Sam Richardson

Sam Richardson (born January 12, 1984) is an American actor, writer, and comedian of Ghanaian and African-American heritage. He studied theater at Wayne State University before joining the Second City improvisational company, performing at its Detroit and Chicago locations. His early screen work included six episodes of The Office and a guest appearance on Arrested Development.

In Ghostbusters: Answer the Call (2016), Richardson played Basement Cop Tyson, a police officer the Ghostbusters encounter during their investigation. He had also worked with director Paul Feig on the science fiction comedy series Other Space (2015), which reunited several future Ghostbusters cast members including Neil Casey, Eugene Cordero, Bess Rous, Karan Soni, and Milana Vayntrub.

Richardson became widely recognized for his recurring role as Richard Splett in the HBO political comedy Veep, first appearing in season 3 and becoming a series regular from season 4 onward. He co-starred with Tim Robinson in the Comedy Central series Detroiters (2017-2018), a show about struggling advertising professionals in Detroit inspired by local commercial culture. He appeared as Edwin Akufo in the Apple TV+ comedy Ted Lasso, earning Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series in 2022 and 2023, and winning in 2023. He and the Veep ensemble also received Screen Actors Guild Award nominations for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series across multiple years, winning in 2018.