Sam Crane is an award-winning filmmaker, actor, and researcher working at the intersection of digital performance and cinema. Alongside partner Pinny Grylls, he co-founded Project 1961, a creative studio dedicated to exploring the boundaries between live performance and video games. Their debut feature, Grand Theft Hamlet, received widespread critical acclaim, winning the SXSW Jury Award, a Grierson Award, and two BIFAs.
Sam is currently developing the feature documentary Non-Playable Character (supported by the Catapult Film Fund) and the hybrid performance Sound & Fury, which investigates identity and agency within virtual worlds. A seasoned stage actor, Sam has played lead roles in the West End and on Broadway, including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child and 1984. He is currently a PhD candidate at the University of York, where his research investigates how the presence of a live performer is mediated and transformed within digital gamespaces.