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Sam Witwer

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Sam Witwer
Witwer at GalaxyCon San Jose in 2024
Born (1977-10-20) October 20, 1977 (age 47)
Glenview, Illinois, U.S.[1]
EducationJuilliard School
Occupation(s)Actor, voice actor, musician
Years active2001–present

Sam Witwer (born October 20, 1977)[2] is an American actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles as Crashdown in Battlestar Galactica, Davis Bloome in Smallville, Aidan Waite in Being Human, Mr. Hyde in Once Upon a Time, Ben Lockwood in Supergirl, and Rupert Chipping in Riverdale.

Witwer has worked on numerous projects in the Star Wars franchise, having first provided his voice and likeness for Starkiller in the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed video game series. He later notably voiced Darth Maul in the television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars and Star Wars Rebels, as well as the film Solo: A Star Wars Story. He has also voiced the Son and Emperor Palpatine in The Clone Wars and Rebels, respectively. Witwer portrayed protagonist Deacon St. John through motion capture for the video game Days Gone by Bend Studio.

Early life

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Witwer was born on October 20, 1977,[2] and grew up in Glenview, Illinois, a suburb north of Chicago. Ever since he was a child, Witwer showed enthusiasm in other pursuits he enjoyed more than school. He spent his free time huddled over a computer, playing Dungeons and Dragons, or making music.

He attended Glenbrook South High School, during which time he was involved in drama and theater classes, as well as being the lead singer of a high school band called "Love Plumber". After barely graduating high school, his parents made him apply to drama departments of various schools. Finally getting accepted to the Juilliard School. When he was 18 he became friends with fellow actor Glenn Howerton.[3]

After 2 years at Juilliard, Witwer got kicked out from school as he didn't take it seriously enough.[4] He finally made the decision to pursue acting after asking actor Bruce Campbell for advice on the AOL website.[5]

Career

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Witwer at Wizard World Toronto in 2012

Witwer's first on-screen credit was that of a Chicago Bulls commercial. He soon found himself in speaking roles on hit television series, such as ER.

Witwer's first major recurring role came in the form of portraying raptor pilot 'Crashdown' (his call sign) on Battlestar Galactica,[6] although he has credited much of his current success to his role as Neil Perry on the Showtime series Dexter.[7] Witwer also appeared as Private Wayne Jessup in the film The Mist.[8]

From 2008 to 2009, Witwer was cast in season 8 of Smallville as Davis Bloome, a charming paramedic who struggles with a darkness within as he is the human camouflage of Doomsday. Witwer played Davis while Doomsday was played by stuntman Dario Delacio. Witwer's performance in Smallville was incredibly well-received, and he has stated that his experience on the show had opened more opportunities for him in the future of acting. Witwer’s contract gave him the option to return in season 9 as Zod, though he ultimately declined. Though he considered his time on the show enjoyable and was flattered by the offer to stay on, he passed on the role as he felt it would be difficult for both the characters and audience to accept.[9]

Witwer made a cameo appearance in The Walking Dead as a dead zombie soldier in a tank in the season 1 episode "Days Gone Bye" which reunited him with director Frank Darabont from The Mist.[10] Coincidentally, in 2019 he went on to portray the main protagonist (both voice and motion capture) of a video game called Days Gone, which also tackles the topic of zombie apocalypse.

From 2011 to 2014, Witwer starred in the North American remake of Being Human. He played the lead role of vampire Aidan Waite.[11] The show, as well as his performance, was well received and lasted 4 seasons.[12]

He voiced Ocean Master in the animated film Justice League: Throne of Atlantis for the DC Universe Animated Original Movies series,[13] replacing fellow Star Wars actor Steve Blum from Justice League: War.

In 2016, Witwer played Edward Hyde on Once Upon a Time, recurring for part of its sixth season after debuting at the end of the fifth season.[14]

In 2018, Witwer joined the main cast of The CW drama series Supergirl, portraying the fourth season's main antagonist Ben Lockwood / Agent Liberty.[15]

Role-playing games

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Sam is an avid player of both pen-and-paper and video role-playing games. This is a hobby that he has engaged in for years. He has been a frequent guest on the Podcast Order 66 and has expressed a love for all iterations of Star Wars role-playing games Star Wars: The Roleplaying Game (by West End Games) to Star Wars Roleplaying Game (by Wizards of the Coast) and to the series of cross-compatible Star Wars roleplaying games by Fantasy Flight Games.[16]

Sam appeared in episode 19 of Geek and Sundry's Tabletop playing the Dragon Age role-playing game,[17] and episodes 29[18] and 55 of Dice Camera Action as Mordenkainen.[19]

In January 2017, he appeared as a guest on a play-through of ScratchPad Publishing's Dusk City Outlaws, alongside Elisa Teague, Tom Lommel, Spencer Crittenden, and game designer Rodney Thompson.[20]

Star Wars

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A lifelong Star Wars superfan, Witwer provided both his voice and likeness for lead character Galen Marek / Starkiller (Darth Vader's secret apprentice) in the 2008 video game Star Wars: The Force Unleashed and 2010 sequel Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II. He also voiced Darth Sidious (Emperor Palpatine) in the first game, and reprised it for the games Disney Infinity 3.0 and Battlefront and for the original season 2 premiere of Star Wars Rebels;[21] however, in 2019, the role was re-dubbed by Ian McDiarmid who portrayed Palpatine in the films and in Rebels season 4.[22]

For Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Witwer had also vocally performed the Son in a three episode story arc (known as the Mortis trilogy) in season 3 as well as the iconic former Sith Maul in the season 4 finale episodes, four episodes of season 5, and the "Siege of Mandalore" arc in season 7. He also lent his voice for Maul in other projects such as the Star Wars: Episode I Brisk commercial as well as the Cartoon Network special Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out, and again for Star Wars Rebels.[23] On September 27, 2012, a feature-length "director's cut" of Witwer's season 4 finale episodes of The Clone Wars were released as a direct-to-video film, Darth Maul Returns, initially made available exclusively at Target.[24]

Witwer attended The Clone Wars season 5 Red Carpet Premiere in Orlando, Florida on August 24, 2012, during Celebration VI along with some of his co-stars Matt Lanter, James Arnold Taylor, Dee Bradley Baker, Tom Kane, Daniel Logan, Stephen Stanton and Ashley Eckstein, as well as Supervising Director Dave Filoni. During Celebration VI, he also had his own panel called: Sam Witwer "The Maul Within" on August 26, 2012.[25] In 2013, he attended for the first time the annual event, Star Wars Weekends at Disney's Hollywood Studios in Orlando, Florida for a three-day weekend[26] and fans praised him for his roles in The Force Unleashed games and on The Clone Wars. During the live show "Behind the Force", Sam showed his acting skills by saying one or two lines of the characters that he's played in the Star Wars universe.

Witwer has also voiced an alien as well as a First Order stormtrooper during the siege of Maz Kanata's palace in Star Wars: The Force Awakens.[27]

In 2018, Witwer reprised his portrayal as Maul and performed the voice acting role for the character in Solo: A Star Wars Story, marking the sixth project for which Witwer voices Maul, and the first live-action performance.[28]

In 2020, Witwer was cast as an unidentified dark side character in the StarWarsKids.com and YouTube game show Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge, which premiered on June 3, 2020.[29][30]

Star Trek

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In 2024, Witwer took part in the OTOY's[31] production titled 765874 - Unification,[32] where he played the role of Capt. James T. Kirk, along with William Shatner. The role involved the use of "digital prosthetic" technology, where Shatner's facial features were overlaid onto Witwer's, as Witwer performed the role of Kirk in three different timelines. Discovering Shatner’s lack of “inner monologue,” as the actor has described in an autobiography, greatly informed Witwer’s performance. Not only in words, he said, but in action and presence. Witwer made the discovery when he viewed his performance in one take and was unhappy with how “un-Kirklike” it seemed. “Shatner would never passively walk into a scene,” Witwer said in an interview. “He leads us into a scene. He takes the audience with him and they go on a story.” With that, Witwer adjusted his performance and was much happier with it.[33]

Music career

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Witwer serves as the front-man for the band The Crashtones, whose first studio album Colorful of the Stereo was released February 15, 2006.[34] Witwer released a new album on May 7, 2019, entitled Revenge of the Crashtones.[35]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2006 Crank Shootout Henchman
2007 The Mist Private Jessup
2008 Pathology Party Boy
2009 Gamer Social Worker
2010 The United Monster Talent Agency Dracula Short film
No God, No Master Eugenio Ravarini
2011 The Return of Joe Rich Joe Neiderman
2012 Star Wars: The Clone Wars – Darth Maul Returns Maul[24] Voice
2014 Space Dogs: Adventure to the Moon Kazbek Voice; English dub
2015 Tales of Halloween Hank Short film
Justice League: Throne of Atlantis Ocean Master[36][37] Voice; Direct-to-video
Wrestling Isn't Wrestling Chyna Short film
Star Wars: The Force Awakens Alien, Stormtrooper, Additional Characters[37] Voices
2016 Rogue One Stormtrooper, Additional Characters[37]
Officer Downe Burnham
2017 Star Wars: The Last Jedi Additional Voices
2018 Solo: A Star Wars Story Maul[38] Voice; cameo
2019 Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Additional Voices

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2001 ER Tommy Episode: "Fear of Commitment"
2001, 2003 JAG Beasley, Sonar Operator 2 episodes
2001 Arliss Mourner Episode: "Of Cabbages and Kings"
2002 Dark Angel Marrow Episode: "Love in Vein"
She Spies Jason Episode: "Daddy's Girl"
2003 Angel John Stoler Episode: "Shiny Happy People"
The Lyon's Den Bryce Cherot / Chucke Porter Episode: "Duty to Save"
Star Trek: Enterprise Sloth #3 Episode: "The Shipment"
2004 Cold Case James Creighton Episode: "The Plan"
NCIS Staff Sgt. Rafael Episode: "Split Decision"
Star Trek: New Voyages Guardian's Voice Episode: "In Harm's Way"
2004–2005 Battlestar Galactica Crashdown 11 episodes
2006 Dexter Neil Perry 3 episodes
Bones Mitchell Downs Episode: "The Titan On The Track"
2007 It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Muscular Guy in Store Episode: "Dennis and Dee's Mom Is Dead"
Shark Richard Lee Franco Episode: "Every Breath You Take"
2007–2008 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Officer Casella 2 episodes
2008–2009 Smallville Davis Bloome Main role (Season 8), 12 episodes
2010 The Walking Dead Tank Soldier Uncredited; Episode: "Days Gone Bye"
2011–2014 Being Human Aidan Waite 52 episodes
Nominated–Canadian Screen Award for Best Actor in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role
2011–2014, 2020 Star Wars: The Clone Wars Maul, The Son Voices; 14 episodes
Nominated–Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in an Animated Program
2012 Lego Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Out Maul, Emperor Palpatine Voices; Television special
2014 Grimm Max Robbins Episode: "The Show Must Go On"
2015–2018 Star Wars Rebels Maul, Emperor Palpatine Voices; 7 episodes
2015 Stalker Jamie Tolliver Episode: "Love Kills"
Rosewood Heath Casablanca Episode: "Aortic Atresia and Art Installations"
2016 Once Upon a Time Mr. Hyde 5 episodes
2017 Electric Dreams Chris Episode: "Real Life"
2018–2020 Supergirl Benjamin Lockwood / Agent Liberty 18 episodes
Star Wars Resistance Hugh Sion Voice; 3 episodes
2019–2020 Riverdale Rupert Chipping 5 episodes
2020 DC Universe All Star Games Himself / Host 6 episodes
Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge Dark Side agent
2021 Lego Star Wars: Terrifying Tales Maul / Trudgen
2021–2022 The Book of Boba Fett Rodian, sous-chef droid Voice; uncredited; 2 episodes
2022 Andor Shoretrooper Voice; uncredited; Episode: "Announcement"[39]
Mythic Quest Ian's father Episode: "Sarian"[40]
2024 765874 - Unification[41] Capt. James T. Kirk

Video games

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Year Title Role Notes
2008 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed Starkiller, Emperor Palpatine Also likeness[37][42]
Soulcalibur IV Starkiller English version[37]
2010 Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II Starkiller, Emperor Palpatine Also likeness[42][37]
2012 Kinect Star Wars Emperor Palpatine [37]
2015 Disney Infinity 3.0 Darth Maul, Emperor Palpatine
Star Wars Battlefront Emperor Palpatine
2016 Lego Star Wars: The Force Awakens
2017 Star Wars Battlefront II Maul, Emperor Palpatine
2019 Days Gone Deacon St John Also likeness[42]
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order Emperor Palpatine Cameo
2020 Star Wars: Squadrons Walla actor
2021 Star Trek Online Tenavik [43]
2022 Lego Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga Maul, Emperor Palpatine [44]
The Callisto Protocol Captain Leon Ferris Also likeness[45]
2023 Horizon Forbidden West Walter Londra Burning Shores downloadable content, also likeness

Audiobooks (excerpt)

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References

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  1. ^ Gire, Dann (April 28, 2014). "Glenview native Sam Witwer moving on from vampire role". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on June 25, 2019. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  2. ^ a b Rose, Mike (October 20, 2018). "Today's top celebrity birthdays list for October 20, 2018". The Plain Dealer. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved October 20, 2018.
  3. ^ SAM WITWER: SiFi Snafu on Being Human, TMZ Rumors, Lucasfilm Favors & Time on Smallville, March 7, 2023, retrieved February 15, 2024
  4. ^ SAM WITWER: SiFi Snafu on Being Human, TMZ Rumors, Lucasfilm Favors & Time on Smallville, March 7, 2023, retrieved February 15, 2024
  5. ^ SAM WITWER: SiFi Snafu on Being Human, TMZ Rumors, Lucasfilm Favors & Time on Smallville, March 7, 2023, retrieved February 15, 2024
  6. ^ Caron, Nathalie (December 14, 2012). "When you think Being Human, Sam Witwer wants you to remember BSG". Syfy Wire. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  7. ^ Plainsafe, Jay (January 13, 2014). "Interview: Sam Witwer on "Being Human", "Dexter"". Diabolique Magazine. Archived from the original on October 29, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  8. ^ "Director gives King story new, scary end". Chicago Tribune. November 23, 2007. Archived from the original on August 10, 2023. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  9. ^ Gartler, James (May 6, 2011). ""Smallville's" A Tale of Two Zods". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved April 3, 2020.
  10. ^ Wigler, Josh (October 19, 2017). "'The Walking Dead': The 100 Greatest Moments, Ranked". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on November 12, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  11. ^ Abrams, Natalie (June 28, 2010). "Sam Witwer Joins U.S. Cast of Being Human". TV Guide. Archived from the original on May 3, 2014. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  12. ^ Ng, Philiana (April 7, 2014). "'Being Human': Sam Witwer on 'Swinging for the Fences' and Bittersweet Series Finale". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on February 11, 2021. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  13. ^ Campbell, Josie (January 23, 2015). ""Justice League: Throne Of Atlantis" Stars Geek Out At PaleyFest". Comic Book Resources. Archived from the original on June 11, 2017. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  14. ^ Petski, Denise (March 15, 2016). "'Once Upon A Time' Casts Duo For Mental Hospital Arc". Deadline. Archived from the original on September 22, 2018. Retrieved September 24, 2016.
  15. ^ Agard, Chancellor (July 17, 2018). "Smallville alum Sam Witwer joins Supergirl season 4 as Agent Liberty". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved July 17, 2018.
  16. ^ "Order 66 episode forum". d20radio.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved September 6, 2012.
  17. ^ Sam Witwer extended interview from Dragon Age - TableTop ep. 19 on YouTube
  18. ^ Dungeons & Dragons (November 16, 2016), Episode 29 - Dice, Camera, Action with Dungeons & Dragons, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved June 23, 2017
  19. ^ Dungeons & Dragons (July 12, 2017), Episode 55 - Dice, Camera, Action with Dungeons & Dragons, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved October 24, 2017
  20. ^ Dusk City Outlaws Actual Play: The Stonesetter Job Part 1 on YouTube
  21. ^ Rad, Chloi (April 18, 2015). "Star Wars Celebration: Sam Witwer Reprises Role As Palpatine In Star Wars Rebels". IGN. Ziff Davis, LLC. Archived from the original on September 25, 2015. Retrieved November 7, 2015.
  22. ^ Avalanche Software. Disney Infinity 3.0. Scene: Closing credits, 5:39 in, Featuring the Voice Talents of.
  23. ^ Silliman, Brian (March 23, 2020). "Sam Witwer on Maul's return to Star Wars: The Clone Wars, the Siege of Mandalore". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on April 27, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  24. ^ a b Jawa James (September 7, 2012). "Darth Maul Returns to Target-exclusive DVD in Director's Cut of The Clone Wars". Club Jade. Archived from the original on October 6, 2012. Retrieved September 27, 2012.
  25. ^ Ratcliffe, Amy (August 26, 2012). "SWCVI: The Maul Within". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on September 23, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  26. ^ Bevil, Dewayne (May 16, 2013). "Getting into stormtrooper gear at Disney's Star Wars Weekends". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved May 4, 2020.
  27. ^ Wood, Matthew (January 25, 2016). "The Voices of Star Wars: The Force Awakens". StarWars.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2016. Retrieved January 25, 2016.
  28. ^ Silliman, Brian (September 13, 2018). "Darth Maul actor Sam Witwer on Ray Park and never saying goodbye". Syfy Wire. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2018.
  29. ^ "Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge to debut on 3 June on Star Wars Kids". StarWars.com. Lucasfilm. May 27, 2020. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  30. ^ Gemmill, Allie (May 27, 2020). "The Force Is Strong With This Epic 'Star Wars: Jedi Temple Challenge' Trailer". Collider. Archived from the original on May 27, 2020. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  31. ^ https://home.otoy.com/
  32. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgOZFny7F50
  33. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rstnSMTrVA
  34. ^ Sotonoff, Jamie (April 28, 2014). "Glenview native Sam Witwer moving on from vampire role". Daily Herald. Archived from the original on August 15, 2016. Retrieved April 7, 2016.
  35. ^ @SamWitwer (May 7, 2019). "REVENGE OF THE CRASHTONES is out. It's a record I made in a garage. It's strange" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  36. ^ "Warner Bros. Names Two New DC Animated Films to Follow JUSTICE LEAGUE: THRONE OF ATLANTIS". newsarama.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2014. Retrieved December 21, 2016.
  37. ^ a b c d e f g "Sam Witwer (visual voices guide)". Behind The Voice Actors. Archived from the original on October 22, 2018. Retrieved October 22, 2018. A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: postscript (link)
  38. ^ "The Solo: A Star Wars Story Ending Explained". GamesRadar. May 17, 2018. Archived from the original on April 14, 2020. Retrieved May 19, 2018.
  39. ^ "Star Wars Andor Recap: Season 1 Episode 7, "Announcement"". October 20, 2022. Archived from the original on October 20, 2022. Retrieved October 20, 2022.
  40. ^ Schimkowitz, Matt (December 16, 2022). "'Mythic Quest' drops an origin story worthy of its heroes". The A.V. Club. Archived from the original on June 3, 2023. Retrieved December 18, 2022.
  41. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgOZFny7F50
  42. ^ a b c Stuart, Keith (October 7, 2010). "Star Wars, Sam Witwer, and the art of video game acting". The Guardian. Archived from the original on April 28, 2017. Retrieved April 27, 2017.
  43. ^ "The Voice of Time | Star Trek Online". www.arcgames.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2021. Retrieved January 19, 2021.
  44. ^ Yeo, Matt (March 13, 2022). "LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga voice actors revealed". Archived from the original on March 14, 2022. Retrieved March 21, 2022.
  45. ^ "Dead Space Creator Returns to Space Horror with the Callisto Protocol | Comic Con 2022". YouTube. July 23, 2022. Archived from the original on July 24, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2022.
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