Sam Reid
Reid atTIFF 2013
Born	(1987-02-19)19 February 1987 (age 38) New South Wales, Australia
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (2010)
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2007–present
Relatives	Rupert Reid (brother)

Sam Reid (born 19 February 1987) is an Australian actor. He is best known for playingLestat de Lioncourt in theAMC drama seriesInterview with the Vampire (2022–present), for which he received aCritics' Choice Television Award nomination. He received threeAACTA Award nominations for his leading roles inThe Newsreader (2021–2025) andLambs of God (2019). Reid also played John Davinier inBelle (2013) and Hugo Fraser-Tyrwhitt inThe Riot Club (2014).

Sam Reid was born on 19 February 1987,^[1]inNew South Wales, Australia.^[2] He was raised on a cattle property in theMonaro region.^[3][4] Reid is ofIrish descent from his mother's side.^[5] He has an older brother,Rupert Reid, who is also an actor, and a sister, Kali Reid, who is aproducer.^[6]

Reid developed a love of acting at the age of six. As children, he and his brother would stageplays andcabaret performances in the cattle shed on the property.^[5] Reid played the role of Hamlet whilst at high school.^[7] Expressing his admiration forOrson Welles, Reid said, "I will never stop marvelling overCitizen Kane. It's impossible to think that that film was made by a 26-year-old. It's impossible to think that he had that confidence and that talent so early."^[5]

Reid attendedCranbrook School, a private boys' school in Sydney.^[4] After graduating, he made his television debut with a small role in the Australian medical dramaAll Saints.^[8] Reid then moved toLondon to study acting at theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA). He graduated in 2010, having been named star student of his year.^[5]

In 2010, Reid playedPrince Harry inThe Taking of Prince Harry, aChannel 4docufiction exploring a hypothetical scenario in whichPrince Harry is kidnapped whilst serving inAfghanistan.^[9][10] During his final semester at LAMDA, Reid had the opportunity to audition for a role inAnonymous (2011). Although he did not receive a script prior to the audition, he was offered the role of theEarl of Essex the next day.^[4] At that time, he was credited as Sebastian Reid.^[11][12]

Reid portrayed the youngHarry Pearce in series ten of the BBC dramaSpooks in 2011.^[13][14] The following year, he played Brian Lomax in the pilot episode ofEndeavour^[14][15] and Tolbert McCoy, the son ofRandolph McCoy, in theAmerican Civil WarminiseriesHatfields & McCoys.^[16]

In the period dramaBelle (2013), he played John Davinier oppositeGugu Mbatha-Raw's Belle. He was cast relatively late in pre-production after actorSam Claflin left the project due to scheduling conflicts.^[17] That same year, Reid played Young Finlay in thewar filmThe Railway Man, alongsideStellan Skarsgård, who portrayed the older version of the character.^[18]

In 2014, Reid appeared in'71 as Second Lieutenant Armitage, an inexperienced commanding officer deployed to Belfast at the height ofThe Troubles.^[19] He later played Hugo, "a louche postgrad", inThe Riot Club, a film adaptation ofLaura Wade'sBullingdon Club-inspired playPosh.^[20][21] The following year, Reid portrayed American astronautJohn Glenn inThe Astronaut Wives Club, ahistorical drama series based onLily Koppel'sbook of the same name. The book focuses on the lives of theMercury Seven astronauts' wives.^[22]

Reid appeared in the music video forFlume's song "Never Be Like You" alongsideSophie Lowe in 2016.^[23] That year, he also played the young Alexander "Sasha" Ivanov inShamim Sarif'sCold Warespionage filmDespite the Falling Snow^[24] and John Cree, a "failed playwright"^[25] and a "controlling husband,"^[26] inThe Limehouse Golem.

In 2017, Reid played DCI Len Bradfield inPrime Suspect 1973 oppositeStefanie Martini, who portrayed the youngJane Tennison. The series is a prequel to the original seriesPrime Suspect (1991-2006), which starredHelen Mirren in the lead role.^[27] Reid then starred in the supernaturalthriller2:22 (2017), alongsideMichiel Huisman andTeresa Palmer.^[28][29]

In 2019, Reid played Mikey, the boyfriend of Sunny, inStanding Up for Sunny, arom-com that "successfully breaks down barriers around disability and mental illness".^[30] That same year, he played Young Max oppositePhoebe Tonkin in the supernatural mysteryBloom, which centres around an enchanted plant that can revive physical youth.^[31][32] Reid portrayed young teacher Ray in the drama miniseriesThe Hunting (2019). It explores a teen nude photo scandal affecting schools and families while exposing systemic misogyny.^[33][34] In the gothic dramaLambs of God (2019), Reid played Father Ignatius, a priest assigned to reclaim a monastery for the church by relocating the last three nuns of the Order of St. Agnes. The nuns were portrayed byAnn Dowd,Essie Davis, andJessica Barden.^[35][36] According to Dom Fisher ofGeek Vibe Nation, Reid "goes through such a transformative metamorphosis that only a skilled actor could pull off".^[37] His performance earned him his first nomination for theAACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama.^[38]

In 2021, Reid portrayed Sergeant Klintoff inLeah Purcell's feature directorial debut,The Drover's Wife, a First Nationsrevisionist Western thriller.^[39][40] From 2021 to 2025, Reid played rising news presenter Dale Jennings in theABC seriesThe Newsreader. Kelsie Mattson ofCollider described his performance as "demonstrative of Reid's range",^[41][42] whilst Helen Hawkins ofThe Arts Desk praised his "impressively delicate performance, an unnamed fear lurking behind his confident smile".^[43] For this role, Reid received twoAACTA Awards for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama nominations.^[44][45]

Since 2022, Reid has starred asLestat de Lioncourt in theAMC television seriesInterview with the Vampire.^[46] His performance has received widespread praise from critics.^{[47][48][49][50]} Kayleigh Donaldson ofConsequence described Reid's performance as "directly taken from the novels, as opposed to thecamp eccentricity ofTom Cruise".^[51] Reid was included inIndieWire's 28 Best Film and TV Performances of 2022, which stated: "Every minute of Reid's performance here is a master class in manipulation".^[52] Similarly, Daniel Fienberg ofThe Hollywood Reporter praised Reid's ability to "convincingly command every room" in his review of the series.^[53] He was nominated forCritics' Choice Television Award for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series for his performance.^[54]

In 2011, Reid played Soranzo in'Tis Pity She's a Whore at theLeeds Playhouse alongsideSara Vickers andDamien Molony.^[55] He later played Gene Laine inThe Old Vic andNoël Coward Theatre productions of the musicalGirl from the North Country (2017–2018), alongside Claudia Jolly,Sheila Atim,Shirley Henderson, andCiarán Hinds.^[56][57]

• Media related toSam Reid (actor) at Wikimedia Commons
• Sam Reid atIMDb

• 1987 births
• 21st-century Australian male actors
• Living people
• Male actors from New South Wales
• Australian people of Irish descent
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male television actors
• People educated at Cranbrook School, Sydney
• Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art

• CS1 Italian-language sources (it)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from January 2014
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from December 2019
• Articles with hCards
• Commons category link from Wikidata