What is Sam Levinson's Net Worth and Salary?
Sam Levinson is a filmmaker and actor who has a net worth of $18 million. Sam Levinson has written and directed such films as "Another Happy Day," "Assassination Nation," and "Malcolm & Marie." In 2019, he came to greater fame for creating the HBO teen drama series "Euphoria," based on the eponymous Israeli television series. Levinson later co-created another HBO series entitled "The Idol."
Early Life
Sam Levinson was born on January 8, 1985 as the son of television production designer Diana Rhodes and filmmaker Barry Levinson. He is of Russian-Jewish descent on his father's side. Levinson has a brother named Jack who also acts, as well as two half-siblings named Patrick and Michelle from his mother's first marriage. For four years, Levinson trained as a method actor.
Career Beginnings in Acting
Levinson made his acting debut as a child in the 1992 fantasy comedy film "Toys," directed by his father and starring Robin Williams. Levinson's brother Jack also appeared in the film. In 2001, Levinson had his next role in another film by his father, the crime dramedy "Bandits." The film stars Bruce Willis, Cate Blanchett, and Billy Bob Thornton. Levinson appeared in his third film directed by his father, "What Just Happened," in 2008; it stars Robert De Niro with a supporting cast including Stanley Tucci, John Turturro, Catherine Keener, Sean Penn, and Robin Wright Penn. Following this, in 2009, Levinson had his biggest role yet in the Uwe Boll drama "Stoic," in which he played a low-level drug dealer named Peter Thompson.
Film Writing and Directing
In 2010, Levinson had his first writing credit as a co-writer alongside Brian Watanabe on the action comedy film "Operation: Endgame." The film stars Adam Scott, Zach Galifianakis, Emilie de Ravin, Odette Yustman, Joe Anderson, Ving Rhames, Maggie Q, and Ellen Barkin, among many others. The year after this, Levinson made his feature film directorial debut with the dark dramedy "Another Happy Day," which he also wrote. The film features an ensemble cast including Ellen Barkin, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church, Kate Bosworth, and Ezra Miller, among others. At the Sundance Film Festival where "Another Happy Day" premiered, Levinson won the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award for his script.
Levinson's second film as director was "Assassination Nation," released in 2018. A black comedy thriller, it stars Odessa Young, Suki Waterhouse, Abra, and Hari Nef, and also features such actors as Bella Thorne, Joel McHale, Maude Apatow, Colman Domingo, and Kelvin Harrison Jr. Following this, Levinson wrote and directed the romantic drama "Malcolm & Marie," starring Zendaya and John David Washington as a couple whose relationship is on the rocks. Notably, the film was the first Hollywood feature to be made entirely during the COVID-19 pandemic. Levinson's next project was the 2022 erotic thriller "Deep Water," which he co-wrote with Zach Helm. Directed by Adrian Lyne and based on the Patricia Highsmith novel of the same name, the film stars Ben Affleck and Ana de Armas.
(Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
Television Career
Levinson had his first television credit on the 2017 HBO biographical television film "The Wizard of Lies," which he co-wrote with Sam Baum and John Burnham Schwartz. Directed by his father and adapted from the eponymous non-fiction book by Diana B. Henriques, the film stars Robert De Niro as fraudster Bernie Madoff and Michelle Pfeiffer as his wife Ruth. For his script, Levinson received a Writers Guild of America Award nomination.
Levinson had arguably his biggest and most successful project yet in 2019, when he created the HBO teen drama series "Euphoria." Based on the eponymous Israeli television series, the show focuses on a group of high school students wrestling with issues of love, sex, friendship, identity, drugs, and family. It features a large ensemble cast including Zendaya, Eric Dane, Alexa Demie, Jacob Elordi, Maude Apatow, Angus Cloud, Storm Reid, Algee Smith, Hunter Schafer, Sydney Sweeney, and Barbie Ferreira, among others. In addition to being the show's creator, Levinson has also written all the episodes of "Euphoria," and has directed most of them as well. Among his other credits for television, he co-created another HBO series entitled "The Idol." Taking place against the backdrop of the music industry, the show stars Abel Tesfaye and Lily-Rose Depp, and also features Suzanna Son, Troye Sivan, and Steve Zissis, among other actors.
Personal Life
In 2008, Levinson began dating actress Ellen Barkin, who later starred in "Operation: Endgame" and his directorial debut "Another Happy Day." Ellen is 31 years older than Sam. The pair eventually separated in 2011. Later, in 2022, Levinson married television and film producer Ashley Lent, with whom he has a son.
Real Estate
In June 2023 Sam Levinson paid $8.5 million for a home in Los Angeles.
