Sam Hennings (born December 17, 1950 Macon, Georgia, USA) is an American actor and writer.
In 1985, Hennings made his professional acting debut on the ABC series Moonlighting (pilot episode) starring Bruce Willis. Over the next few years Hennings continued to improve his craft through study and stage work and landed several TV guest-starring roles including Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Dallas, Star Trek: The Next Generation and Hunter. In 1989, Hennings had his first break when director Randy Roberts, who had directed Hennings earlier in Alfred Hitchcock Presents, invited Hennings to co-star with Lou Gossett Jr., in the acclaimed ABC TV movie Gideon Oliver - The Last Plane from Coramaya. His performance as a photojournalist in wartime Central America was received with an abundance of critical praise.
The 1990s brought Hennings more substantial television roles and well deserved exposure. In 1991, Hennings made his studio film debut as a hard-nosed, Texas sheriff in the 1960s era film Shout, starring John Travolta, Heather Graham and Gwyneth Paltrow. Shout earned mixed reviews from critics, but even so, Hennings earned praise for his performance. Opening the doors for Hennings to play Loyola Marymount basketball coach, David Spencer, alongside veteran actor George Kennedy, in an emotionally driven performance in the biographical television drama, Final Shot: The Hank Gathers Story. In 1992-93, Hennings landed his first series regular role on television in the short lived series Secrets, and NBC's Trade Winds. He was then cast as the lead in the film, Seasons of the Heart, playing a weary, Civil War-era man on the cold plains of Oregon whose children are dying of cholera.
Hennings’s star continued to rise in the early 2000s as he continued to pour on his magic in every role he accepted. In 2002, NBC cast him as a charming CIA operative in the long running series ER and in 2004, he accepted the lead role as Ben Steed in the trilogy (2004-2006) film series, The Work and the Glory. Later that year, Martin Scorsese cast him in The Aviator, with Leonardo DiCaprio. 2005 Hennings was cast in the film, Havoc, as Bijou Phillips’ father, starring Anne Hathaway, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bijou Phillips and Raymond Cruz. TNT cast him in a recurring role as Holly Hunter's brother in the series Saving Grace. In 2009, Hennings was cast in the film Stolen, with Jon Hamm and Jessica Chastain. Finishing out the year, Hennings accepted guest starring roles in television shows such as Eleventh Hour, Dollhouse, Cold Case, CSI Miami and CSI Crime Scene Investigation.
