Keivonn Woodard

Keivonn Montreal Woodard (born February 9, 2013) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Sam in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us (2023), for which he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series.

Personal life
Born on February 9, 2013, Woodard lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his mother, April Jackson-Woodard; his father, Dwayne Woodard, died in 2021. In addition to acting, he plays ice hockey.

Career
Woodard made his film debut in 2018 with the film Seeds of Hope: The Andrew Jackson Foster Story. He earned wider recognition and critical acclaim for his performance in the HBO post-apocalyptic drama series The Last of Us. Woodard starred as Sam, a survivor who travels with his brother Henry in the episodes "Please Hold to My Hand" and "Endure and Survive".

Woodard, who is deaf, was hired for The Last of Us after series co-creator Craig Mazin, looking for a young actor fluent in American Sign Language, sent a casting call out via Twitter. For his role in the series, Woodard was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Drama Series, becoming the youngest nominee in the category at age 10 and the second-youngest Emmy nominee after Keshia Knight Pulliam for The Cosby Show. He is the first black deaf actor and second deaf actor overall (after Marlee Matlin) to be nominated for an Emmy Award. His performance also earned him an Independent Spirit Award and nominations for a Black Reel TV Award and a NAACP Image Award.

Woodard is set to appear in Fractal, a short film by Anslem Richardson.