Richard Sammel
Languages German: native, English: fluent, French: fluent, Italian: fluent, Spanish: intermediate
Residence Berlin
Place of birth Heidelberg
Nationality German
Height 179 cm / 5'10"
Hair dark blond(e)
Eyes blue
Dialects Badisch, Hessian, Swabian
Pitch of the voice tenor
Musical instruments guitar, piano, violin, mandolin
Dance ballroom, contemporary dance, contact dance
Sports Sailing, Climbing, Alpine skiing, Fencing (sports), Shooting (rifle), Scuba diving
Driving licence Motorcycle class, Car class

Richard Sammel was born in 1960 in Heidelberg and trained in Germany and France, developing a career that spans four decades and three languages – German, French, Italian and English.

From 1989 onwards, he worked with the theatre director Giorgio Barberio Corsetti in Rome, where he met the actress Susan Strasberg, who helped him land his first leading film role in Il Piacere delle Carni.

Richard Sammel established himself as a distinctive presence in French and European cinema and television through the late 1990s and 2000s, with credits including Bertrand Tavernier’s Laissez-passer, Roberto Begnini’s Life is Beautiful, Casino Royale (Bond 21) and Luc Besson’s Taxi. His breakthrough in the U.S. came with Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds (2009).

His international career expanded significantly with his recurring role across all four seasons of Guillermo del Toro’s The Strain (FX, 2014–2017) and Shawn Levy’s Netflix series All the Light We Cannot See (2022) and the Disney+ series Andor. His most recent major credit is a recurring role in Lucasfilm’s Star Wars: Andor (Season 2, 2024). Further recent credits include the series A Better Place.

He is a member of the German Film Academy since 2024.
Richard Sammel lives in Berlin and Paris.

Film & TV   Selection

2026
Dear England
2024
A Better Place
2024
Andor (Star Wars)
2023
Pax Africana
2022
All the Light We Cannot See
2022
Gate to Heaven
2022
Double Je
2022
A Day Like A Week
2022
Rich Flu
2022
L'ordine del tempo
2021
That Dirty Black Bag
2021
Polterjahre
2021
Faking Hitler
2021
Das Seil (FR: La Corde, EN: The Rope)
2021
Spencer
2021
Neneh Superstar
2020
César Wagner 2 - Sang et Eaux
2020
Blackout
2020
Margrete - Queen of the North
2019
Maradona - Sueño Bendito
2019
The Head
2019
Das letzte Wort
2019
Über die Grenze - Racheengel
2019
Peacemaker
2019
Plötzlich diese Übersicht
2018
Letzte Spur Berlin - Übergang
2018
Dengler - Brennende Kälte
2018
The Name of the Rose
2018
Gate To Heaven
2017
Der Mordanschlag
2017
The Delegation
2017
The Conductor
2016
Le Confessione
2015
Outside the Box
2015
A Day Like A Week
2014
Schuld - Volksfest
2014
The Strain (Season 1-4)
2013
Da Vincis Demons
2013
Three Days to Kill
2013
Beauty and the Beast
2013
Company of Heroes
2012
Borderland
2012
Der zweite Mann
2011
Interpol
2011
Allein gegen die Zeit
2011
Chez Maupassant - Boule de suif
2011
Apartment in Athens
2010
Tatort - Am Ende des Tages
2010
Die Akte Golgatha
2010
Undercover Love
2010
Werner - Eiskalt
2009
Chez Maupassant - Deux amis
2009
Un Village Francais
2009
Lila, Lila
2009
Inglorious Bastards
2008
Dicke Liebe
2008
Der Kriminalist
2008
Phantomschmerz
2008
This is Love
2007
Das 100 Millionen Dollar Date
2007
Il Commissario de Luca
2007
Lady Blood
2006
Chez Maupassant
2006
Casino Royale (Bond 21)
2005
Un Ami Prafait
2005
OSS 117
2004
Feuer in der Nacht
2004
Le 5 Giomate di Milano
2004
Le Piuts
2004
Zeppelin
2003
MA 2412 Die Staatsdiener
2002
Ich gehöre Dir
2002
Jean Moulin
2002
Julia, ein ungewöhnliche Frau
2001
Wespennest
2001
Laisser passer
1999
La Bicyclette Bleue
1999
Il Cielo Cade
1998
Premier de cordée
1997
Entfant des terres blondes
1997
Taxi
1997
Life is Beautiful
1996
Dans un grand vent de fleurs
1996
Anna Oz
1993
Caccia Alle Mosche
1993
La Chasse aux Doryphores
1992
Il Piacere Delle Carni
1991
La Setta
1990
In Nome del Popolo Sovrano

Theatre   Selection

2013
Da kommt noch wer
2007
A la vie
2006
Qu'ils me haissent, pourvu qu'ils me craignent
2004
Die Möwe
2003
Medea
1998
Un Faust - Histoire Naturelle
1997
Helena
1996
Chambre Obscure
1994
Goldoni bittet zu Tisch
1992
L'esequie Della Luna
1991
Der Menschenfeind
1990
Das Holz der Violinen

Awards

2014

Angela Award

2012

Syracuse International Film Festival New York