Samuel James Clark (born 18 October 1987) is an Australian actor, singer-songwriter, best known for his role as Ringo Brown on the Australian soap opera, Neighbours and Leo in the Fox/Paramount live musical television special Grease: Live. Clark made his musical debut in 2009 with the single "Broken", which peaked at number one on the Australian Physical Singles Chart[2] His third single "Devastated" also peaked at number one on the same chart.[3] In August 2010, Clark released his debut studio album, Take Me Home.
Sam Clark | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Samuel James Clark[1] |
| Born | 18 October 1987 Adelaide, Australia |
| Origin | Melbourne, Australia |
| Genres | Singer-Songwriter Pop rock |
| Occupation(s) | Actor, singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, Loop pedal |
| Years active | 2007–present (acting) 2009–present (singing) |
| Labels | Independent |
| Website | samclarkofficial.com |
Early life
editClark was born in Adelaide.[4] He is a graduate of St. Andrew's Primary School and St Peter's College, and was a keen participant in several high school theatre productions, including a main role in West Side Story. In 2006, Clark formed a group (originally a duo) called, Solid White Line with members, Jake Long and James Brown.[5]
Acting career
editClark won the role of Ringo Brown after auditioning for a nationwide Dolly Magazine competition with Adelaide Kane; as the winner, he won a three-month contract with the show, which was later extended. Clark made his Neighbours debut on 24 January 2007. The character was actually three years younger than Clark's actual age.[6] Clark went through a long audition process compared with other Neighbours cast members, as he had to audition four times. On entering the show, Clark described Ringo as a "good-hearted kid", who does the normal things that a 16-year-old kid does.[6] For his portrayal of Ringo, Clark earned a nomination for the Logie Award for Most Popular New Male Talent.[7]
In 2009, Clark took a three-month break from Neighbours to focus on his music career.[8] He returned to filming in February 2010.[9] That July, Clark announced that he would be leaving Neighbours in order to focus more on his music career. He said "I love acting and I'm definitely going to strive for further success in that part of my life, however music has always been a passion and I want to give it my all right now."[10]
In 2012, Clark appeared in P. J. Hogan's Mental, alongside Toni Collette and Anthony LaPaglia.[11] He also wrote four songs for the soundtrack.[12]
In 2016, Clark made his U.S. television debut as Leo "Craterface" Balmudo in the Fox/Paramount live musical television special Grease: Live, alongside Vanessa Hudgens, Julianne Hough and Aaron Tveit under the direction of Tommy Kail (Hamilton).[13]
Music career
edit2009–2010: Take Me Home
editSince 2009, Clark has released his music through PLW Entertainment. "Broken" the debut single from Clark, was released in November 2009[14] The single peaked at number thirty nine on the ARIA Singles Chart[15] It has had a better impact on other charts where it peaked at number one on the Australian Physical Singles Chart and at number eleven on the Australian Singles Charts (chart only for Australian origin)[2] The second single, "Send Me a Sign" was released on 22 April 2010[16] and first premiered during an episode of Neighbours, where Clark sang it in character as Ringo Brown.[17] The single failed to make an impact on the charts and had no physical release.
In July 2010, Clark released his third single, "Devastated"[18] which debuted at number one on the Australian Physical Singles Chart.[3] This single included the bonus track of "Suddenly", Clark's modern take on the original song by Angry Anderson, which was played in an episode of Neighbours during his character's (Ringo Brown) wedding to Donna Freedman (Margot Robbie).[19] In August 2010, Clark began a five-week national tour across Australia, visiting fifty schools to promote the single and to also talk about his commitment to giving blood as an ambassador for the Red Cross Blood Service.[20] Clark's debut album Take Me Home was released on 20 August[21]
2011–present: My Own Way
editIn November 2011, Clark made his first independent release with EP My Own Way. He described the sound as "more folk and acoustic".[12] The following year, he made an appearance at Bents Park as part of the South Tyneside Summer Festival concerts, alongside Matt Cardle and Ryan O'Shaughnessy.[22]
Discography
edit| Sam Clark discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 1 |
| EPs | 1 |
| Singles | 3 |
| Music videos | 3 |
Studio albums
edit| Title | Album details |
|---|---|
| Take Me Home |
|
Extended plays
edit| Title | EP details |
|---|---|
| My Own Way |
|
Singles
edit| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AUS | ||||
| 2009 | "Broken" | 39 | Take Me Home | |
| 2010 | "Send Me a Sign" | — | ||
| "Devastated" | — | |||
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart or receive certification | ||||
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Director |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | "Broken" | Tom Marks |
| 2010 | "Send Me a Sign" | Joel Kohn |
| "Devastated" | Joel Kohn[25] |
Filmography
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007–2010 | Neighbours | Ringo Brown | Series regular |
| 2012 | Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries | Paul Waddington | |
| 2012 | Mental | Trout | |
| 2016 | Dance Night Obsession | Officer Kirby | |
| 2016 | Monday at 11:01 AM | Bellhop | |
| 2016 | Grease: Live | Leo Balmudo | |
| 2018 | Friends from College | David Beckham impersonator | |
| 2019 | Tell Me I Love You | Ben O'Shea | |
| 2022 | Death Camp | Austin |
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Inside Soap Awards | Best Newcomer | Neighbours | Nominated | [26] |
| 2008 | Logie Awards | Most Popular New Male Talent | Nominated | [7] | |
| 2009 | Inside Soap Awards | Sexiest Male | Nominated | [27] | |
| 2010 | CLEO Bachelor of the Year | Bachelor of the Year | — | Nominated | [28] |
References
edit- ^ "My Melbourne: Sam Clark". The Sydney Morning Herald. 31 October 2011. Retrieved 25 February 2017.(subscription required)
- ^ a b Sam Clark's debut single Broken holds Top spot Archived 7 February 2010 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved 3 May 2010
- ^ a b Top 50 Physical Singles Chart Retrieved 23 August 2010 Archived 11 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ O'Hanlon, Paul (6 October 2016). "Adelaide Film Festival goes rogue". Australian Times. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ About Solid White Line notes – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ a b Nicholson, Sarah (6 February 2007). "What Girls Want". The Courier-Mail. Retrieved 3 February 2010.
- ^ a b "Full list of nominations for the 50th Logie awards". Sunshine Coast Daily. 7 April 2008. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Sam to take a break". Holy Soap. Five. 4 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 September 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
- ^ "Second Sam Clark song on Neighbours". Metro. 11 February 2010. Retrieved 12 March 2010.
- ^ "Sam clark set to leave Neighbours". RTÉ Ten. Archived from the original on 28 July 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2010.
- ^ "Mental starts to walk red carpet at AIMC opening night" (PDF). Australian International Movie Convention. 20 July 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ a b "Sam Clark digs a new role". The Advertiser. 19 June 2012. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ "Former Neighbours star hits the stage". TV Week. 2 February 2016. Archived from the original on 27 March 2016. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Broken – Single by Sam Clark iTunes Store – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ Sam Clark – Broken australian-charts.com – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ Send Me A Sign – single by Sam Clark iTunes Store – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ SAM CLARK : Send Me A Sign Retrieved 3 May 2010
- ^ Devastated – Single by Sam Clark iTunes Store – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ "Win a signed Sam Clark CD!". Holy Soap. Channel Five. Archived from the original on 19 October 2010. Retrieved 16 October 2010.
- ^ Star on tour to spread message of 'blood' Retrieved 21 August 2010 Archived 1 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Take Me Home | Sam Clark The Groove Merchants – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ Prince, Daniel (17 July 2012). "X Factor champ Matt Cardle next up at festival". Shields Gazette. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
- ^ Take Me Home Sam Clark | Sanity Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ "My Own Way - EP". iTunes Store. Retrieved 3 July 2012.[dead link]
- ^ YouTube – Sam Clark – Devastated video notes – Retrieved 21 August 2010
- ^ Green, Kris (3 July 2007). "Inside Soap Awards 2007: The Nominations". Digital Spy. Hachette Filipacchi. Retrieved 11 June 2010.
- ^ "Inside Soap Awards 2009: Nominees". Sky. BSkyB. Archived from the original on 16 July 2011. Retrieved 29 June 2010.
- ^ Bachelor2010 Samuel Clark Retrieved 22 August 2010 [dead link]
External links
edit- Official website
- Sam Clark at IMDb
- Sam Clark on SoundCloud