Sam Richardson (born January 12, 1984) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is best known for playing Richard Splett in the HBO political comedy series Veep (2012–2019), co-creating and co-starring in the Comedy Central comedy series Detroiters (2017–2018) alongside Tim Robinson, playing various characters in the Netflix sketch show I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson (2019–present), and co-starring in the Apple TV series The Afterparty (2022). In 2022, he was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his performance as Edwin Akufo in Ted Lasso.

Early life
Richardson was born in Detroit on January 12, 1984, the son of a Ghanaian mother and an African-American father. His aunt was Barbara-Rose Collins (née Richardson), who in 1990 became the first black woman from Michigan to be elected to the United States Congress. Once or twice a year, Richardson would travel with his parents to Ghana, where his grandfather was a chief and local political leader. He graduated from the University of Detroit Jesuit High School and Academy in 2002, and studied theater at Wayne State University.