Samuel Barnett
Barnett at the 2017San Diego Comic-Con
Born	(1980-04-25)25 April 1980 (age 45) Whitby,North Yorkshire, England
Alma mater	London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Occupation	Actor
Years active	2001–present
Partner	Adam Penford

Samuel Barnett (born 25 April 1980) is an English actor. He has performed on stage, film, television and radio and achieved recognition for his work on the stage and film versions ofThe History Boys byAlan Bennett. His television performances include roles in theBBC comedyTwenty Twelve and in theShowtime dramaPenny Dreadful. He played the lead role ofDirk Gently inDirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency, the 2016BBC America adaptation of thebook series byDouglas Adams.

Barnett was born inWhitby, North Yorkshire, on 25 April 1980.^[1] He has four siblings. His mother comes from aQuaker background while his father was descended from Polish Jews.^[2] He started performing at an early age before moving toLondon to study acting at theLondon Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).

Barnett appeared in the original London stage production of Alan Bennett's 2004 playThe History Boys, as well as in theNew York, Sydney,Wellington and Hong Kong productions and radio and film versions of the play.^[3][4][5][6] He had been involved inThe History Boys from its very first reading.^[7]

In 2009 Barnett playedJohn Everett Millais in the BBC seriesDesperate Romantics andJoseph Severn in the filmBright Star. He appeared at theNational Theatre inWomen Beware Women byThomas Middleton, which ran from 20 April to 4 July 2010. From July 2012 he appeared in an all-male-cast asQueen Elizabeth in Shakespeare'sRichard III atShakespeare's Globe in London alongsideMark Rylance in the title role, also playing the role of Sebastian inTwelfth Night. The production transferred to the Apollo Theatre in the West End, opening on 2 November 2012 and running for a limited engagement.^[8] BothTwelfth Night andRichard III transferred to Broadway in 2013 and played at the Belasco Theatre until February 2014. In the Broadway productions Barnett reprised his role as Elizabeth Woodville inRichard III and took on the role ofViola (previously played by Johnny Flynn in London) inTwelfth Night.^[9][10] In July 2018 Barnett reunited withHistory Boys playwright Alan Bennett and co-starSacha Dhawan for Bennett's new play,Allelujah!, at the Bridge Theatre.^[11]

In 2022 at theEdinburgh Fringe, Barnett performed a one-man showFeeling Afraid as If Something Terrible Is Going to Happen written byMarcelo dos Santos.^[12] In late 2023, Barnett performed this at theBush Theatre in London.^[13]

Barnett was nominated for theEvening Standard Theatre Award as Most Promising Newcomer for his role inThe Marriage of Figaro in 2002. He won Best Newcomer and Best Supporting Actor in a play at theWhatsonstage.com Theatregoers Choice Awards for his work on the original production ofThe History Boys.^[3] He was nominated for the 29th annualOlivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role.^[14] He won aDrama Desk Award and was nominated for aTony Award for his work on the Broadway production.^[15][16]

Barnett was nominated for the 2006British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer (On Screen) for his work on the film version ofThe History Boys.^[17]

In 2014 Barnett received a nomination for aTony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his work inTwelfth Night.^[18]

In 2022 Barnett received the Stage Edinburgh Award for excellence in acting for his role in the solo-showFeeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen.^[19]

Barnett is gay and in a relationship with theatre director Adam Penford.^[20] In 2020 his father died fromCOVID-19.^[21][22]

• Samuel Barnett atIMDb
• Samuel Barnett at theInternet Broadway Database

• 1980 births
• 20th-century English LGBTQ people
• 21st-century English LGBTQ people
• 21st-century English male actors
• Actors from Whitby
• Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
• Drama Desk Award winners
• English gay actors
• English male film actors
• English male radio actors
• English male stage actors
• English male television actors
• English people of Polish-Jewish descent
• LGBTQ people from Yorkshire
• Living people
• Male actors from North Yorkshire

• All articles lacking reliable references
• Articles lacking reliable references from February 2025
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use British English from February 2025
• All Wikipedia articles written in British English
• Use dmy dates from February 2025
• Articles with hCards
• IBDB name template using Wikidata