In my opinion, Sam Claflin suffers from James Marsden Syndrome. That’s where an actor is perfectly handsome, in a Disney-prince sort of way, and perfectly talented across the board, but he doesn’t get a lot of respect for his range or the quality of his work. That lack of respect comes from the fact that the guy is so handsome and because he makes it look easy. Just my take! Plus, I also think Sam is kind of unmemorable in many roles, but that’s perhaps because of the project and not him. In any case, Sam was recently profiled by GQ Hype to talk about Daisy Jones and the Six, where he plays the lead, Billy Dunne. Some highlights from GQ:
His struggle-years: “I think I was on the ‘upcoming hot under-30-year-olds list’ for like ten years and I was like, ‘I’m still not coming.’ A lot of guys recognise me because their girlfriends have forced them to watch something I’m in.”
He didn’t know anything about the ‘70s or music: “Having to sit in a recording studio listening to yourself over and over again was a horrifying experience. I think there’s a line in the series where [someone says that] to be a musician you have to have an ego. I wouldn’t say that’s me. I was one of the last they [auditioned] and the way I saw it was they’d seen everyone else and just had to make do.”
He regrets working on some projects: “There’ve been a few jobs I’ve agreed to and later had second thoughts, but I’d given my word. I don’t want to be perceived as someone who is difficult.”
He doesn’t want to play bad guys anymore: “I went through a stage of desperately vying for an Oscar but doing things that were really not me. Physically, emotionally transforming myself. [The Nightingale] was too far the other way. I think that was the turning point in my life. I don’t think I could do that again.”
He can cry at any time because he’s gone through a divorce: “These emotions are still quite raw for me. I can just take from that and put myself in this situation because I lived through it.”
Before his divorce, he didn’t know himself: “One of the reasons I became an actor is that I always want people to like me. I think it’s only recently dawned on me that I try so hard to make other people happy that I don’t know who I am. I’m from Norfolk but I’ve just adopted an accent that no one can really put a flag on. It’s an amalgamation of other people’s accents. Over time I’d sort of lost, I don’t know… What makes me happy?”
His divorce from Laura Haddock: “It’s a horrendous thing to go through. Every break-up is difficult, and obviously having kids makes it even more. During Covid I really f–king struggled with the kids and, mentally, where my life was. Working through that, I’ve started getting to a point where I’m not afraid of saying no anymore.”
He met his new girlfriend on Raya: Recently, Claflin’s girlfriend, whom he met on the dating app Raya, teased him for working out to those generic, algorithmic chill playlists that Spotify tries to feed you. “Do people really listen to those?” I ask. Claflin sighs. “I do.”
There’s something Tom Hiddleston-esque about him, now that I’ve read this profile. Something needy, something slightly awkward and vulnerable. He’s not “the cool guy” – he’s uncool, he had a tough divorce and it sounds like he has problems being alone, being by himself with his own thoughts rattling around. I’m not saying any of that in a bad way – I suspect a lot of men are like this, and a lot of actors are like this too. He’s only 36 years old – he seems a lot older, right?
The photos are HOT, actually.
Photos courtesy of GQ Hype.
