Keivonn Montreal Woodard (born February 9, 2013) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sam in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2023), for which he was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.
Career Woodard made his film debut in 2018 with the film Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story. He received wider recognition and critical acclaim for his performance in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us. Woodard starred as Sam, a survivor who travels with his brother Henry in the episodes "Please Hold to My Hand" and "Endure and Survive".
Woodard, who is Deaf, was hired for The Last of Us after series co-creator Craig Mazin sent a casting call out via Twitter, looking for a young actor fluent in American Sign Language. For his role in the series, Woodard was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the youngest nominee in the category at age 10 and the second-youngest Emmy nominee after Keshia Knight Pulliam for The Cosby Show. He is the first black deaf actor and second deaf actor overall (after Marlee Matlin) to be nominated for an Emmy Award. He won an Independent Spirit Award and was nominated for a Black Reel TV Award and an NAACP Image Award. In August 2024, Woodard was an honoree of Times Kid of the Year.
Woodard appeared in Fractal, a short film by Anslem Richardson. In 2024, it was announced that he would star in Steal Away, a feature film directed by Stephen Ashley Blake.
Personal life
Woodard was born on February 9, 2013. He plays ice hockey in his personal life, and lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his mother, April Jackson-Woodard; his father, Dwayne Woodard, died in 2021.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes 2018 Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story Deaf student Film debut 2024 Fractal Tamir Short filmSteal Away Matteo Pre-production -->
Television Year Title Role Notes 2023 The Last of Us Sam 2 episodes 2024 Bunk'd Miles Episode 160: "Slapshot to the Heart"
References
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