Bio
Sam Claflin is an English actor best known for his film roles as Philip Swift in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, as William in Snow White & the Huntsman and as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games: Catching Fire.
He first came to attention for his starring role as Richard, Bartholomew's son and heir to the title of Earl of Shiring whose sister, Aliena, helps him find his inner courage in order to fight for what was wrongfully taken from them, in the historical drama miniseries The Pillars of the Earth, based on the book of the same name by Ken Follett.
Sam graduated from LAMDA in 2009. Since graduation, in addition to his work on The Pillars of the Earth, Sam filmed The Lost Future in South Africa. He starred as the lead character Kaleb in this sci-fi adventure alongside Sean Bean and Annabelle Wallis.
Sam's theatre credits whilst at LAMDA included the role of Dorimant in Man of Mode, and the title role in Tommy. He also played Silvius, in As You Like It and was Davey in Love Is.
Claflin is the son of a finance officer father and a classroom assistant mother. As a child he was a football mad often going to see his local team Norwich City and he was a talented footballer, playing for Norwich schools at city level and Norfolk county level.
However, he suffered two broken ankles and at 16 gave up thinking about a footballing career. He took up performing arts and a teacher from Costessey High School was impressed with his performance in a school play, and encouraged him to take up drama.
He joined the local youth group at Norwich's Theatre Royal and went on to gain entry to LAMDA drama school in 2006, graduating with a three-year acting degree in 2009.
He is the 3rd eldest of four boys; his older brothers Dan and Ben are not involved in drama but his younger brother Joe commenced at the same drama school in 2009.
His film debut came playing footballer Duncan Edwards, one of the "Busby Babes", in United (2011/I). Clafin then came to the attention of filmgoers across the world when he was cast as Philip in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides (2011).
Various roles followed, including Jack in White Heat (2012) and Prince William in Snow White and the Huntsman (2012). He was later cast as Finnick Odair in the sequel The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, in 2013.