- "The whole experience has been absolutely overwhelming. I mean, I'll never forget the moment I sort of first saw Penélope and Ian and Jerry Bruckheimer, over there, and Rob Marshall and Johnny, who's sort of done three of these before, you know? And he's kind of, he makes us feel a part of it as much as he has already been a part of it. You know, we're sort of welcomed with open arms and it's been amazing."
- ―Sam Claflin
Samuel George "Sam" Claflin (born June 27, 1986) is a British actor. Claflin's acting career began after graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in 2009, in which he starred in his first major roles in TV miniseries The Pillars of the Earth and Any Human Heart. Sam Claflin portrayed Philip Swift in the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film, On Stranger Tides.
Biography[]
Early life[]
Sam Claflin was born in Ipswich. His father was an accountant/finance manager for a charity radio station, and his mother was a classroom assistant.[1] He attended Costessey High in Norwich, UK, and was a member of the School of Excellence for Norwich City FC. In 2003, he took up Performing Arts at Norwich City College, before going on to attend the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.
Acting career[]
Ever since graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in 2009, Sam Claflin had worked on a number of projects. He starred in the television miniseries adaptation of William Boyd's Any Human Heart for Channel Four, playing the younger years of lead character Logan, sharing the role with Jim Broadbent and Matthew Macfadyen. The cast also includes Kim Cattrall, Gillian Anderson and Tom Hollander, and the miniseries was seen by U .S . audiences on PBS' Masterpiece Theatre. Claflin also appeared in the epic miniseries Pillars of the Earth, portraying Richard alongside Eddie Redmayne, Hayley Atwell and Ian McShane in the drama-based on Ken Follett's novel of the same name. He also starred in The Lost Future, a science-fiction adventure with Sean Bean and Annabelle Wallis.[2]
The young actor's theater credits while at LAMDA included the role of Dorimant in Man of Mode, the title role in Tommy, Silvius in As You Like It and Davey in Love Is. Immediately following the completion of his role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Claflin segued into a leading role in the British telefilm United.[2]
Claflin's acting career continued, in which he portrayed the role of footballer Duncan Edwards in the BBC TV drama United, which was centered around the events of the 1958 Munich air disaster, in which Edwards was fatally injured. He also played supporting role of William, Snow White's childhood friend, in the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman. In May 2012, he was cast in the lead role in Hammer Films' The Quiet Ones. In August 2012, Claflin was cast as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
Pirates of the Caribbean[]
- "I play a missionary named Philip Swift who stands up for what he believes in and tries to right Blackbeard's wrongs. In the course of the story, Philip goes through a surprising journey, especially when he meets Syrena. He's never really had any contact with women, so that's quite a turn of events, to say the least."
- ―Sam Claflin
For the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Sam Claflin was chosen to portray the stalwart missionary Philip Swift. Producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Rob Marshall selected Claflin after a worldwide talent search for candidates to portray Philip. Claflin was chosen because of both being a young actor and had some experience in two big English miniseries, but as yet unproven on an international level.[2] Sam Claflin said, "It's quite literally every boy's dream to be part of a pirate movie, you know. I was trying not to think too much about it, thinking, 'It's gonna fall through. It can't... Why would they choose me?' I'm just an ordinary kid from Norwich."[3] Before starting his work in the filming of On Stranger Tides, Claflin was friends with co-star Àstrid Bergès-Frisbey (Syrena). They met on the day of Claflin's audition and screen test, the day after Bergès-Frisbey landed her role; Claflin was the first person she had told of this. Claflin and Bergès-Frisbey continued to be friends on and offset.[4]
Though Claflin was unaware of this during the filming of On Stranger Tides, until near the film's premiere in the United Kingdom[5], his character Philip Swift was created by Johnny Depp, who portrayed Jack Sparrow.[2]
Appearances[]
Trivia[]
- Claflin appeared in the 2010 miniseries The Pillars of the Earth with Ian McShane.
- Claflin appeared in the 2012 film Snow White and the Huntsman with Ian McShane.
