Kendrick Sampson (born March 8, 1988) is an American actor and activist, best known for his appearances on The Vampire Diaries, Gracepoint, How to Get Away with Murder, The Flash, and HBO's Insecure.
Early life Sampson was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the son of Daphne Smith Sampson and Hoyle Sampson Sr. As a child, Sampson was enrolled in music lessons. Sampson expressed an interest in acting at 10 after he saw a Gap commercial. After finding an agent, Sampson was referred to the Kim Terry Studio in Texas. He began performing in theater productions while attending Elkins High School. Sampson is a devout Christian.
Career In 2008, Sampson appeared in two episodes of the ABC Family series Greek and followed that up with an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in 2010. In July 2013, Sampson booked the recurring role of Jesse in the fifth season of The CW series The Vampire Diaries. In January 2014, Sampson was cast in the role of Dean Iverson in the Fox miniseries Gracepoint. In November 2014, Sampson starred in the music video for Hayley Kiyoko's song "This Side of Paradise." In early 2015, Sampson shot the pilot for a potential ABC series called The Kingmakers but the series wasn't picked up. In July 2015, Sampson booked the recurring role of Caleb Hapstall in the second season of ABC's prime time legal drama How to Get Away with Murder, produced by Shonda Rhimes. From 2018–2021, Sampson had a recurring role as Nathan Campbell on Issa Rae's Insecure. Sampson has also started his own production company called Sampson Studios.
Activism In May 2019, Sampson founded the organization BLD PWR for new development, empowerment and change within marginalized groups and American society.HuffPost (July 16, 2019), "Kendrick Sampson Is Empowering Celebs To Become Activists With New Initiative" Following the murder of George Floyd, Sampson actively participated in and organized Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles. During the protests, Sampson reported that police officers shot rubber bullets at him and assaulted him. Sampson called for a one-day strike in Hollywood over the shooting of Jacob Blake.
In 2020, Sampson collaborated with JusticeLA to create a public service announcement #SuingToSaveLives about the health of people in Los Angeles County Jails amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Filmography
Film YearTitleRoleNotes2005Resurrection: The J.R. Richard StoryLamar2011This Boy's DreamAnnouncerShort film2011ImmuneDarrenShort film; Producer and writer2012The SidelinesFred BillingsShort film2014SurvivalShort film; Assistant producer2016Rougarou HenriShort film2020Miss JuneteenthRonnie2022Something from Tiffany'sEthan Greene2026MichaelQuincy JonesDebut film2026Killing CastroMalcolm X
Television Year Title Role Notes 2008 Greek Woodchuck 2 episodes 2010 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Derrick Gold Episode: "Field Mice" 2011 Days of Our Lives Jay Jordan Episode: December 8, 2011 2013 The Vampire Diaries Jesse Recurring role; 5 episodes 2014 Gracepoint Dean Iverson Miniseries 2014 2014 Young Hollywood Awards Himself TV special 2015 Kingmakers Pete Greer TV movie 2015 VH1 Big in 2015 with Entertainment Weekly Himself TV special 2015–2016 How to Get Away with Murder Caleb Hapstall Recurring role; 13 episodes 2016 Hollywood Today Live Himself Episode: 16 March 2016 2016–2017 Supernatural Max Banes 2 episodes 2017 Up To Us Himself Documentary 2017 Rosewood Nathan Turner Episode: "Asphyxiation & Aces" 2017 White Famous Robbie MacDonald Recurring; 4 episodes 2017 Relationship Status Nate 4 episodes 2017 The Flash Dominic Lanse / Brainstorm, Clifford DeVoe / Thinker Recurring role (3 episodes) 2018–2021 Insecure Nathan Campbell Recurring (season 3); main cast (seasons 4–5) 2019 Ghosting: The Spirit of Christmas Ben TV movie 2020 Fashionably Yours Rob TV movie 2023 I'm a Virgo Edwin Garrison Episode: "It Requires Trust on My Part"
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