Xavier Samuel

Xavier Samuel is an Australian film and theatre actor born on 10 December 1983. He is known for his leading roles in feature films such as Adore, September, Further We Search, Newcastle, The Loved Ones, Frankenstein, and A Few Best Men. He gained widespread visibility playing Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, Billy in Spin Out, and Cass Chaplin in the biographical film Blonde.

Samuel was born in Hamilton, Victoria, to Maree and Clifford Samuel. He grew up in Adelaide, South Australia, and spent a year in Darwin when he was 13 due to his parents' teaching professions. He has a younger brother, Benedict, who is a writer, producer, and actor, and an older sister, Bridget, who works as a stage manager. Samuel graduated from Rostrevor College in 2001, completed final year drama at Christian Brothers College, and later attended the Flinders University Drama Centre, graduating in 2006.

Samuel made his screen acting debut on the Australian television series McLeod's Daughters in 2003. In 2007, he starred alongside Mia Wasikowska in the film September. He subsequently appeared in the horror film Road Train, the film Drowning, and the 2008 surfing drama Newcastle. In 2009, Samuel played the lead role of Brent opposite Robin McLeavy in the horror-thriller feature The Loved Ones.

In early 2010, Samuel secured his first high-profile international role as Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse, winning his first film award at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards. He then portrayed Henry Wriothesley in the 2011 film Anonymous. In 2012, Samuel played a lead role alongside Rebel Wilson and Olivia Newton-John in the comedy A Few Best Men, later reprising his role in the 2017 sequel A Few Less Men. He was also cast in the 3D feature Bait in 2012.

In 2013, Samuel played Ian in Adore alongside Naomi Watts and Robin Wright. The following year, he starred with Hugo Weaving in Healing and appeared alongside Brad Pitt and Shia LaBeouf in the World War II blockbuster Fury. In 2016, Samuel portrayed the title character in The Death and Life of Otto Bloom and performed in the period comedy Love & Friendship alongside Kate Beckinsale and Chloe Sevigny.

Samuel's television credits include playing Simon Heywood in the 2017 Australian series Seven Types of Ambiguity and portraying Kit Parker in the 2021 Amazon thriller series Tell Me Your Secrets. In 2022, he starred as Cass Chaplin in the Netflix film Blonde, directed by Andrew Dominik. To maintain his acting career, Samuel regularly moves between Australia and the United States.