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IMDbPro

Sam Trammell

  • Actor
  • Writer
  • Producer
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
Sam Trammell
Trailer 1
Play trailer2:21
Blue Eyed Girl (2025)
41 Videos
99+ Photos
Tony Award-nominee Sam Trammell may be most widely recognized as "Sam Merlotte" in HBO's AFI award-winning series True Blood (2008), filmed in Trammell's native Louisiana. The Alan Ball-created fantasy drama set ratings records for the network over its seven year run. He co-starred in the feature film Nancy Drew and the Hidden Staircase (2019). He starred opposite Chrissy Metz in Breakthrough (2019). He appeared in Netflix's dramatic series The Order (2019) and starred in Sony Television's Reckoning (2019). He appeared on Homeland (2011) as Vice-President Benjamin Hayes.

In 2014, Trammell co-starred in The Fault in Our Stars (2014), based on the best-selling novel, with Shailene Woodley and Laura Dern. He co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the indie film All Mistakes Buried (2015). His additional film credits include I Am Wrath (2016) with John Travolta, Imperium (2016) opposite Toni Collette, 3 Generations (2015), with Naomi Watts, Susan Sarandon and Elle Fanning. He completed production on the indie films Hospitality (2018) opposite Emmanuelle Chriqui,and La Gran Promesa (2017) by Mexican filmmaker Jorge Ramírez Suárez. He was a series regular on Maximum Bob (1998), Trinity (1998) and Going to California (2001).

A theater veteran, he earned the Clarence Derwent and Theater World Awards, as well as a Tony nomination, for his role in Eugene O'Neill's "Ah, Wilderness!" at Lincoln Center. His extensive on and off Broadway, as well as regional credits, include "Kit Marlowe" at The Public Theater, "Dealer's Choice" at the Manhattan Theater Club, "Ancestral Voices" at Lincoln Center, "My Night With Reg" with The New Group, "Rope" with The Drama Dept, "If Memory Serves" at the Promenade Theater, and "Our Town" at Williamstown.

A native of Louisiana and West Virginia, Trammell graduated from Brown University and the Sorbonne with a Bachelor of Arts in Semiotics. He currently resides in Los Angeles with his family. He is an advocate for clean oceans and beaches and works with the non-profit organization Oceana.
BornJanuary 29, 1969
  • More at IMDbPro
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    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJanuary 29, 1969
IMDbProStarmeterSee rank
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Awards
      • 4 wins & 2 nominations total

    Photos165

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    Known for

    Anna Paquin, Ryan Kwanten, Stephen Moyer, Sam Trammell, Nelsan Ellis, and Rutina Wesley in True Blood (2008)
    True Blood
    7.9
    TV Series
    • Sam Merlotte
    Claire Danes in Homeland (2011)
    Homeland
    8.3
    TV Series
    • President Ben Hayes
    • Vice President Ben Hayes
    Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort in The Fault in Our Stars (2014)
    The Fault in Our Stars
    7.6
    • Michael
    • 2014
    Zendaya in Euphoria (2019)
    Euphoria
    8.1
    TV Series
    • Ellis

    Credits

    IMDbPro

    Actor



    • Foster Dade
      • Jim Dade
      • Pre-production
      • TV Series



    • Zendaya in Euphoria (2019)
      Euphoria
      8.1
      TV Series
      • Ellis
      • 2026
    • Mary-Louise Parker, Daisy Head, Paul Anderson, and Amethyst Davis in The Gray House (2024)
      The Gray House
      6.7
      TV Series
      • Jefferson Davis
      • 2024–2026
    • Blue Eyed Girl (2025)
      Blue Eyed Girl
      5.5
      • Harrison
      • 2025
    • Madison Lawlor in Pursued (2025)
      Pursued
      4.1
      • Jack
      • 2025
    • Steve Byers, Ashley Jones, Sam Trammell, and Brielle Robillard in The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story (2025)
      The Girl Who Survived: The Alina Thompson Story
      5.6
      TV Movie
      • Carl Thompson
      • 2025
    • Oliver Platt, Steven Weber, and S. Epatha Merkerson in Chicago Med (2015)
      Chicago Med
      7.6
      TV Series
      • Walter Macron
      • 2025
    • Sam Trammell, Cam Gigandet, Nicky Whelan, and Pierson Fode in 72 Hours (2024)
      72 Hours
      4.1
      • Sebastian James
      • 2024
    • Emily Deschanel and Sam Trammell in ReEntry (2024)
      ReEntry
      5.8
      • Lucas Bello
      • 2024
    • Niecy Nash in The Rookie: Feds (2022)
      The Rookie: Feds
      5.4
      TV Series
      • Neal Wizaro
      • 2023
    • Khris Davis in Big George Foreman (2023)
      Big George Foreman
      6.7
      • Rev. Virdell Stokes
      • 2023
    • Organ Trail (2023)
      Organ Trail
      5.1
      • Logan
      • 2023
    • Kristin Bauer and Deborah Ann Woll in Truest Blood (2022)
      Truest Blood
      8.5
      Podcast Series
      • 2022
    • Dennis Quaid, Queen Latifah, Madalen Mills, Schicka, and Christian Convery in The Tiger Rising (2022)
      The Tiger Rising
      4.8
      • Robert Horton Sr.
      • 2022
    • Erika Alexander, Sam Trammell, and Derek Luke in American Refugee (2021)
      American Refugee
      4.4
      • Winter
      • 2021
    • Sam Trammell, Ting Wu, James Yi, Anastasia Lin, and Tzu-Chiang Wang in Unsilenced (2021)
      Unsilenced
      6.8
      • Daniel Davis
      • 2021

    Writer



    • Sam Trammell and Vanessa Ferlito in All Mistakes Buried (2015)
      All Mistakes Buried
      4.8
      • story by
      • 2015

    Producer



    • Sam Trammell and Vanessa Ferlito in All Mistakes Buried (2015)
      All Mistakes Buried
      4.8
      • executive producer
      • 2015

    Videos41

    True Blood Season 4: Sam
    Clip 1:19
    True Blood Season 4: Sam
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:55
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:55
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 1:00
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:17
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:27
    Official Trailer
    Season 1 Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:01
    Season 1 Official Trailer

    Personal details

    • Height
      • 5′ 10″ (1.78 m)
    • Born
      • January 29, 1969
      • New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
    • Relatives
        Elizabeth Trammell(Sibling)
    • Other works
      Played "Richard" in "Ah, Wilderness!", a play by Eugene O'Neill (Vivian Beaumont Theater, Lincoln Center, New York City, New York, USA).

    Did you know

    • Trivia
      Sam is the only cast member on True Blood (2008) who is actually from Louisiana.
    • Quotes
      When you get into Louisiana, it really is like a different country in a lot of ways. The plants you see are a little different, like the weeping willows and the cypress trees that come up out of the bayou. And it's steamy hot. There's something about a humid, dusky evening that's kind of sexy. In the country, it feels like you don't have control over nature anymore - nature is in control of you. It's like the naturalists at the turn of the century, that idea that nature is so much bigger than you and man is a small thing. You walk out to the bayou and you're overshadowed by these strange plants and the heat and the mists, and I think that lends itself to supernatural creatures because there are things that can hide in the shadows. There's also the tradition of voodoo, the Haitian magic arts, in New Orleans. And because New Orleans is below sea level, when they bury people in New Orleans, it's mostly above ground. So you have this idea that the spirits are more accessible and can access you more easily because they're not even buried.

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