Sam Levinson
Levinson at the2023 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Samuel Abraham Levinson (1985-01-08)January 8, 1985 (age 41) United States
Occupations	Filmmaker actor
Years active	1992–present
Spouse	Ashley Lent
Children	1
Father	Barry Levinson

Samuel Abraham Levinson (born January 8, 1985) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is the son of directorBarry Levinson. In 2010, he received his first writing credit as a co-writer for the action comedy filmOperation: Endgame. The following year, he made his directorial film debut withAnother Happy Day (2011), which premiered atSundance Film Festival. He then received a writing credit on his father'sHBO television filmThe Wizard of Lies (2017). He continued writing and directing for the feature filmsAssassination Nation (2018) andMalcolm & Marie (2021).

In 2019, Levinson created theHBO teen drama seriesEuphoria which was adapted from theIsraeli series of the same name. The series is popular with audiences and received positive reviews from critics. In 2023, he created the HBO seriesThe Idol, which was controversial and received negative reviews.

Levinson was born on January 8, 1985, and is the son of Diana Rhodes, a production designer for TV commercials, and filmmakerBarry Levinson.^[1][2] His father is from aRussian-Jewish family.^[3] Levinson studiedmethod acting for four years.^[4] He has a brother, Jack Levinson, who is also an actor,^[5] and two half-siblings, Michelle and Patrick, from his mother's first marriage.

Levinson made his film debut as an actor in his father, directorBarry Levinson's 1992 fantasy comedyToys, alongside his brother Jack. He continued to appear in his father's films such as the comedy-drama filmBandits (2001) and the satirical comedy filmWhat Just Happened (2008). In 2009, acted in theUwe Boll filmStoic. In 2011, Levinson premiered his directorial film debut,Another Happy Day, which starredEllen Barkin at theSundance Film Festival.^[1][6]Despite the film's negative reviews, it received theWaldo Salt Screenwriting Award.^[7]

Levinson co-wrote the 2017 television filmThe Wizard of Lies, which was directed by his father Barry Levinson. The film focuses onBernie Madoff, who is played byRobert De Niro.^[8] Levinson wrote and directed the filmAssassination Nation^[9] which premiered at the 2018Sundance Film Festival to mixed reviews from critics, who praised its "frenetic and visually stylish" action but criticized the thinly-written characters.^[10][11] In June 2019, Levinson created theHBO television drama seriesEuphoria, based on theIsraeli series of the same name.^[12][13] The series has received both praise and criticism for its direction, writing, and acting. It is infamous for its raw and graphic portrayal of teenagers wrestling with drug addiction and sexuality.^[4]

In 2020, Levinson wrote and directed the filmMalcolm & Marie, reuniting him withEuphoria starZendaya, which was distributed byNetflix in February 2021.^[14] The film was received poorly by critics.Aisha Harris ofNPR wrote, "All that's left are two characters rendered awkwardly as vessels for a director's odd hang-ups about his own identity and craft".^[15] Shirley Lee ofThe Atlantic described the film simply writing "Malcolm & Marie isn't Art. It's a meltdown" and that it "seems to use the titular couple as mouthpieces for a litany of his own gripes."^[16] Levinson co-wrote the screenplay for the psychological erotic thrillerDeep Water (2022), based on the 1957novel of the same name byPatricia Highsmith.^[17][18] The film debuted onHulu where the adaptation was poorly received.The Guardian film criticPeter Bradshaw specifically panned the film's script, writing "Deep Water looks like a huge amount of material has been shaped in the edit but there are odd gaps and elisions".^[19] Levinson has executive producedPieces of a Woman (2020),Breaking (2022),X (2022), andPearl (2022).^[20]

On June 29, 2021, Levinson announced that he was co-creating, writing and executive producing another HBO television drama seriesThe Idol, alongside recording artistAbel 'The Weeknd' Tesfaye and his producing partner Reza Fahim.^[21] The series garnered controversy following an exposé inRolling Stone which featured allegations against Levinson and Tesfaye of creating a toxic work environment, and crew members alleging the script involved explicit sexual content which amounted to "sexual torture porn."^[22][23] The first episode premiered at the2023 Cannes Film Festival to negative reviews.Time Magazine criticStephanie Zacharek wrote, "The Idol pretends to expose exploitation while reveling in it",^[24]Variety critic Peter Debruge noted "The script seems calculated to fool audiences into thinking they're observing how Hollywood operates, when so much of it amounts to tawdry clichés" and that the series "plays like a sordid male fantasy."^[25] The series premiered onMax on June 4, 2023. Noting that the season had been cut short by an episode without explanation,The Telegraph critic Ed Power expressed that the finale "had deepened the suspicion that, as far back as teen dramaEuphoria, he was a voyeur without a soul."^[26] HBO announced the show's cancellation after one season on August 28, 2023.^[27]

From 2008 to 2011, Levinson dated actressEllen Barkin.^[28] Levinson is married to Ashley Lent Levinson. The couple have a son.^[4]

Levinson has discussed his struggles with drugs as a teenager and young adult.^[29]

Executive producer

• Pieces of a Woman (2020)
• Breaking (2022)
• X (2022)
• Pearl (2022)
• MaXXXine (2024)
• Place to Be (TBA)

Wikimedia Commons has media related toSam Levinson.

• Sam Levinson atIMDb

• 1985 births
• 20th-century American male actors
• 21st-century American male actors
• American male film actors
• American male screenwriters
• American male television writers
• American people of Russian-Jewish descent
• American showrunners
• American television directors
• American television writers
• Directors Guild of America Award winners
• Film directors from Los Angeles
• Film producers from Los Angeles
• Jewish American male actors
• Living people
• Male actors from Los Angeles
• Screenwriters from Los Angeles
• Television producers from California
• American television show creators
• Sundance Film Festival award winners
• Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award winners

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2020
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link is on Wikidata