22% Good People Jack Witkowski (Character) - 2014
99% 84% Starred Up Governor Hayes (Character) $34.1K 2013
33% 24% The Counselor Wireman (Character) $16.9M 2013
No Score Yet 38% Sixteen Liam (Character) - 2013
48% 52% Snow White and the Huntsman Finn (Character) $155.1M 2012
No Score Yet No Score Yet Father Nigel (Character) - 2009
96% 84% The Hurt Locker Contractor Charlie (Character) $15.7M 2008
58% 72% Defiance Arkady Lubczanski (Character) $28.6M 2008
68% 74% London to Brighton Stuart Allen (Character) - 2006

TV

Credit
No Score Yet No Score Yet A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms Unknown (Character) 2025
93% 85% Fargo Ole Munch (Character) 2023-2024
90% 64% Doctor Who Swarm (Character) 2021
54% 39% Liar Oliver Graham (Character) 2020
88% No Score Yet I Am Barry (Character) 2019
46% 62% The Bastard Executioner Toran Prichard (Character) 2015
83% 69% The Last Ship Dr. Quincy Tophet (Character) 2014-2015
No Score Yet No Score Yet Mayday Unknown (Character) 2013
88% 89% Luther Owen Lynch (Guest Star) 2010
No Score Yet 96% Foyle's War Tommy Duggan (Character) 2010
No Score Yet 99% Ashes to Ashes Unknown (Guest Star) 2009
No Score Yet No Score Yet Spooks Unknown (Guest Star) 2004