| Birth date | 15 April 1988 |
|---|---|
| Birth place | Adelaide, Australia |
| Occupation | Actor, writer, director |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Relatives | Xavier Samuel (brother) |
Benedict Victor Samuel (born 15 April 1988)[1] is an Australian actor, writer, and director best known for playing Jervis Tetch / Mad Hatter in the Fox crime series Gotham and as Owen in The Walking Dead.
Early life and education
Benedict Samuel was born in Adelaide, South Australia.[2] The youngest of three siblings, his brother is actor Xavier Samuel and his sister is a stage manager.[3] He planned to be an actor from an early age and was inspired by his brother's high school theatre performances.[2]
Benedict attended Christian Brothers College in Adelaide,[4] and is a graduate of The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).[2]
Career
In theatre, Samuel performed in Sex Wars during his time at NIDA.[5] He also played a part in 'Tis Pity She's a Whore at the Malthouse Theatre in Melbourne.[when?][6]
In 2011, Benedict appeared on several Australian television series, including the mini-series Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo and the children's series My Place.[citation needed] He is known for playing the role of Harman "Hammer" Pirovic on Seven Network soap opera Home and Away,[3][7] for which he appeared for several episodes until his character was killed off.[citation needed]
Samuel made his directorial debut with the short film Sanctuary in 2012.[8]
In 2014, Samuel was cast in Asthma, the directorial debut from Jake Hoffman, alongside Iggy Pop, Rene Ricard, and Krysten Ritter.[9][2]
In 2015, Samuel played Skeet du Pont in the acclaimed ABC series The Beautiful Lie, and Jacob Harding in the thriller film The Stanford Prison Experiment.[10]
In one of his most recognisable performances, Samuel appeared as Owen, the leader of the Wolves gang, in the American post-apocalyptic zombie series The Walking Dead.[when?][11]
In 2016, Samuel was cast as famous Batman villain The Mad Hatter, the main antagonist of the third season of Gotham. He continued to play the character in a recurring capacity during the fourth season, beginning to appear again with the episode "Ace Chemicals" of Season 5.[citation needed]
Secret City is an Australian political thriller television series based on the best-selling novels The Marmalade Files, The Mandarin Code, and The Shadow Game by Chris Uhlmann and Steve Lewis. The show filmed in 2016 and Samuel plays Felix .[12]
In 2018, Samuel played Lewis, the main villain in the Australian movie Pimped.[2]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Underground: The Julian Assange Story | Jonah | |
| 2014 | Asthma | Gus | |
| 2015 | The Stanford Prison Experiment | Jacob Harding | |
| The Walk | David | ||
| 2016 | The Duel | Brit | |
| 2017 | Ellipsis | Jasper | |
| 2018 | Pimped | Lewis Henry Robinson | |
| 2019 | Sweetheart | Brad | |
| 2021 | Warning | Vincent | |
| 2022 | Leave Not One Alive | Ronin | |
| North of Normal | Karl | ||
| Paris | Post-production |
Short film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Kiss | Sean | |
| 2012 | The Shed | Creature | |
| The Alien Boy | Rioter | ||
| Sanctuary | Director and writer | ||
| 2014 | The Little House | Zach | |
| 2015 | Oscar Wilde's the Nightingale and the Rose | Student (voice) | |
| 2022 | Dark Blue | Man in Trunk |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo | Michael | Miniseries (1 episode) |
| Home and Away | Harman "Hammer" Pirovic | Season 24 (recurring, 8 episodes) | |
| 2015 | The Beautiful Lie | Skeet Du Pont | Season 1 (main role, 6 episodes) |
| Childhood's End | Fence | Miniseries (1 episode) | |
| 2015–2016 | The Walking Dead | Owen[13] | Seasons 5–6 (recurring, 5 episodes) |
| 2016 | Secret City | Felix Crawford | Season 1 (main role, 6 episodes) |
| 2016–2019 | Gotham | Jervis Tetch / Mad Hatter | Season 3 (main role, 10 episodes) |
| Seasons 4–5 (recurring, 4 episodes) | |||
| 2019 | Chicago PD | Matthew Garrett / Outrage | Season 6 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 2020 | Into The Dark | Royal Briggins | Season 2 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 2022 | ' | Teddy | Season 4 (guest, 1 episode) |
| 2025 | Black Snow | Sean | Season 2 |
References
- ^ "Benedict Samuel Movies & TV Shows List". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 29 March 2026.
- ^ Samuel, Benedict (2019-03-13). "Benedict Samuel: Pumped for Pimped". FilmInk. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ Gilbertson, Matt (30 July 2011)"Xavier Samuel's brother Benedict joins Home and Away". Sunday Mail. Archived from the original on 5 January 2016. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ "Adelaide's bad-boy star charming Hollywood". Adelaide Now. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
- ^ Howard, Jane (7 March 2010)"NIDA: Sex Wars". australianstage.com.au. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ Browning, Allison (18 February 2011)"Review: 'Tis Pity She's A Whore". The Enthusiast. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2011.
- ^ "Benedict Samuel joins Seven's 'Home & Away'". tvcentral.com.au. 31 July 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2011. [dead link]
- ^ "Benedict Samuel: actor/director". Vogue Australia. 2012-04-04. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "Benedict Samuel". Interview Magazine. 2014-04-14. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ "The Stanford Prison Experiment - by IFC Films - A Movie Review". New Yorkled Magazine. 2020-01-25. Retrieved 2021-07-09.
- ^ Foxtel. "Walking Dead". Archived 28 February 2021 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ Farrell, Paul. "Foxtel, Secret City". Archived 17 May 2018 at the Wayback Machine.
- ^ "The Walking Dead showrunner Scott M. Gimple on that big death and even bigger injury | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 2016-02-17.
External links
- Benedict Samuel at IMDb