My Take
Sam Robards is one of those actors who quietly earns your respect every time he shows up on screen. Born into Hollywood royalty — son of Jason Robards and Lauren Bacall — he could have coasted on the family name, but instead he went to Sarah Lawrence and actually put in the craft work, picking up a Clarence Derwent Award for his stage work and a Tony nomination for his Broadway turn in The Man Who Had All the Luck. Most people know him from American Beauty, where he played the neighbor with the unsettling calm, or from A.I. Artificial Intelligence as the earnest, conflicted father figure. He never became a household name, but that almost feels like a choice — there's a quiet precision to his performances that suits the work over the spotlight, and honestly that's pretty rare in an industry that rewards the loudest voice in the room.
Overview
Sam Prideaux Robards (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in American Beauty (1999) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). For his performance in the Broadway production of The Man Who Had All the Luck, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Sam Robards
- Name (Japanese)
- サム・ロバーズ
- Reading
- さむ・ろばーず
- Born
- December 16, 1961 (age 64)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Sagittarius / Ox
- Origin
- New York City, New York, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / stage actor / film producer / actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Sarah Lawrence College
Awards & achievements
- Clarence Derwent Awards
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.