Sam Lerner's journey in show business began at the age of nine, when he unexpectedly struck up a conversation with actress/director/writer Ellen Gerstein and actress Dot-Marie Jones at a New Year's Eve party with his family.
His parents initially hesitated, but Sam's persistence and natural talent eventually won them over, and they agreed to let him pursue acting.
Sam's first headshot was taken by his sister's Bat Mitzvah photographer, and he soon began auditioning for roles while still attending school, playing sports, and skateboarding.
Just four months later, Barry Levinson cast Sam in the movie "Envy," alongside Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Rachel Weisz, Amy Poehler, and Christopher Walken.
Sam continued to work in television, movies, video games, and plays, and has had the opportunity to collaborate with renowned producers such as Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis, and Michael Bay, as well as directors like Levinson, Brett Ratner, and Gil Kenan.
One of his favorite roles was playing "Chowder" in the motion capture movie "Monster House," which he enjoyed due to the fun he had with Mitchel Musso and Spencer Locke, as well as the perks of riding around the Culver Studios lot in a golf cart.
Sam voiced the character "Zak Saturday" in Jay Stephens' cartoon show "The Secret Saturdays" and had a recurring role on the ABC show "Suburgatory" as the nerdy but cute brainiac "Evan."
He was also cast in the recurring role of "JTP" member "Geoff Schwartz" on the hit ABC show "The Goldbergs," a role he has had the pleasure of playing for the past seven years.
Sam has had the benefit of a live-in acting coach in the form of his father, Ken Lerner, who owns an acting school and has a steady acting career of his own.
In what is not even a slight acting stretch for either, Ken Lerner plays Sam Lerner's character's father, "Lou Schwartz," on "The Goldbergs," and the two also played each other at different ages in a Wells Fargo television commercial.
Sam's acting pedigree comes from both sides of the family, with his maternal grandmother being an actress off-off Broadway and in commercials, his aunt starring in the original Broadway cast of the Steven Sondheim musical "Merrily We Roll Along," and his maternal great-grandmother being first cousin to American film producer David O. Selznick.
Sam's most recent projects include the Blumhouse movies "Truth or Dare" and the Bay-produced Paramount time travel movie "Project Almanac."
