Sam Crane (born 1979) is an English actor. On the stage, Crane has had leading roles in productions of '' Farinelli and the King'', ''

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeas ...

'', and ''

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child ''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' is a play written by Jack Thorne from an original story by Thorne, J. K. Rowling, and John Tiffany. The plot occurs nineteen years after the events of Rowling's novel ''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...

.'' Outside of theatre he has appeared on ''

The Crown The Crown is a political concept used in Commonwealth realms. Depending on the context used, it generally refers to the entirety of the State (polity), state (or in federal realms, the relevant level of government in that state), the executive ...

'' and co-directed the documentary '' Grand Theft Hamlet'' with his wife

Pinny Grylls Pinny Grylls is a British documentary filmmaker. She is known for co-directing '' Grand Theft Hamlet'', a 2024 feature documentary shot exclusively inside a video game, with Sam Crane. The film won the Best Documentary Jury Prize at the 2024 SXS ...

Background

Crane is the son of Richard Crane, a playwright, and theatre director Faynia Williams. He studied at

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

and

LAMDA The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) is a drama school located in Hammersmith, London. Founded in 1861, it is the oldest specialist drama school in the British Isles and a founding member of the Federation of Drama Schools. In ...

, where he won the

Nicholas Hytner Sir Nicholas Robert Hytner ( ; born 7 May 1956) is an English theatre director, film director, and film producer. He was previously the Artistic Director of London's National Theatre. His major successes as director include ''Miss Saigon'', '' ...

Award. He is married to filmmaker

and they have a son and daughter.

Career

Theatre

Crane played

Farinelli Farinelli (; 24 January 1705 – 16 September 1782) was the stage name of Carlo Maria Michelangelo Nicola Broschi (), a celebrated Italian castrato singer of the 18th century and one of the greatest singers in the history of opera. Farinelli ...

Claire van Kampen Claire Louise van Kampen, Lady Rylance (3 November 1953 – 18 January 2025) was an English director, composer, and playwright. She was the founding director of music at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre from 1997 to 2015, first as assistant to her h ...

's '' Farinelli and the King'' opposite

Mark Rylance Sir David Mark Rylance Waters (; born 18 January 1960) is an English actor, playwright and theatre director. He is known for his roles on stage and screen, having received numerous awards including an Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Oliv ...

at the

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse is an indoor theatre forming part of the Shakespeare's Globe complex, along with the recreated Globe Theatre on Bankside in Southwark, London. Built by making use of 17th-century plans for an indoor English theatre, ...

and reprised his role when the production transferred first to the

Duke of York's Theatre The Duke of York's Theatre is a West End theatre in St Martin's Lane, in the City of Westminster, London. It was built for Frank Wyatt and his wife, Violet Melnotte, who retained ownership of the theatre until her death in 1935. Designed by ...

and then to the Belasco Theatre on Broadway. He is also known for playing Winston Smith in Headlong's production of ''

'' in the West End. Since 13 October 2022, Sam has been playing

Harry Potter ''Harry Potter'' is a series of seven Fantasy literature, fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The novels chronicle the lives of a young Magician (fantasy), wizard, Harry Potter (character), Harry Potter, and his friends ...

in ''

'' at the

Palace Theatre Palace Theatre, or Palace Theater, is the name of many theatres in different countries, including: Australia *Palace Theatre, Melbourne, Victoria *Palace Theatre, Sydney, New South Wales Canada *Palace Theatre, housed in the Robillard Block, Mo ...

in London.

Film, television, and video games

In 2009, he played Fred Walters in the BBC's six-part drama series ''

Desperate Romantics ''Desperate Romantics'' is a six-part television drama serial about the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, first broadcast on BBC Two between 21 July and 25 August 2009. The series somewhat fictionalised the lives and events depicted. Though heavily ...

.'' In

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

's 2015 video game ''

Assassin's Creed Syndicate ''Assassin's Creed Syndicate'' is a 2015 action-adventure game developed by Ubisoft Quebec and published by Ubisoft. It was released on October 23, 2015, for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, and on November 19, 2015, for Windows. It is the ninth maj ...

'', Crane played

Frederick Abberline Frederick George Abberline (8 January 1843 – 10 December 1929) was a British chief inspector for the London Metropolitan Police. He is best known for being a prominent police figure in the investigation into the Jack the Ripper serial kille ...

. In 2017, he played Patrick Plunket in an episode of the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series ''

''. Crane, alongside his wife Pinny Grylls, co-directed, executive produced, and acted in the '' Grand Theft Hamlet'', a 2024 documentary film about a production of

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

entirely made within the game ''

Grand Theft Auto Online ''Grand Theft Auto Online'' is an online multiplayer action-adventure game developed by Rockstar North and published by Rockstar Games. It was released on 1 October 2013 for PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, 18 November 2014 for PlayStation 4 and Xbo ...

''. The film premiered at the 2024

SXSW Film Festival South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has continued growing in both s ...

, where it won the Jury Award for best documentary feature, and Crane and Grylls later won Best debut director (feature documentary) from the

British Independent Film Awards The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports, and promotes British independent cinema and film-making talent in the United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early Nov ...

Selected credits

Theatre

*''Harry Potter and the Cursed Child'' (2022 Palace Theatre, London) as Harry Potter *'' Farinelli and the King'' (2015-2018), Shakespeare's Globe, West End and Broadway) *''1984'' (2014, West End) as Winston Smith *''Eternal Love'' (2014, ETT) as Bernard of Clairvaux *''The Humans'' (2013, BAM New York) as Tophole *''

The Christmas Candle ''The Christmas Candle'' is a 2013 Christmas drama film directed by John Stephenson (director), John Stephenson. Introduction It is based on Max Lucado's novel ''The Christmas Candle (book), The Christmas Candle''. The film is an Impact and Big ...

'' (2013) as Thomas Haddington *''

Father Brown Father Brown is a fictional Roman Catholic priest and amateur detective. He is featured in 53 short stories by English author G. K. Chesterton, published between 1910 and 1936. Father Brown solves mysteries and crimes using his intuition and ...

'' "The Mayor and the Magician" (2013) as William Knight *''

New Tricks ''New Tricks'' is a British television police procedural comedy drama, created by Nigel McCrery and Roy Mitchell, produced primarily by Wall to Wall (until its final year, when it was handled by Headstrong Pictures), and broadcast on BBC On ...

'' "Old School Ties" (2012) as Oliver Lebbon *''

Casualty Casualty may refer to: *Casualty (person), a person who is killed or rendered unfit for service in a war or natural disaster **Civilian casualty, a non-combatant killed or injured in warfare * The emergency department of a hospital, also known as ...

'' "Place of Safety" (2011) as Jim *''Bedlam'' (2010,

Shakespeare's Globe Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse first built in 1599 for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays. Like the original, it is located on the south bank of the River Thames, in Southwark, Lon ...

) as Laurence *''Henry IV Part I & II'' (2010,

) as Hotspur and Pistol *''...some trace of her'' (2008, NT) *''The Odyssey'' (2008, National Theatre) *''DNA/ The Miracle'' (2008, NT) as Phil/ Mr Rodgers *''Kebab'' (2007,

Royal Court Theatre The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a West End theatre#London's non-commercial theatres, non-commercial theatre in Sloane Square, London, England, opene ...

) as Bogdan *''Othello'' (2007,

) as Roderigo *''

Ghosts In folklore, a ghost is the soul or Spirit (supernatural entity), spirit of a dead Human, person or non-human animal that is believed by some people to be able to appear to the living. In ghostlore, descriptions of ghosts vary widely, from a ...

'' (2007,

Bristol Old Vic Bristol Old Vic is a British theatre company based at the Theatre Royal, Bristol. The present company was established in 1946 as an offshoot of the Old Vic in London. It is associated with the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, which became a fin ...

) as Oswald *''Carrie's War'' (2006-7, Lillian Bayliss Theatre) as Albert *''Midnight Cowboy'' (2006, Edinburgh Festival) *''The Pretenders'' (2006, radio) *''Silverland'' (2006, Arcola) as Mikey *''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, who described it as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

'' (2005-6,

Gielgud Theatre The Gielgud Theatre is a West End theatre, located on Shaftesbury Avenue, at the corner of Rupert Street, in the City of Westminster, London. The house currently has 994 seats on three levels. The theatre was designed by W. G. R. Sprague and ...

) as Anthony *''

Major Barbara ''Major Barbara'' is a three-act English play by George Bernard Shaw, written and premiered in 1905 and first published in 1907. The story concerns an idealistic young woman, Barbara Undershaft, who is engaged in helping the poor as a Major in ...

'' (2004,

Royal Exchange Theatre The Royal Exchange is a grade II listed building in Manchester, England. It is located in the city centre on land bounded by St Ann's Square, Exchange Street, Market Street, Cross Street and Old Bank Street. The complex includes the Royal Exc ...

) *''Rabbit'' (2003, UK tour) as Spin *''A Little Requiem for Kantor'' ( ICA/ SESC São Paulo) *''Paddington,'' (1986, Hamilton Primary) as Jonathan Brown co-starring Peter Fletcher as Paddington Bear.

Television

* ''

Van der Valk ''Van der Valk'' is a British television crime drama series produced for the ITV network by Thames Television. It ran from 13 September 1972 to 19 February 1992, with the first three series produced between 1972 and 1977, and two more being c ...

'' "Secrets in Amsterdam" (2024) as Freddie Klink * ''

'' (2017) as Patrick Plunket * ''

'' (2009) as Fred Walters * ''

Midsomer Murders ''Midsomer Murders'' is a British Mystery fiction, mystery television series, adapted by Anthony Horowitz and Douglas Watkinson from the novels in the ''Chief Inspector Barnaby'' book series created by Caroline Graham (writer), Caroline Graham. ...

'' "Murder on St. Malley's Day" (2002, TV) as Daniel Talbot

Film

* ''Grand Theft Hamlet'' (2024), as

. Also co-director and executive producer. * ''

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

'' (2023), as

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassicism, Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in ...

References

External links

*
Interview
in ''The Oxford Mail''
Short profile from
in ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Clay Felker and Milton Glaser in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker'' a ...

''
The British Theatre Guide's review of GhostsMichael Billington's review of Ghosts
in ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

''
Brief encounter with Sam Crane
i
whatsonstage.com
"

" {{DEFAULTSORT:Crane, Sam English male child actors English male stage actors English male television actors English male radio actors English male Shakespearean actors Alumni of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art Alumni of the University of Oxford 1979 births Living people