Sunday, June 24, 2012

Xavier Samuel biography

Xavier Samuel (born 10 December 1983) is an Australian actor. He has appeared in leading roles in the feature films September, Further We Search, Newcastle, The Loved Ones and A Few Best Men, and played Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.

Early life and education

Samuel was born in Hamilton, Victoria, the son of Maree and Clifford Samuel. He grew up in Adelaide, South Australia and graduated from Rostrevor College in 2001. Xavier has younger brother, Benedict Samuel, who is a writer, producer and actor. He also has an older sister Bridget Samuel who is a stage manager.
Despite completing his senior secondary years at Rostrevor College, Samuel undertook final year drama at Christian Brothers College under the tutelage of Amanda Portus. During the same year, he played the part of Tom Snout (the wall) in Rostrevor College’s production of William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream as well as playing the part of Belvile in CBC’s production of Aphra Behn’s The Rover (The Banished Cavaliers).
Samuel attended Flinders University Drama Centre in 2005 where he studied under renowned acting teacher Professor Julie Holledge. He played Hamlet in the graduate production.

Acting debut and international breakthrough

Samuel made his debut on an Australian TV show named McLeod's Daughters in 2003. He starred in the Australian horror movie Road Train as Marcus and also acted in the Australian movie Drowning with Elephant Princess star Miles Szanto, directed by Craig Boreham In 2009, he was cast as Brent in the Australian comedy/thriller movie The Loved Ones in the lead role opposite Robin McLeavy. Although it received several award nominations, the film was a financial failure.
In early 2010, Samuel was cast as Riley Biers in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. The film gave Samuel his first blockbuster film worldwide. Samuel received his first award nomination and win at the 2011 MTV Movie Awards. In an interview with GQ Australia[2] in November 2010, Samuel described the process of his shock Twilight casting. "I sent off the audition tape from Sydney, which landed in a big pile on someone’s desk. So then to actually hear something back was kind of unusual. I guess I was a bit of a gamble, but it’s bizarre and wonderful".
Samuel appeared in the 2011 film Anonymous.
He plays a lead role in A Few Best Men (2011-2012).
He was cast in 3D feature Bait and short film Sanctuary, both still under production as of 1 June 2012.

Personal life

Samuel follows Australian Rules Football and is a supporter of the Adelaide Crows in the AFL. In 2010, he began dating Miss Europe 2005 titleholder, Iranian-born model, Shermine Shahrivar.
 

Career

Theatre

Year Play Role Notes
2006 Two Weeks with the Queen Colin Windmill Performing Arts
Osama the Hero Unknown The Old Fitzroy Theatre
2007 Mercury Fur Unknown Griffin Theatre

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
2003 McLeod's Daughters Jason TV show
2006 2:37 Theo Feature film
Angela's Decision Will Turner Feature film
2007 September Ed Anderson Feature film
2008 Newcastle Fergus Feature film
Dream Life Boyd TV film
2009 Drowning Dan Short film
The Loved Ones Brent Feature film
Further We Search Age Feature film
2010 The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Riley Biers Feature film
Won – MTV Movie Award for Best Fight (shared with Robert Pattinson and Bryce Dallas Howard)
Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Nominated – Teen Choice Awards for Choice Movie Male Breakout
Nominated – Nickelodeon Australian Kids' Choice Awards for Favorite Movie Star
Nominated – Scream Awards for Best Breakthrough Preformance Male
Road Train (a.k.a. Road Kill) Marcus Feature film
2011 Anonymous Henry Wriothesley Feature film
A Few Best Men David Feature film
2012 Bait 3D N/A Feature film
Sanctuary Brother Short film
Drift Jimmy Fisher Feature Film

Awards and Nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2011 MTV Movie Awards "Best Fight" The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (with Robert Pattinson and Bryce Dallas Howard) Won
"Best Breakout Star" The Twilight Saga: Eclipse Nominated

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