Biography

Sam Levinson was born on January 8, 1985 in the USA. He is a writer and producer, known for Euphoria (2019), The Idol (2023) and Malcolm & Marie (2021).

Son of writer-director-actor Barry Levinson

Brother of Jack Levinson.

Has directed 2 Emmy Award-winning performances: Colman Domingo in Euphoria (2019): Ruminations: Big and Little Bullys (2022) and Zendaya in Euphoria (2019): Season 2.

Stepbrother of Michelle Levinson.

I believe very strongly that the best, most honest performances are when an actor feels free and safe. That's how you get a great performance. You can't if there is any tension. The emotion is going to be blocked. And that's something I've known from my days of studying acting. So my job is to create the kind of best, most conducive environment for the actor to play this character.

[on Euphoria (2019)] From the script, you get a sense of what the role requires. Even when you go up to audition, let's use the role of Cassie, you know the role requires a certain amount of nudity. Are you comfortable? If they're comfortable, they get the role, then the next layer is the intimacy coordinator. I think it's a SAG rule that if an actor then says, after getting cast, 'Actually, I don't want to do that,' we can't force them to do a scene.