Sam Nivola: Movies & Box Office

Samuel John Nivola (born September 26, 2003), professionally known as Sam Nivola, is a British-American actor who has rapidly emerged as one of the most promising young talents of his generation. Born at the Portland Hospital in central London, England, Nivola comes from a deeply creative and artistic family that has profoundly shaped his career path. He is the son of acclaimed British actress Emily Mortimer and American actor Alessandro Nivola, and his rich heritage includes Italian and German-Jewish ancestry on his father's side, with notable lineage tracing back to the celebrated sculptor Costantino Nivola as his paternal great-grandfather. His maternal grandfather is the esteemed British dramatist Sir John Mortimer, further cementing his place within a dynasty of storytelling and artistic expression.

Nivola spent his formative years moving between vibrant cultural hubs, including the Echo Park neighborhood of Los Angeles, Notting Hill in London, and ultimately Boerum Hill in Brooklyn, New York City, where he largely grew up. He attended the prestigious Saint Ann's School before pursuing higher education at Columbia University. Nivola has a younger sister, May, who also acts, and the two siblings frequently collaborate on creative projects.

Nivola made his acting debut in the Sky Atlantic comedy series Doll & Em (2013), appearing alongside his mother. In 2021, he and May played siblings in the British miniseries The Pursuit of Love, adapted by their mother for BBC One. That same year, Nivola wrote and directed the short film Neighborhood Watch, part of the anthology With/In, which featured films shot on smartphones during the COVID-19 pandemic.

He gained wider recognition in Noah Baumbach's film White Noise (2022), where he and his sister played two of the central family's children. In 2023, Nivola portrayed Leonard Bernstein's son in Bradley Cooper's biographical drama Maestro, and notably walked the runway at Paris Fashion Week for Miu Miu alongside stars like Emma Corrin. His television career flourished with a starring role in the Netflix mystery series The Perfect Couple (2024) and as a cast member in season three of HBO's critically acclaimed anthology The White Lotus (2025). Nivola began filming the Bobby Farrelly comedy Driver's Ed in March 2025, and his pilot Phony, filmed with Connie Britton, received a series order from Hulu. Since 2024, he has been in a relationship with actress Iris Apatow, and the couple resides together in a New York apartment.