Sam Robards

Sam Prideaux Robards (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor. He is best known for his film roles in American Beauty (1999) and A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001). For his performance in the Broadway production of The Man Who Had All the Luck, he received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play. Early life Robards was born in New York City, the son of actor Jason Robards (1922–2000) and actress Lauren Bacall (1924–2014). He is the only child from their marriage, though he has seven half-siblings; five through his father (three elder, two younger), and through his mother's marriage to Humphrey Bogart, half-siblings Stephen Humphrey and Leslie Bogart. Robards was seven when his parents divorced, which Bacall later blamed on the elder Robards' alcoholism. Robards recalled he was devastated by the divorce, and said he was raised "basically alone." Afterwards, he resided with his mother in New York. Several years after the divorce, Sam moved to Europe with his mother and for a time lived in London, where he attended the American School in London, later returning to New York City, where he attended Collegiate School. Robards attended Sarah Lawrence College, but was expelled after his freshman year due to poor grades and bad behavior. In the fall of 1980, he attended the National Theater Institute at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut. Career Robards began his acting career in 1980 in an off-Broadway production of Album, and made his feature-film debut in director Paul Mazursky's 1982 film Tempest. In 1985, Robards starred alongside Kevin Costner and future wife Suzy Amis in Fandango. Robards acted opposite his father in the 1988 film Bright Lights, Big City, which was their only collaboration before his death in 2000. Also in 1988, he was cast in the lead role of Kevin Keegan in the CBS drama TV 101 which was scheduled opposite top-10 shows Roseanne and Matlock; the series was cancelled amidst a controversial abortion story line.