Samuel Anderson (actor)

Early life

Anderson was born in Handsworth, Birmingham, to an Irish mother and Jamaican father. From early life, Anderson made it clear that he wished to pursue acting as a career. He attended Stuart Bathurst, a Catholic secondary school.

Career

Anderson attended the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts in London before going on to originate the role of Crowther in the 2004 National Theatre production of Alan Bennett's play The History Boys. He subsequently performed the same role in the Broadway, Sydney, Wellington, and Hong Kong productions, and radio and film versions.{{cite web |url=http://www.nationaltheatre.org.uk/?lid=7785

On television, Anderson has appeared in Hex for Sky One in 2004, and Totally Frank for Channel 4 from 2006 to 2007. In 2007, he appeared in the BBC Three comedy series Gavin & Stacey as recurring character Fingers. He made another appearance in the show in 2009 and in its 2024 Christmas special. He has also appeared in the BBC Four comedy film Stuck, and made various guest appearances in Doctors and Casualty on BBC One.

From October 2007, Anderson appeared in the ITV1 soap opera Emmerdale as Ross Kirk. His casting in the role was announced in September 2007, with Anderson stating that it was "great" to be joining "such a successful show". Emmerdale series producer Kathleen Beedles stated that Anderson was "a fantastic addition to the cast". Anderson remained a series regular in Emmerdale until January 2009, with major storylines including his character having an affair with Donna Windsor-Dingle and his wrongful imprisonment for the murder of Shane Doyle.

Anderson played Mr. Romantic in a Carte Noire coffee advertising campaign in 2011. He also featured in an advertising campaign for Ginsters in 2012. In February 2014, he had a small role in an episode of BBC drama series Death in Paradise. Also in February 2014, it was announced that Anderson had been cast as recurring character Danny Pink, a teacher at Coal Hill School, in the eighth series of Doctor Who, appearing in 11 episodes. Between 2014 and 2017, Anderson appeared in Sky1 sitcom Trollied, playing the role of Daniel. In February 2016, he appeared in the BBC One drama series Moving On. In 2017, he starred in the comedy Loaded on Channel 4.

He appeared as William in the Netflix science fiction series Another Life, which produced two seasons between 2019 and 2021, before being cancelled in February 2022.

He also appeared in Amandaland as Mal in 2025, which has been renewed for a second series.

Filmography

Film

Television

Audio

References

References

1. "Samuel Anderson - National Portrait Gallery".
2. "Culture: History repeating itself; Birmingham-born actor Samuel Anderson talks to Terry Grimley about the life-changing experience of appearing in the stage and screen versions of Alan Bennett's The History Boys.". thefreelibrary.com.
3. "Internet Broadway Database: Samuel Anderson Credits on Broadway".
4. "Samuel Anderson". IMDb.
5. (26 September 2007). "Emmerdale welcomes new policeman". [[Metro (Associated Metro Limited).
6. Debnath, Neela. (2015-09-02). "Doctor Who and Emmerdale star Samuel Anderson says he WOULD return to soap as Ross Kirk".
7. (24 February 2014). "New recurring character for Doctor Who Series 8". [[BBC]].
8. (3 May 2017). "Danny Pink actor Samuel Anderson stars in new C4/AMC comedy, 'Loaded'".
9. (4 May 2017). "Samuel Anderson 'terrified' about new show Loaded: 'I hope people like it'".
10. Naronha, Remus. (7 August 2019). "'Another Life' star Samuel Anderson says William's loyalty lies with Niko first and foremost: 'She treats him normal'".
11. Swift, Andy. (21 February 2022). "Another Life Cancelled at Netflix — Read Katee Sackhoff's Statement".
12. (6 February 2025). "Amandaland: Who Is Samuel Anderson?".