Sampson was born and raised in Houston, Texas, the son of Daphne Smith Sampson and Hoyle Sampson Sr.[1][3][4] He is biracial. As a child, Sampson was enrolled in music lessons.[3][5][6] 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.[4][3] Sampson is a devout Christian.[6]
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.[5] In July 2013, Sampson booked the recurring role of Jesse in the fifth season of The CW series The Vampire Diaries.[7] In January 2014, Sampson was cast in the role of Dean Iverson in the Fox miniseries Gracepoint.[8] In November 2014, Sampson starred in the music video for Hayley Kiyoko's song "This Side of Paradise."[9] In early 2015, Sampson shot the pilot for a potential ABC series called The Kingmakers but the series wasn't picked up.[10] 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.[11] 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.[3]
Activism
In May 2019, he founded the organization BLD PWR for new development, empowerment and change within marginalized groups and American society.[12] Following the Murder of George Floyd, Sampson actively participated in and organized Black Lives Matter protests in Los Angeles.[13] During the protests, Sampson reported that police officers shot rubber bullets at him and assaulted him.[13][14][15] Sampson called for a one-day strike in Hollywood over the Shooting of Jacob Blake.[16]
