Newcomers should be made to sign a two year contract. I imagine that DTC is really annoyed at a really important character has left after a year especially when the character was based on himself. I think Sam will get a really rubbish exit and he will recast him which he should.
Like someone has said, I'm not sure why he has choose to left this soon as he probably won't get anything better because even the best actors on the show never do.
I agree, it is frustrating watching someone then they decide to leave after such a short amount of time, we are about to lose 2 of the Carter family and they have only been on the show for a year.
Maybe Sam doesn't want to play a gay character anymore. If it was my choice i would recast him, it's a shame though because i like the Carter family and i think all of the actors suit their roles well.
It can't be that bad, he isn't in it enough to be doing that many hours. Plus, it's acting, it's not as physically demanding as other jobs.
He might not like the form working on a soap takes, rehearse record with very few retakes. Very different to theatre or film work which he might prefer.
I've always understood that the hours are more boring than anything else. There is a lot of sitting around waiting to be called for your scenes and in his case standing in the background of Vic scenes without actually being the 'star' of the scene.
It's also possible he just doesn't like the level of attention a high profile role like this brings and would prefer to be a more low key 'character' actor. Or it has gone to his head and wants to try and break Hollywood early in his career.
absolutely it would work and in this case a recast is necessary to continue the ben/johnny romance
They didn't recast Shabnam for several years just like they didn't Mark when Scarborough left after only a few months. And it wasn't just the suicide issue as that didn't happen until a couple of years after he'd left.
I can't think of anybody that was recast within months except Janine's Gran and that was literally after only a couple of episodes and always intended to be a short term role.
No don't recast him, he's definitely superior to Nancy and Lee, but the 'Carter kids' and boring and aren't needed IMO, they wouldn't be missed that much.
I'll be honest if I was DTC I'd be recasting the character as soon as possible. They are looking at the Carters as a long term important family for EastEnders and quite frankly he has only been in the show for a year, fairly quiet for a few months and if they got the recast right people would get over it within a few episodes.
Newcomers should be made to sign a two year contract. I imagine that DTC is really annoyed at a really important character has left after a year especially when the character was based on himself. I think Sam will get a really rubbish exit and he will recast him which he should.
Like someone has said, I'm not sure why he has choose to left this soon as he probably won't get anything better because even the best actors on the show never do.
I can just see Johnny get a Julia's theme, if he does and Bianca didn't, it's an absolute disgrace!
I'll be honest if I was DTC I'd be recasting the character as soon as possible. They are looking at the Carters as a long term important family for EastEnders and quite frankly he has only been in the show for a year, fairly quiet for a few months and if they got the recast right people would get over it within a few episodes.
exactly, bit like Holly in Hollyoaks.
plus the romance with ben would be a big story for the johnny character so gives a recast person chance to shine and make the role his own
Quite. It's something they should consider if the Carters are here for the long haul. They certainly shouldn't keep the door open for the current actor, who has let the show down by jumping ship after less than a year.
I wonder if there is more too it then just lack of stories for his character etc, last I checked DTC has not mentioned anything about Sam's departure on twitter as if his completely ignoring it while others have tweeted him (SS) support and goodbyes, I know it might not be anything but it seems a bit telling that his not even knowledge it.
I wonder if there is more too it then just lack of stories for his character etc, last I checked DTC has not mentioned anything about Sam's departure on twitter as if his completely ignoring it while others have tweeted him (SS) support and goodbyes, I know it might not be anything but it seems a bit telling that his not even knowledge it.
Actually very few cast and crew members have tweeted Sam; I only saw Danny-Boy Hatchard and Daran Little. Even Danny Dyer and Maddy Hill, who he's very close to, haven't said anything on there.
I agree there is something more to this than Sam leaving due to lack of stories; in fact I doubt that was the reason at all. But I don't think he's on bad terms with anyone, I think maybe his colleagues are just sad at how this has turned out and maybe don't feel Twitter is quite the right place to express how much they'll miss him.
With that said, It was a bad day for the announcement to come out as all the cast were busy with CIN. I expect the press office rush released the statement due to the mounting speculation on Twitter and the fact that him not being on CIN would probably have sent that speculation into overdrive over the weekend and maybe attracted press attention.
Sam is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life.
The thing is though, he was working with a lot of people he gets on well with, probably on a decent starting wage and was making a name for himself.
Now if he applies for new jobs, you can bet your bottom dollar that casting directors will be wary of hiring someone with what appears to be a lack of commitment.
You generally find most actors (who don't want to do soaps forever) generally do about three years (such as rob kazinsky and Michael moons actor) that way you do a variety of different stories to show off your talents.
It's not a good time to be an actor, jobs are scarce. It's why so many big names have turned to Soaps.
So I just hope Sam has thought this through for his own sake. I mean he cannot expect them to keep the door open for him, if the stories require Johnny to be recast then it will happen.
Sam is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life.
The thing is though, he was working with a lot of people he gets on well with, probably on a decent starting wage and was making a name for himself.
Now if he applies for new jobs, you can bet your bottom dollar that casting directors will be wary of hiring someone with what appears to be a lack of commitment.
You generally find most actors (who don't want to do soaps forever) generally do about three years (such as rob kazinsky and Michael moons actor) that way you do a variety of different stories to show off your talents.
It's not a good time to be an actor, jobs are scarce. It's why so many big names have turned to Soaps.
So I just hope Sam has thought this through for his own sake. I mean he cannot expect them to keep the door open for him, if the stories require Johnny to be recast then it will happen.
BIB: Which is exactly why I believe that something quite serious must have happened for him to make such a drastic decision. He has a supportive family and what seems like an experienced agent, and Sam himself seems to have his head switched on. I'm sure he didn't make that decision lightly, and he would have had advice.
I don't want to speculate but as he was meant to have made this decision over the summer, that's when the guy on Twitter who was threatening him with some absolutely disgusting stuff was at his worst. He talked about going to Elstree and stabbing him. How do we know that more didn't happen, and Sam just thought 'This is too much for me to deal with'?
Hopefully any future casting agents would be aware if something serious had happened for him to make that decision and they won't judge him too harshly when he's auditioning.
Sam is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life.
The thing is though, he was working with a lot of people he gets on well with, probably on a decent starting wage and was making a name for himself.
Now if he applies for new jobs, you can bet your bottom dollar that casting directors will be wary of hiring someone with what appears to be a lack of commitment.
You generally find most actors (who don't want to do soaps forever) generally do about three years (such as rob kazinsky and Michael moons actor) that way you do a variety of different stories to show off your talents.
It's not a good time to be an actor, jobs are scarce. It's why so many big names have turned to Soaps.
So I just hope Sam has thought this through for his own sake. I mean he cannot expect them to keep the door open for him, if the stories require Johnny to be recast then it will happen.
An excellent first class post.If and I stress IF the rumours hes hoping to now succeed in Hollywood are true then I think his credentials would have been better served by doing 2 years on EastEnders minium.
BIB: Which is exactly why I believe that something quite serious must have happened for him to make such a drastic decision. He has a supportive family and what seems like an experienced agent, and Sam himself seems to have his head switched on. I'm sure he didn't make that decision lightly, and he would have had advice.
I don't want to speculate but as he was meant to have made this decision over the summer, that's when the guy on Twitter who was threatening him with some absolutely disgusting stuff was at his worst. He talked about going to Elstree and stabbing him. How do we know that more didn't happen, and Sam just thought 'This is too much for me to deal with'?
Hopefully any future casting agents would be aware if something serious had happened for him to make that decision and they won't judge him too harshly when he's auditioning.
Yeah, I don't think he's leaving because of a lack of storylines, it seems clear to me he's leaving so he can audition for roles in the US as soon as possible and attempt to carve out a mainstream career. It might've benefitted him to stay for another year or two though and showcase more of his acting, so he'd have more on his CV to show off to casting directors. He left before his character got going really and therefore left no real impression.
I would not accept a johnny recast, it's sam strike or no one and f he is recast I would sop watching tbh. Sam as johnny has inspired many young gay people and no new actor will live to SAMs mark.
After all, does anyone really remember the first Scott Robinson in Neighbours?
Yes, I do. Darius Perkins. I actually think he was a better actor at first but they lucked out with Donovan having amazing chemistry with Minogue and just the whole show becoming successful that second year.
I do take your point but Australian soaps do tend to recast more often than the UK ones. It isn't that unusual for a character to be played by one actor one day and another the next. If recasts do happen in the UK there tends to be a gap of at least several months and more often years.
Sam is entitled to do whatever he wants with his life.
The thing is though, he was working with a lot of people he gets on well with, probably on a decent starting wage and was making a name for himself.
Now if he applies for new jobs, you can bet your bottom dollar that casting directors will be wary of hiring someone with what appears to be a lack of commitment.
You generally find most actors (who don't want to do soaps forever) generally do about three years (such as rob kazinsky and Michael moons actor) that way you do a variety of different stories to show off your talents.
It's not a good time to be an actor, jobs are scarce. It's why so many big names have turned to Soaps.
So I just hope Sam has thought this through for his own sake. I mean he cannot expect them to keep the door open for him, if the stories require Johnny to be recast then it will happen.
I've heard it said that 3 years is about right to stay in any acting job, especially soaps. It means your character has time to 'bed in', have a variety of storylines to show off the actors talents and make an impression but not become so associated it is impossible for an audience (or perhaps more importantly for casting agents to think an audience) can see them as another character.
Unless there has been a very strong short term storyline which has dominated then leaving after an only one year isn't a great career move.
No idea. He was an extremely strange individual who at one point even said that he was really James Forde (the actor that plays Liam) and that Sam was bullying him. Whenever his tweets started getting attention, he would delete his account but he kept coming back. Sam never actually acknowledged him on Twitter but the guy seemed pretty obsessed.
I haven't seen him in Sam's mentions for quite some time now so I can only assume that something was done about it.
BIB: Which is exactly why I believe that something quite serious must have happened for him to make such a drastic decision. He has a supportive family and what seems like an experienced agent, and Sam himself seems to have his head switched on. I'm sure he didn't make that decision lightly, and he would have had advice.
I don't want to speculate but as he was meant to have made this decision over the summer, that's when the guy on Twitter who was threatening him with some absolutely disgusting stuff was at his worst. He talked about going to Elstree and stabbing him. How do we know that more didn't happen, and Sam just thought 'This is too much for me to deal with'?
Hopefully any future casting agents would be aware if something serious had happened for him to make that decision and they won't judge him too harshly when he's auditioning.
I had not heard about the strange stalker guy. It may well be that Sam was uncomfortable playing a gay man and wasn't wholly aware of what he was signing up for. While it shouldn't be an issue, in an ideal world, Sam may have found it hard to play a gay man.
An excellent first class post.If and I stress IF the rumours hes hoping to now succeed in Hollywood are true then I think his credentials would have been better served by doing 2 years on EastEnders minium.
Thanks. He is being very ambitious if that's the case. He would be better off trying to break into film over here and making a name for himself that way. Otherwise I hope he is good at waiting on tables.
I've heard it said that 3 years is about right to stay in any acting job, especially soaps. It means your character has time to 'bed in', have a variety of storylines to show off the actors talents and make an impression but not become so associated it is impossible for an audience (or perhaps more importantly for casting agents to think an audience) can see them as another character.
Unless there has been a very strong short term storyline which has dominated then leaving after an only one year isn't a great career move.
Yeah three years does seem to be the norm, a good agent would surely have explained that to Sam.
I would not accept a johnny recast, it's sam strike or no one and f he is recast I would sop watching tbh. Sam as johnny has inspired many young gay people and no new actor will live to SAMs mark.
Bit of a bold statement to make tbh. I mean how do you know that there isn't an actor out there who would be better at playing Johnny than Sam?
Frankly, you don't.
Sam has been in the role for a year, not enough time to make a lasting impression.
BIB: Which is exactly why I believe that something quite serious must have happened for him to make such a drastic decision. He has a supportive family and what seems like an experienced agent, and Sam himself seems to have his head switched on. I'm sure he didn't make that decision lightly, and he would have had advice.
I don't want to speculate but as he was meant to have made this decision over the summer, that's when the guy on Twitter who was threatening him with some absolutely disgusting stuff was at his worst. He talked about going to Elstree and stabbing him. How do we know that more didn't happen, and Sam just thought 'This is too much for me to deal with'?
Hopefully any future casting agents would be aware if something serious had happened for him to make that decision and they won't judge him too harshly when he's auditioning.
I don't agree with people saying Sam has been disloyal & uncommitted he had 1yr contract he obliged it!! If DTC wanted him for long should've given him a 2 yr contract!!
I can understand if DTC is disappointed as he prob wanted the developing sl of a young gay man & now he's just left with Ben who's a whole different kettle of fish!!
One positive of this is that we'll be spared the horror of a Ben-Johnny relationship which pleases me a lot.
We'll see more of Lee now which displeases me a lot!!
I don't think Sam has got too big for his boots- quite the contrary he seems a quiet, inverted guy by nature.
I think he's gonna try for Hollywood & I think he has a fairly good chance. He has an understated charisma & the "English River Phoenix" tag won't do him any harm over there where Phoenix has an "icon" status.
I could see him in Indie movies over there.
Comments
I agree, it is frustrating watching someone then they decide to leave after such a short amount of time, we are about to lose 2 of the Carter family and they have only been on the show for a year.
Maybe Sam doesn't want to play a gay character anymore. If it was my choice i would recast him, it's a shame though because i like the Carter family and i think all of the actors suit their roles well.
It can't be that bad, he isn't in it enough to be doing that many hours. Plus, it's acting, it's not as physically demanding as other jobs.
absolutely it would work and in this case a recast is necessary to continue the ben/johnny romance
He might not like the form working on a soap takes, rehearse record with very few retakes. Very different to theatre or film work which he might prefer.
I've always understood that the hours are more boring than anything else. There is a lot of sitting around waiting to be called for your scenes and in his case standing in the background of Vic scenes without actually being the 'star' of the scene.
It's also possible he just doesn't like the level of attention a high profile role like this brings and would prefer to be a more low key 'character' actor. Or it has gone to his head and wants to try and break Hollywood early in his career.
They didn't recast Shabnam for several years just like they didn't Mark when Scarborough left after only a few months. And it wasn't just the suicide issue as that didn't happen until a couple of years after he'd left.
I can't think of anybody that was recast within months except Janine's Gran and that was literally after only a couple of episodes and always intended to be a short term role.
I can just see Johnny get a Julia's theme, if he does and Bianca didn't, it's an absolute disgrace!
exactly, bit like Holly in Hollyoaks.
plus the romance with ben would be a big story for the johnny character so gives a recast person chance to shine and make the role his own
I wonder if there is more too it then just lack of stories for his character etc, last I checked DTC has not mentioned anything about Sam's departure on twitter as if his completely ignoring it while others have tweeted him (SS) support and goodbyes, I know it might not be anything but it seems a bit telling that his not even knowledge it.
Actually very few cast and crew members have tweeted Sam; I only saw Danny-Boy Hatchard and Daran Little. Even Danny Dyer and Maddy Hill, who he's very close to, haven't said anything on there.
I agree there is something more to this than Sam leaving due to lack of stories; in fact I doubt that was the reason at all. But I don't think he's on bad terms with anyone, I think maybe his colleagues are just sad at how this has turned out and maybe don't feel Twitter is quite the right place to express how much they'll miss him.
With that said, It was a bad day for the announcement to come out as all the cast were busy with CIN. I expect the press office rush released the statement due to the mounting speculation on Twitter and the fact that him not being on CIN would probably have sent that speculation into overdrive over the weekend and maybe attracted press attention.
After all, does anyone really remember the first Scott Robinson in Neighbours?
The thing is though, he was working with a lot of people he gets on well with, probably on a decent starting wage and was making a name for himself.
Now if he applies for new jobs, you can bet your bottom dollar that casting directors will be wary of hiring someone with what appears to be a lack of commitment.
You generally find most actors (who don't want to do soaps forever) generally do about three years (such as rob kazinsky and Michael moons actor) that way you do a variety of different stories to show off your talents.
It's not a good time to be an actor, jobs are scarce. It's why so many big names have turned to Soaps.
So I just hope Sam has thought this through for his own sake. I mean he cannot expect them to keep the door open for him, if the stories require Johnny to be recast then it will happen.
BIB: Which is exactly why I believe that something quite serious must have happened for him to make such a drastic decision. He has a supportive family and what seems like an experienced agent, and Sam himself seems to have his head switched on. I'm sure he didn't make that decision lightly, and he would have had advice.
I don't want to speculate but as he was meant to have made this decision over the summer, that's when the guy on Twitter who was threatening him with some absolutely disgusting stuff was at his worst. He talked about going to Elstree and stabbing him. How do we know that more didn't happen, and Sam just thought 'This is too much for me to deal with'?
Hopefully any future casting agents would be aware if something serious had happened for him to make that decision and they won't judge him too harshly when he's auditioning.
An excellent first class post.If and I stress IF the rumours hes hoping to now succeed in Hollywood are true then I think his credentials would have been better served by doing 2 years on EastEnders minium.
Was that man arrested?I havent heard about this.
Yes, I do. Darius Perkins. I actually think he was a better actor at first but they lucked out with Donovan having amazing chemistry with Minogue and just the whole show becoming successful that second year.
I do take your point but Australian soaps do tend to recast more often than the UK ones. It isn't that unusual for a character to be played by one actor one day and another the next. If recasts do happen in the UK there tends to be a gap of at least several months and more often years.
I've heard it said that 3 years is about right to stay in any acting job, especially soaps. It means your character has time to 'bed in', have a variety of storylines to show off the actors talents and make an impression but not become so associated it is impossible for an audience (or perhaps more importantly for casting agents to think an audience) can see them as another character.
Unless there has been a very strong short term storyline which has dominated then leaving after an only one year isn't a great career move.
No idea. He was an extremely strange individual who at one point even said that he was really James Forde (the actor that plays Liam) and that Sam was bullying him. Whenever his tweets started getting attention, he would delete his account but he kept coming back. Sam never actually acknowledged him on Twitter but the guy seemed pretty obsessed.
I haven't seen him in Sam's mentions for quite some time now so I can only assume that something was done about it.
I had not heard about the strange stalker guy. It may well be that Sam was uncomfortable playing a gay man and wasn't wholly aware of what he was signing up for. While it shouldn't be an issue, in an ideal world, Sam may have found it hard to play a gay man.
Thanks. He is being very ambitious if that's the case. He would be better off trying to break into film over here and making a name for himself that way. Otherwise I hope he is good at waiting on tables.
Yeah three years does seem to be the norm, a good agent would surely have explained that to Sam.
Bit of a bold statement to make tbh. I mean how do you know that there isn't an actor out there who would be better at playing Johnny than Sam?
Frankly, you don't.
Sam has been in the role for a year, not enough time to make a lasting impression.
I don't agree with people saying Sam has been disloyal & uncommitted he had 1yr contract he obliged it!! If DTC wanted him for long should've given him a 2 yr contract!!
I can understand if DTC is disappointed as he prob wanted the developing sl of a young gay man & now he's just left with Ben who's a whole different kettle of fish!!
One positive of this is that we'll be spared the horror of a Ben-Johnny relationship which pleases me a lot.
We'll see more of Lee now which displeases me a lot!!
I don't think Sam has got too big for his boots- quite the contrary he seems a quiet, inverted guy by nature.
I think he's gonna try for Hollywood & I think he has a fairly good chance. He has an understated charisma & the "English River Phoenix" tag won't do him any harm over there where Phoenix has an "icon" status.
I could see him in Indie movies over there.