# Sam Underwood
**Sam Underwood** (Sam Lewis Underwood) is an English actor known for playing troubled and menacing characters on American television, including the twin serial killers Mark and Luke Gray in *The Following*, Jake Otto in *Fear the Walking Dead*, and Adam Carrington in the *Dynasty* reboot. He also works in theater in New York and London, where he has played roles including Alan Strang in *Equus* and the title role in an [Off-Broadway](https://www.edgepedia.org/off-broadway) *Ivanov*.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1987, Woking, Surrey, England, UK[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) |
| Signature television roles | Mark and Luke Gray in *The Following* (2014–2015, 30 episodes); Adam Carrington in *Dynasty* (2019–2022, 73 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) |
| Other series roles | Zach Hamilton in *Dexter* (2013), Leo Carras in *Homeland* (2013), Jake Otto in *Fear the Walking Dead* (2017, 14 episodes)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) |
| Training | Moved to the United States in 2006; graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) in New York in 2008[2](https://utpmag.com/project/sam-underwood) |
| Theatre company | Founder and artistic director of the Fundamental Theatre Project, a non-profit supporting international artists in New York[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast/sam-underwood--1033169) |
| Notable stage roles | Alan Strang in *Equus* opposite Alec Baldwin (2010); Nikolai Ivanov in *The Real Ivanov*, Off-Broadway (2026)[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Interviews-VERITAS-Sam-Underwood-20100816) • [5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Sam-Underwood/) |
| Marriage | Married actress Valorie Curry on May 13, 2016; divorced April 2023[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) |
## Early life and training
Underwood was born in 1987 in Woking, Surrey, a town about half an hour's drive from south London, and grew up there with a sister, Hayley[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) • [2](https://utpmag.com/project/sam-underwood) • [6](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sam%2BUnderwood-1555173/biography). His father was a singer and songwriter, and his mother enrolled him in dance school at the age of four to channel his energy; he later took singing lessons from age three by one account, attended the Karen Clarke Theatre School and Woking Youth Theatre, and moved on to musicals and drama study[2](https://utpmag.com/project/sam-underwood) • [6](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sam%2BUnderwood-1555173/biography).
In 2006 he moved to the United States to study at the American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York, graduating in 2008[2](https://utpmag.com/project/sam-underwood) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/1124/sam-underwood). One biographical source gives his graduation year as 2007[6](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sam%2BUnderwood-1555173/biography). While still in drama-school years he toured America with a theater company, and an online audition notice for [George Bernard Shaw](https://www.edgepedia.org/george-bernard-shaw)'s *Candida* at the Irish Repertory Theatre led to his casting as Marchbanks, directed by [Tony Walton](https://www.edgepedia.org/tony-walton)[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Interviews-VERITAS-Sam-Underwood-20100816).
## Television career
Underwood's screen work centers on television drama, often in roles described as dark or disturbed[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-underwood/) • [9](https://www.assignmentx.com/2014/exclusive-interview-sam-underwood-on-the-following/).
**Breakthrough roles, 2013.** In the final season of Showtime's *Dexter* he played Zach Hamilton, a killer whom [Dexter Morgan](https://www.edgepedia.org/dexter-morgan) takes as a protégé; he won the part from audition sides describing a deeply disturbed young man aware that his urges were wrong[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) • [10](https://www.dexterdaily.com/2013/08/sam-underwood-talks-dexter-season-8.html). The same year he appeared in four episodes of *Homeland* as Leo Carras, the unstable boyfriend of Dana Brody, and in two episodes of ABC's *Zero Hour* as Martin Krupp[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) • [9](https://www.assignmentx.com/2014/exclusive-interview-sam-underwood-on-the-following/). His film debut period also includes *The Last Keepers* (2013), in which he played Oliver Sands[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/).
**The Following.** In 2014 he joined the Fox thriller *The Following* opposite [Kevin Bacon](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-bacon), playing the twin serial killers Luke and Mark Gray across 30 episodes through 2015[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/). He called playing the two distinct brothers a "luxury" and a "dream job"; executive producer [Kevin Williamson](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-williamson-screenwriter) said no digital effects or prosthetics were used, relying instead on the differences in his performance[11](https://www.tvinsider.com/1068/five-things-you-dont-know-about-the-followings-sam-underwood/). The day after his premiere episode, the *New York Post* ran a full-page spread headlined "Twin Freaks," and Bacon praised the way he "fearlessly embraces" the role[12](https://amda-production.frb.io/news/alumnus-sam-underwood-on-the-following).
**Later series work.** He played Andy in three episodes of *Power* (2016), Jake Otto, the enigmatic son of a colony leader, in 14 episodes of *Fear the Walking Dead* (2017), and Andrew Hill in one episode of *Madam Secretary* (2018)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/) • [3](https://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast/sam-underwood--1033169) • [13](https://www.kinobox.cz/osobnosti/1516277-sam-underwood). His longest television commitment came as Adam Carrington (and, in one credit, Aidan) on [The CW](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-cw)'s *Dynasty* reboot, in 73 episodes from 2019 to 2022[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/). In 2023 he appeared in one episode of *The Rookie: Feds* as Roman Griffith[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/).
His film credits include the musical film *Hello Again* (2017) as Leocadia, the short *Ophelia* (2017) as Hamlet, and *The Drummer* (2020) as Darien Cooper[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/). He is also credited as a screenwriter on *Ophelia*[8](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-underwood/).
## Theatre
Underwood's stage work has run alongside his television career. In 2010 he played Alan Strang in Peter Shaffer's *Equus* opposite [Alec Baldwin](https://www.edgepedia.org/alec-baldwin) at Guild Hall's John Drew Theatre in [East Hampton, New York](https://www.edgepedia.org/east-hampton-new-york), a production directed by Tony Walton in which Shaffer revised the text; reviews repeatedly applied the word "brilliant" to his performance[4](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Interviews-VERITAS-Sam-Underwood-20100816) • [14](https://www.theatermania.com/news/sam-underwood-shares-the-naked-truth-about-equus_27936/). His other stage credits include *Candida*, *Hamlet* opposite Alec Baldwin and [Kate Mulgrew](https://www.edgepedia.org/kate-mulgrew), the world premiere of Tennessee Williams's *In Masks Outrageous and Austere* opposite Shirley Knight, *Veritas*, and *The Picture of Dorian Gray*[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast/sam-underwood--1033169) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/1124/sam-underwood).
In 2023 he appeared in the world premiere of *The Third Man*, a musical adaptation at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London directed by [Trevor Nunn](https://www.edgepedia.org/trevor-nunn)[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Sam-Underwood/). In 2026 he returned to the New York stage as [Nikolai Ivanov](https://www.edgepedia.org/nikolai-ivanov) in *The Real Ivanov*, Laura Strausfeld's 100-minute adaptation of Chekhov's first staged play, at Manhattan's Lynn F. Angelson Theater, and was also the production's executive producer[5](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Sam-Underwood/).
## Producing and other work
Underwood co-founded the Fundamental Theatre Project in New York in 2010, a non-profit arts organization supporting international artists, and serves as its artistic director[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast/sam-underwood--1033169) • [7](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/1124/sam-underwood). He is also Creative Director of Initiative | 26, a production company developing new material with emerging artists and reimagining classic texts[3](https://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast/sam-underwood--1033169).
## Personal life
Underwood married actress Valorie Curry, his co-star in *Ophelia* and *Bus Stop*, on May 13, 2016; the marriage ended in divorce in April 2023[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/). He stands 1.77 m (5′ 9½″) tall[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/). In interviews he has cited [Norman Bates](https://www.edgepedia.org/norman-bates) from Hitchcock's *Psycho* and [Christian Bale](https://www.edgepedia.org/christian-bale)'s Patrick Bateman in *American Psycho* as influences on his approach to dark characters, along with [Tom Hardy](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-hardy) and Ryan Gosling[2](https://utpmag.com/project/sam-underwood).
## References
1. [Sam Underwood, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm3862996/)
2. [Sam Underwood, Un-Titled Project magazine interview](https://utpmag.com/project/sam-underwood)
3. [Sam Underwood, Fear the Walking Dead cast bio, AMC](https://www.amc.com/shows/fear-the-walking-dead/cast/sam-underwood--1033169)
4. [BWW Interviews: VERITAS' Sam Underwood, BroadwayWorld (2010)](https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Interviews-VERITAS-Sam-Underwood-20100816)
5. [Sam Underwood, Broadway & Theatre Credits, BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/people/Sam-Underwood/)
6. [Sam Underwood (I) Bio, Filmweb](https://www.filmweb.pl/person/Sam%2BUnderwood-1555173/biography)
7. [Sam Underwood, TVmaze](https://www.tvmaze.com/people/1124/sam-underwood)
8. [Sam Underwood, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/sam-underwood/)
9. [Exclusive Interview with THE FOLLOWING's Sam Underwood, Assignment X (2014)](https://www.assignmentx.com/2014/exclusive-interview-sam-underwood-on-the-following/)
10. [Sam Underwood Talks Dexter Season 8, Zach Hamilton and More, Dexter Daily (2013)](https://www.dexterdaily.com/2013/08/sam-underwood-talks-dexter-season-8.html)
11. [Five Things You Don't Know About 'The Following's Sam Underwood, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/1068/five-things-you-dont-know-about-the-followings-sam-underwood/)
12. [Alumnus Sam Underwood on The Following!, AMDA News](https://amda-production.frb.io/news/alumnus-sam-underwood-on-the-following)
13. [Sam Underwood, Kinobox.cz](https://www.kinobox.cz/osobnosti/1516277-sam-underwood)
14. [Sam Underwood Shares the Naked Truth About Equus, TheaterMania (2010)](https://www.theatermania.com/news/sam-underwood-shares-the-naked-truth-about-equus_27936/)
---
*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › English actors: 2000s onward › Surnames T to We*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 20, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 20, 2026; Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license