Sam C. Wilson is entering a busy and promising stretch in his career. Over the past few years, he has moved through fantasy, period drama, and darker character work, building a résumé that already includes House of the Dragon, House of Guinness, and Under Salt Marsh. Across those projects, he has shown a clear range, taking on roles in very different worlds while continuing to build the kind of screen experience that points toward an actor steadily finding his place.

That momentum continues this year with a particularly varied slate. Wilson appears in Blade Runner 2099, joins the BBC drama California Avenue, and takes on the role of Trap Jaw in MGM’s Masters of the Universe, one of the most anticipated genre titles currently on the way. With so much ahead, it felt like the right time to speak with Wilson about this next chapter, the projects shaping it, and what draws him toward roles that often live in such distinct creative worlds.

You’ve got a really exciting stretch of projects coming up across very different worlds. What has it been like to see so many sides of your work arriving around the same time?

Sam C. Wilson: In a word, it’s surreal. Like when a very unsuccessful football team suddenly clean up—long-time, Cardiff boy here, so the metaphor is apt. In drama school, there was this promise of playing any character, and for me I actually ended up playing oafs and henchmen. My professional life has offered me more variation in the past couple of years than I honestly could have hoped for in a whole career. Granted, I’m rarely a heartthrob; yet…Hollywood, you’ve got my agent’s number…right!? But from loveable Irishmen, to miserable Welsh farmers, to other worldly villains and real-life action figures, to gentle village coppers…I’d be mad to complain.

Before joining Masters of the Universe, did you already have a connection to that world, or was it something you came into more freshly?

Sam C. Wilson: I’m a big comic book fan and love my hero lore. However, apart from a contextless doll I’d inherited from my older, cooler cousin, this universe had escaped me, at least in depth. I started to learn to draw the characters as soon as I got the part. It took me until my third shoot day for it to feel real, and I’d been in for costume, makeup, and stunts several times a week for months before we shot. I felt up to scratch on my lore by then, and I felt enormous responsibility for a lot of people’s childhoods. No pressure!

Trap Jaw is such a recognizable character in Masters of the Universe. What interested you most about finding your version of him beyond the visual iconography people already know?

Sam C. Wilson: I’m really glad to be asked this. It’s easy to turn your nose up at animal studies but, I must confess, I looked at a lot of chimps. Also, I loved the way chickens keep their heads level. The physics of Trap Jaw’s machinery was something I really tried to keep consistent, choosing where his bionic energy came from. We had an amazing movement coach who worked with me to figure out where his battery was—her names Polly. The stunt team was amazing at helping me understand the language of ‘Trappie’ fighting as well. Those guys are geniuses. Also, I worked on his voice a lot. Think creature meets gym bro. Rex Quan Do meets an orc with a bionic throat!

A lot of your recent roles have left a strong impression, even in very different kinds of stories. What do you look for in a character when something first lands on your radar?

Sam C. Wilson: I think an undercurrent of humor, even if it’s themselves they find funny. A lot of my nastiest characters still have a wisecrack that they find funny. I also try to imagine what it is they’re covering up. I think most bastards are covering some horrible insecurity, so I try to figure out what theirs is, and then try to hide it.

Your work so far moves between fantasy, drama, period pieces, and sci-fi really naturally. Do you enjoy that kind of range, or are there certain spaces you feel especially pulled toward right now?

Sam C. Wilson: If I’m honest, I absolutely love the variety. There’s a special excitement to stepping into another world entirely. Some of the sets are fully built to purpose, and sometimes I’ll wander around for an hour or two before and run my hands over the objects—if the art department lets me! My dad and I watched a lot of sci-fi together, so Trap Jaw’s bionics and tech, along with the world of Blade Runner, were literally like stepping into my teenage imagination. I watched Akira this week at the IMAX—I’d love to be in something like that if it ever went ‘live’. I think something very real and current feels like a natural progression, but to be honest, beggars can’t be choosers and all that. I’m just happy to be working.

You’ve spoken before about your background in maths and science, and about still teaching when you can. Does that more analytical side of you change, or inform, the way you approach performance?

Sam C. Wilson: I think this left brain right brain thing is bollocks. A bit of a hangover from Dickensian classrooms. Da Vinci, Plato, Darwin, these lot were artists, scientists, philosophers. Being a polymath, as they called it, was the thing. I think my art brain informs how I look at equations and numbers, if anything. I often explain the gradient of a line as the story of the letter ‘x’ trying to reach Mount Olympus. There’s a mathematician in everyone, I promise. I’m nothing special.

Across all these upcoming projects, is there one experience or role that challenged you in a way that really stayed with you?

Sam C. Wilson: Getting into the shape I had to get to for Masters of the Universe was daunting. I basically wanted to look like a strongman, so Hafthor—the literal man-mountain, who’s also in the film—helped me big time. I decided to lift and eat and lift and eat. Frankly, getting ripped to shreds for Trap Jaw felt wrong; he felt like a gluttonous brawler to me, strong as an ox. Also, the makeup chair and the prosthetics were 6 hours a day, and I often had to arrive at 3.30 am. My prosthetics team ended up being my mates and support system, to be honest. Amazing, talented, and kind, lovely people. Patt, Mike, and Emma from Barrie Gower’s team would even come to touch up my body paint between takes, and they would whisper, ‘That was amazing, dude, you look huge!’

As more people are getting introduced to your work through these projects, what feels most exciting to you about this point in your career?

Sam C. Wilson: I think the prospect of some of my own writing reaching an audience. I’m starting a little production company and have written a couple of pilots. Also, being able to get stuck into some more slightly meatier roles and the opportunities that will come from this sort of platform is really exciting. I became a dad in 2025, so it all feels like it’s happening right when it’s supposed to. A day at a time though, and all that.