Sam was a main character and antagonist of Syfy's Van Helsing. He was portrayed by Christopher Heyerdahl.
Sam was a human who survived the Rising by relying on his strength and observational skills to stay alive. He eventually became the fourth and last surviving vampire elder, chosen by a bridesmaid of Dracula.
Character Description[]
“In the world after the vampire rising, disabilities of any kind can slow you down and make you vulnerable. Sam, who is deaf, has defied the odds and stayed alive. Sam is not mute, but speaks very little. He's always watching, evaluating, waiting. Vampires beware”[1]
Biography[]
Sam was raised in a secluded forest compound. He was apparently a “shy kid,” however this did not stop his father from caning him for doing bad things. After receiving a caning, Sam stabbed his father in the left eye which resulted in his father boxing his ears so hard he went deaf. According to Mohamad, to whom he is deeply attached, Sam nearly drowned as a child and remains frightened of crossing water even after he has turned.
Throughout the Series[]
Season One[]
Sam is a member of the group of survivors, he's first seen saving Axel's life when they are attacked by vampires outside the facility, Sam pulls it off Axel and bashes it's head in. He later assists Mohamad in protecting Doc and Vanessa from the rest of the group as they attempt to kill them. Continue Reading Here....
After the events that took place on the rooftop between Ted and Vanessa, Sam and Mohamad go on to inform the rest of the survivors what had recently happened. He then guards Doc's cage from John as Axel is away, informing him that anyone who even attempts to harm Doc will end up down the chute with he rest of the dead bodies, he insists that this is not a threat, but that he's stating the obvious. Continue Reading Here....
Sam is approached by Axel in the greenhouse, he questions same on his relationship with Mohamad, and if he knew that Mohamad had left the hospital, however, Sam had no knowledge of any of that, and Axel quickly realizes this. He hands Sam a note that Mohamad left on his bed, Sam sobs, explaining that he's scared. When Mohamad does return, Sam is both happy and angry, happy that his friend returned in one piece but upset that he left in the first place. Continue Reading Here....
As Sam and Flesh play a game of checkers, he is interrupted by Axel who requests a favor, he wants Sam to listen in on the newcomers in order to know what they're talking about. Sam's initially against this but does it anyways, at first he can't tell what they're saying as they were whispering, after applying a little more effort, he's able to make out that they are saying "I don't feel safe, why do we have to leave, thought we were going to find the Resistance." Continue Reading Here....
Sam uses a mirror that he carries around to listen in on the newcomers conversation without them knowing, Sam explains that the newcomers are planning to execute all of them in order to get rid of the mysterious killer situation. After Axel breaks free, killing most of the newcomers, and locking up what was left, he and Sam walk them down to the front door and banish them to defend for themselves. Continue Reading Here....
Sam is in the green house taking care of the plants when he is approached by Flesh, who warns him about Julius and his army approaching, they watch through the front doors as the vampires begin to attack the hospital, so then they fall back to the escalators, as the vamps breach the building, he starts to fire. When a flare fires off into the sky, Sam believes it to be Mohamad, but they realize it’s a warning, they see Dmitri's death squad approaching, The Elite. Continue Reading Here....
Sam and Susan siphon gas from nearby vehicles as the survivors stop at a store, while doing so, he accidentally drinks some of it, choking and spitting it out, Susan laughs as they both dance. As the rest of the group argues over their next move, he decides to ask Vanessa what she thinks they should do, she says they need to make a decision, suggesting they put it to a vote. After they decide to go to the Military base, Sam grabs a can of spray, writing Mohamad's name on the wall, directing him towards the base. Continue Reading Here....
As Doc cries in Axel's arms, he and Susan enter the room looking for Gorman, who has suddenly disappeared, Susan says that he hasn't taken his iodine, as they talk, Sam notices a large draft coming from under a wooden table as the clothes blows on top of it, swiftly shoving the table out the way, he discovers an open vent, he and Axel look inside the find a set of ladders going upward, they believe that they've found a way out. They alert the group of the opening, realizing that this may be their only chance of escaping before the radiation kills them, Sam exits the tunnel to be attacked by vampires, he dispatches of them fairly quickly, crushing it's skull with his bat. As they await the arrival of the rest of the survivors, he and Susan continue to fight as more vampires approach. Continue Reading Here....
Shortly after arriving at Eden, Sam notices Mohamad's shirt hanging up on a clothes lines, soon after he sees a man walking, Sam follows him into a house, down the stairs, but he ends up getting locked in a room, the man tells him curiosity killed the cat. Inside the locked room, he finds several pictures of Micah and Magdalene, realizing that they were married once. After escaping the locked room, Sam manages to find Mohamad, the two of them hug it out, happy to see one another, the man from earlier who had locked him the cage enters the room, Sam grabs him, first putting him in a choke hold, then grabbing him by the throat, and ramming a knife into his chest, Mohamad screams at him to stop, but he doesn't. Continue Reading Here....
When Susan goes missing after the death of her father, the survivors spread out to find her. Sam finds her in the woods, upset, he tells her that it's time to say goodbye to her father before they bury him, however, she refuses to go, telling Sam he's welcome to sit with her though. After hearing Susan's experience and suffering, Sam is hurt by her pain, they hug, saying it's going to be okay, as they embrace one another, Sam begins to grab Susan by the throat, choking her as Susan tries to struggle to get away. However, Sam is too powerful, eventually killing Susan, then cutting her finger off. Once Vanessa learns of this, she takes him into the woods, crippling Sam and leaving him out there to die. Sam manages to kill a feral as it attacks him, he allows it to bite him first, before finishing it off. Continue Reading Here....
Sam hunts down Vanessa and Mohamad in the woods, however, he stops as a lake, Mohamad explains that Sam drowned as a kid, and has been afraid of it since. The next day, he makes his way to the cabin that Mohamad and Vanessa were held up at but they have already vacated. Becoming weaker as time progresses, Sam is forced to hunt the forest animals. He is soon found by Scab and taken to Mama, he is burned, hunted and dying. She writes Sam off as nothing more than a soon to be feral, demanding that Scab take it out and kill it, but he explains that Sam is different, when he was human, he was part of the group at the hospital with the Woman. Mama wants to know about Vanessa, everyone she turned and Mohamad, he says he'll tell Mama about Vanessa, but Mohamad is his. Continue Reading Here....
Season Four[]
Elder Sam faces off with Vanessa and her distant, resurrected relative Lillian Van Helsing. He quickly disposes of Lily, leaving it up to Vanessa to stop him, though he is too powerful. He taunts Vanessa, making mention of Susan and all those he’s killed since. Sam then claws Vanessa’s eyes out. Lily attacks him with her sword, nearly decapitating Sam, though he merely reattaches his head. Vanessa and Lily retreat after failing to kill Sam. Oracle orders Sam to bring her the amulet and one of the Van Helsings. He is free to do with the other as he pleases. Continue Reading Here....
Sam and Oracle find Michaela’s tomb. She is being guarded by Ivory, Scab, and the rest of the Sisterhood. They’re in the tomb to awaken Michaela, the great mother of the Sisterhood. The coffin begins to shake and Michaela breaks free. Oracle then introduces Sam to Michaela as the fourth elder. She doesn't believe he's worthy to meet the Dark One. He grabs Michaela and tells her that she will learn to love him. Michaela dives through the depths of Sam’s mind, seeing everything he’s ever done, such as killing innocents. Sam killed love to embrace the darkness, which Michaela explains that he doesn’t yet understand the full extent of. She then kisses him. Sam, Oracle, and Michaela later arrive at Fort Collins. Continue Reading Here....
Hansen meets with Michaela, Oracle, and Sam. They lost the amulet and the Van Helsings. To make matters worse, Hansen’s daywalkers are abominations who have polluted the food source. They must hunt down Vanessa and the amulet. Sam wishes to hunt her himself, but Oracle tells him to stay in place. Hansen takes Michaela, Oracle, and Sam to see Violet in action during one of her training sessions. He explains that she’s a Van Helsing who he helped create and kept her secret in order to protect her. Sam seems to take interest in her. Violet packs her bag and sneaks out her room. Sam enters and finds the picture she drew of Vanessa. Continue Reading Here....
Sam tracks Violet through the woods. Oracle follows him as they’re bound. She catches up to Sam scolds him for going after Violet. Sam believes that Oracle is wasting time with Hansen and Michaela, so he took action. Sam and Oracle eventually catch up to Vanessa, Jack, and Violet. Sam disarms Vanessa and digs his claws into her abdomen. He rips it out and then slams Vanessa on to a steel spike. Impaled by the spike, Vanessa bleeds in pain. Sam drinks the blood from the amulet to complete the pathway and open the portal. Sam can feel it coursing through him. A light shines from his chest then a black cloud of smoke emerges from within Sam. The Dark One takes form and says "Behold your master." She then blows Sam a kiss as he disintegrates into ashes.Continue Reading Here....Personality[]
Sam may appear as a kind man who cares for others, but is in reality he is a psychopath that enjoys tormenting his victims before murdering them. His psychopathic tendencies date back to when he was a small boy. He would kill birds and squirrels for enjoyment and was beaten by his father as punishment. He was deeply traumatized by the abuse his father inflicted upon him. He kills people without hesitation and takes their fingers as trophies. He enjoys manipulating people, he tricked Axel into killing the refugees by saying that they were going to execute them and caused Vanessa to kill John by planting one of his victim's fingers in John's bag. He is skilled at masking his dark nature and will appear as a kind deaf man. After turning himself into a vampire, Sam became even more sadistic, no longer hiding his true nature, he would toy with the people he fed upon, playing cat and mouse with them. He felt that he was now free to be who he truly was as a vampire.
He formed a friendship with Mohamad, who he does seem to care for and is extremely protective of. His feelings towards Mohamad are genuine as he admitted to being the killer, when Mohamad falsely confessed and was being exiled. He offered to turn him so that they could be together. He attempted to replace Mohamad, with Felix, showing a obsessive side to his liking of Mohamad. Sams affection for Mohamad stems from a need to be loved for who he is. When they first meet Sam attempted to lure Mohamad into a trap, by attempting to hang himself so he could murder him. Mohamad came to his rescue and "saved" him, Sam decided not to kill him, because he grotesquely interpreted the deed for love, thus his infatuation with Mohamad begun.
As a vampire and vampire elder, his desire to torture others is even clearer. He has a vendetta to track down and kill Vanessa.
Powers and Abilities[]
Sam possessed all of the advanced traits and abilities of a vampire elder, but he seems to possess even stronger abilities than a typical vampire elder as he is the last elder chosen by the Dark One. This includes superhuman strength, speed, senses and endurance, accelerated healing and extended longevity. Sam also possessed shape-shifting abilities; being able to shift between a monstrous vampiric appearance with fangs, horns and claws, to a seemingly human appearance.
Abilities[]
Hand to hand combatant: Sam was a highly skilled combatant, having killed many humans and vampires; he even outmatched Vanessa in combat.
American Sign Language: Due to having suffered from deafness since childhood, Sam is fluent in American Sign Language, which he used to converse with Mohammed.
Arsenal
- Aluminium baseball bat
Appearances[]
Season One[] |
Season Two[] |
Season Three[] |
Season Four[] |
Season Five[]
- The Doorway (archive footage)
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- As a elder, Sam has pale skin, pointed ears, fangs, claws and horns. Which gives him a demonic appearance.
- After becoming a elder, Sam gained fangs and claws, two traits mostly shared by feral vampires.
- Sam has the highest number of episode appearances as an antagonist.