Sam Richardson (actor) facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sam Richardson
Richardson in January 2019
Born	(1984-01-12) January 12, 1984 (age 41) Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation	Actor comedian writer producer
Years active	2004–present
Known for	Veep Detroiters The Afterparty Velma

Sam Richardson (born January 12, 1984) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Richard Splett in the HBO political comedy series Veep (2012–19), co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central comedy series Detroiters (2017–18) alongside Tim Robinson, and for playing various characters in the Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019–present), Aniq Adjaye in the Apple TV+ series The Afterparty (2022–23), and Norville Rogers in the Max series Velma (2023–24). In 2022 and 2023, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Edwin Akufo in Ted Lasso, winning the 2023 award in this category.

Early life

Richardson was born in Detroit on January 12, 1984, the son of a Ghanaian mother and an African-American father. His aunt was Barbara-Rose Collins (née Richardson), who in 1990 became the first black woman from Michigan to be elected to the United States Congress. Once or twice a year, Richardson would travel with his parents to Ghana, where his grandfather was a chief and local political leader. He graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in 2002, and studied theater at Wayne State University.

Career

Early in his career, Richardson performed at the Second City in Detroit and then in Chicago. At Second City, he was known for a wide range of characters, from sight gags to impressions of public figures.

Following a move to Los Angeles, Richardson appeared in six episodes (including the series finale) of The Office and a season 4 episode of Arrested Development. He has also appeared on episodes of New Girl, Teachers, and six episodes of Harder Than It Looks. He played Richard Splett on the HBO political comedy series Veep, first appearing in four episodes during season 3 as the handler for Selina Meyer during her Iowa book tour. During season 4, Richardson was made a regular cast member of the show, after his character received a job offer in President Meyer's administration as an assistant to the character Jonah. He has also appeared in films including We're the Millers, Horrible Bosses 2, Spy, Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising, Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates, and Ghostbusters.

In 2015, Comedy Central ordered a pilot for the series Detroiters, created by Richardson and Tim Robinson. The show stars Richardson and Robinson, who also co-wrote and co-executive produced the series with others. Comedy Central then ordered ten episodes of the series, which began shooting in the Detroit area in 2016. According to Detroit Free Press, "In the series, Richardson and Robinson play struggling advertising men in Detroit who make local TV commercials. The plot was inspired partly by the classic Detroit ads they grew up watching, including the Mel Farr Superstar and Gordy from ABC Warehouse campaigns." Detroiters ran for two seasons before its cancellation by Comedy Central in 2018.

In 2016, Richardson was nominated for the Best Performance in a Variety or Sketch Comedy Program or Series (Individual or Ensemble) award at the Canadian Screen Awards for his work on The Second City Project. He was also nominated for the Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series at the 2015, 2016, 2017, and 2018 Screen Actors Guild Awards for his work on Veep, winning the last one. In 2018, he began playing Alf in the YouTube Premium series Champaign ILL. Since 2019, he has played various characters in the Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson.

In 2021, Richardson appeared in Ted Lasso as Edwin Akufo, a part for which he was nominated for the Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2022 and 2023.

In 2022, Richardson was in the main cast of the Apple TV+ mystery comedy series The Afterparty. That same year he appeared as Gilbert, the owner of the Olde Salem Magic Shoppe, in Hocus Pocus 2, a sequel to the 1993 film, Hocus Pocus.

Filmography

Film

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	The Planning Lady	Police Officer	Short film
2010	Superman vs. The Office	Sam
2013	We're the Millers	TSA Agent
	The Rule of Threes	Jeff	Short film
	Crash Site	Ben
2014	Horrible Bosses 2	The Producer
2015	Spy	John
	The Night Is Young	Sam
2016	Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising	Eric Baiers
	Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates	Eric Huddle
	Ghostbusters	Basement Cop
	Office Christmas Party	Joel
2017	The House	Marty
2018	Game Over, Man!	Donald
	Ralph Breaks the Internet	Lee the Office Nerd	Voice
2019	Good Boys	Officer Sacks
2020	Promising Young Woman	Paul
	Superintelligence	Agent John Donahue
2021	Werewolves Within	Finn Wheeler	Producer
	The Tomorrow War	Charlie
2022	Family Squares	Alex
	Senior Year	Seth Novacelik
	Hocus Pocus 2	Gilbert
2023	Somebody I Used to Know	Dar
	Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken	Brill	Voice
2024	The 4:30 Movie	Major Murder
2025	Star Trek: Section 31	Quasi
	Hypergalactic	0TBA	Post-production; voice
TBA	Let's Have Kids!	0TBA	Post-production
	Sacrifice	0TBA	Filming
	Matchbox	0TBA	Filming

Television

Awards and nominations