Sam Morgan is a multihyphenate force in entertainment — an actor, director, musician, and model whose work defies easy categorization. Most widely known for his role opposite Jeremy Allen White in the critically acclaimed Showtime series Shameless, Sam has proven himself both on-screen and behind the camera.

He previously starred as the younger love interest of Alicia Silverstone in Paramount's American Woman, discovered by producer John Wells (The Pitt, ER), and later caught the attention of James Franco, who cast him in various film projects including Mississippi Requiem.

Over the years, Sam has cultivated a career that spans film, television, music, and fashion. His film Object of Desirereceived a Director’s Guild Award after a celebrated festival run, and he has several upcoming projects in production awaiting announcement. As a model, he’s collaborated with numerous fashion, lifestyle, and wellness brands, blending visual storytelling with his cinematic sensibility.

Whether acting, directing, composing music, or modeling, Sam approaches each endeavor with the same core principles: authenticity, curiosity, and emotion.

1. You’re an actor, director, musician, and model — which role feels most like you?

I think it sort of depends on the season of my life that I’m in, honestly. I love music for example, but sometimes I feel like it’s something more private and personal for me than it is for the world, and obviously when I was studying film at NYU, I felt way more like a director than anything. If I had to say where I’m at today, I guess somewhere between model and actor. It’s making me think of a Bob Dylan quote that I’ll probably butcher, but it goes something like “All I can do is be me. Whoever that is today.“

2. Your early collaboration with James Franco came at a pivotal moment in your career. How did that experience inform the direction of your work and the opportunities that followed?

I have no clue if James could even pick me out of a line up at this point, but he was really such a massively instrumental part of my first couple months here in LA.

The funny thing about that time in my life was that when I was like 18 or something I had this Esquire magazine that had James on the cover of it and I remember I went, and I got the exact outfit. I just remember making that photo shoot and interview that he did all those years ago my entire personality. So then meeting him on my second or third day in Los Angeles was really a trip. At the time he was teaching at multiple universities so a friend of mine from NYU was one of his students and James had also graduated from the same program as I did, so he was very gracious in connecting me to all these other, you know up-and-coming filmmakers who are some of my closest friends today. And I think it should be said that the main reason James was so open at first was because I had just moved to LA, and I was willing to be a PA for free on all these projects because I just wanted to meet people. He really did me such a massive favor. I’m very grateful for that time in my life. Also, seeing everybody have their “come up” since then has been wonderful. One of my dear friends Austin Kolodney, who drove me to set every day (because I didn’t have a car yet), just wrote this movie called Dead Man’s Wire starring Bill Skarsgård and directed by Gus Van Sant.

3. How did starring in Shameless influence your career trajectory?

“Shameless” was an amazing experience because of the cache that a show like that has. It was like being on “Game of Thrones” or something in terms of the reach and the fandom because you know a show like that, there are main characters, and they all have their own storylines - so mine was with Jeremy and Scott’s characters at the motorcycle shop. I was not familiar with the show prior to being cast so I really wasn’t aware of the work they were doing but being on set and getting to go toe to toe with actors of that caliber was just beyond exhilarating. It just makes everything so much easier as an actor when your scene partners are inherently electric and on fire. Being on a show like that does open up a lot of doors because it had so many eyes on it. There was something Amy Adams said about working on Catch Me if You Can with DiCaprio and how even though it wasn’t her “career breakthrough” it showed her that she could hold her own with these heavy hitter performers and that was definitely a big takeaway for me from that show. I can show up and do the job.

4. What was it like working with Alicia Silverstone on American Woman?

Alicia is the best. She is such a massive part of modern pop culture and getting to see the way that she works and her commitment to what she does both as an actress and as a career person is so inspiring to me. I’ve gotten so lucky with all of my co-stars so far. They’re all so different but each has taught me incredible lessons. I remember our very first chemistry read. It was in an office on the Warner Brothers lot, and it was me and one other guy. And then Alicia comes in with curlers in her hair because they were shooting another episode, and she took a quick break to come read with us. We just really hit it off right away. She had to wear so many hats in that project and she did it with so much grace. Truly a masterclass for an actor just starting out.

5. Object of Desire received a Director’s Guild Award — what did that recognition mean for you as one of the film’s stars?

That was such a wild run because when you’re working with up-and-coming directors and filmmakers or artists who don’t have a huge body of work necessarily behind them, all you have to go off of is the script in front of you and for lack of a better term “vibes.” So, this was a big leap of faith in it, but I really trusted the director Naomi and luckily that instinct was correct because we went to some amazing festivals and ended up ultimately winning some big awards. Which feels really nice as an actor.

6. How do films from the Golden Age of Hollywood in addition to international cinema, factor into your creative relationship with the medium?

That is a really great question. I find being connected to cinema in the history of filmmaking always reminds me of why I want to do this job in the first place. I love Italian neorealist filmmaking, dogma 95, French new wave, all of it. When I watch a film like Truffaut’s 400 Blows or Joachim Trier’s Thelma, I just immediately get reinvigorated to go back out there and make something honest, raw, and beautiful. Life is a beautiful adventure and none of us are here for as long as we think we’ll be. Cinema that explores that complexity is why I love this job.

7. Your affinity for horror classics such Nosferatu and Dracula feels deeply woven into your aesthetic. How have those stories and visuals shaped your artistic sensibilities, and do you see yourself taking on a character in that vein someday?

Absolutely. I was born to play a vampire. I don’t know which one it will be, but it will certainly happen one of these days. My parents took me to see this Mel Brooks movie called Dracula: Dead and Loving it when I was very little and even though it’s a comedy, my 4-year-old brain couldn’t see beyond the gothic horror of it. So maybe my obsession with vampires is me trying to process that in some ways. Come to think of it, my mom also bought me a copy of Anne Rice’s The Vampire Armand which is one of her more graphic works in the Interview With The Vampire series. So, I might have to circle back with her and see what was going on there.

8. How do you balance multiple creative pursuits while keeping each project authentic?

It’s really, really challenging. Because there’s so many things that I want to do that I feel drawn towards as an artist between music and filmmaking and acting and everything in between. So, finding time to give each, it’s due diligence, is very overwhelming. I have a hard time balancing all of that so if anyone has any wisdom to share, I’m all ears. I guess my rule of thumb for now is “follow your fun.” If something isn’t fun or feels bad, it’s too damn expensive!

9. As a model, how does fashion influence your storytelling in film and music?

I love getting to play characters. And being on set shooting for a brand is a character in none of itself. I’m big on the alter ego effect. I speak a lot with my team about this idea of the actor “Sam” and creating a separation between this image that we’re putting out in the world versus who I am as an individual. So, when I get the chance to step into these really expensive, beautiful pieces of clothing and have my picture taken for a split second that is a cinematic experience in my mind. It’s always a part of the movie. The movie of my life.

10. Who or what are your biggest artistic influences across mediums?

Well, as a Gemini, I have to say my man, Bob Dylan. I keep a book of his lyrics written as poems next to my bed. It’s like a thick encyclopedia of every song he’s ever written. Also, Sofia Coppola is a huge inspiration to me not just as a filmmaker, but also her life aesthetic. The lens that she views the world through feels very resonate with me. I have another photobook of hers that are all these pictures she’s taken over the years on her sets and they’re so intimate and so personal and it just makes me feel very connected to her in a certain way as an artist. I also love Jeff Buckley. I recently performed some of his music in honor of his birthday. Hopefully I did it justice.

11. How do you approach creative challenges or moments of self-doubt?

Self-doubt is a necessary evil in my mind. If you can allow it to be a passenger in your car and not a driver of the vehicle, I think that is how you can hold the feeling, which is very natural to every artist I’ve ever spoken with, and not let it totally derail you from your path or your mission. If something is written on your heart, it is your duty to yourself to your higher power whatever that is, to make what you’ve been called to make. A poem, a song, one person show. Whatever it is, go make it. Those are your marching orders.

12. What advice would you give emerging artists wanting to explore multiple fields?

I had an amazing acting teacher named Suzanne Esper who told me after class one day when I was asking about how to get started on this whole career thing, and she said, “You just do it.” And I know that sounds opaque maybe, but that is actually the absolute truth. Start. Start now. Start today. Take one actionable step towards your bigger goals and JUST DO IT. Leap and the net will appear.

13. Are there upcoming projects you’re especially excited about that you can hint at?

Yes! I’m getting ready to go shoot a film in Spain at the beginning of the year. It’s a horror film about a woman whose inner demons begin to externalize themselves and manifest through the people around her. I hate watching horror films, but I love being in them - make that make sense.

14. Looking ahead, where do you see your career evolving in the next five years?

I hope a role finds me that allows me to express everything I’ve been going through lately and transmute it into something that resonates with my fans. This year has been a doozy in so many ways. I lost my father over the summer who has just been a pillar of support and love for me throughout my entire life. I’m expanding, growing, and elevating in so many ways as a result of that loss, and I hope a character stumbles into my life that allows me to explore all of these new experiences I’ve had and share them with the world. I’m sure that’s every actor's dream and it is definitely mine for now. Characters are mercurial in the sense that they always seem to pop up exactly when you need them -“When the student is ready the teacher appears,” kinda thing.