Forget fame, Sam Corlett wants to earn respect for his work

A lot of memories came up for up-and-coming Aussie star of Vikings: Valhalla Sam Corlett during a retreat in Amsterdam with his mum.

Sam Corlett has learnt pretty quickly where he wants to be in Hollywood.

Chilled with the level head of an actor you’d expect with decades of experience, Corlett is not in the business for fame or fortune’s sake.

“After Sabrina (TV show Chilling Adventures of Sabrina), I knew that if I posted a shirtless photo of myself, it would go up,” he said of his Instagram following, and therefore popularity.

“Or if I continuously posted stories, it would maintain a certain level of fame in that respect. But I suppose, the respect that I’m after is more about the work and the substance.

“I think we are in, socially in a place which is kind of searching for the surface level of which doesn’t have much substance, to me at least.”

Sam Corlett plays Leif Eriksson in international hit series Vikings: Valhalla. Picture: Richard Dobson

The 26-year-old landed Sabrina straight out of drama school, graduating from the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts (WAAPA) in 2018.

He played Prince of Hell Caliban in the series that was a huge global hit. He appeared in Aussie feature film, The Dry, before scoring the lead role in Vikings: Valhalla.

Corlett has just spent Christmas and the New Year with his family on the NSW Central Coast. A week out from Christmas, he attended the premiere screening of season two of Viking: Valhalla in Los Angeles.

He plays Leif Erikson in the historical drama.

Actor Sam Corlett also loves to surf, skateboard and meditate. Picture: Richard Dobson

Outside of acting, Corlett has a full plate. He loves to surf, skateboard and meditate. He is also an artist and loves fashion.

He has worked on several projects to raise money for causes he is passionate about, like Mindful.org wellness and the Cancer Council.

There is another fundraiser in the works, through the release of a capsule collection of jewellery under his friends, Merchants of the Sun, that will go towards an environmental organisation.

“I am a bit of a hippy, I guess,” he laughed.

“It may not be a completely appropriate story to share but I went to Amsterdam recently with my mum and we did a magic mushroom retreat.

“It was an official thing, facilitated with a psychologist, an art therapist, a music therapist, and I just had one of the best experiences of my life with my mum. In the Christmas card I wrote to my mum, I wrote: ‘to my hippy mum’.

“If we even thought about doing mushies like 15 years ago, it would never have crossed our minds but the fact we did it together, it was sincerely one of the most special experiences of my life.”

Australian actor Sam Corlett tends to lead by example on the set of Vikings: Valhalla. Picture: Richard Dobson

A takeaway from that magic mushroom experience for Corlett was one around leadership.

“All these memories came up,” he explained.

“Reminding myself that I was a leader, which is something that I shied away from for quite a time on Vikings. I got that (role) and I was number one on the call sheet but I was the youngest, I was 23, so in terms of setting the tone, I had an idea but I didn’t know how to step into it, I guess.

“It has been funny navigating that, for sure, because I have a certain level of excellence that I expect of myself and I tend to lead by example on set.”

What does Corlett mean by ‘level of excellence’?

Corlett wants to excel by conveying ‘honesty’ in his characters and their stories. Picture: Richard Dobson

“A level of honesty, I guess,” he added.

“I just want to be truthful, I want to represent these characters.

“Film has had a profound effect on me and we are like the myths and storytellers of our time, which is a privilege, and I see the impact that film has on culture and therefore our perspectives on what it means to be human. And so I really want to do the due diligence to the story.”

Again, Corlett speaks with the maturity of someone far beyond his years. He is calm and thoughtful. He wants to make the world a better place and puts his attitude down to his mother fighting cancer three times in her life.

“Each moment brought our family closer together, and each time also shed a little bit of that stuff off that doesn’t f***ing matter off,” he said.

“At school, with the drama going on, nothing really compared to the possibility of your mother’s death and therefore you start thinking about your own mortality. In those moments I suppose I was struck with, ‘if I am going tomorrow, how do I want to live?’.”

Corlett is also extremely present. When he looks someone in the eye and asks them how they are, he means it and listens for the answer.

“I attempt to be,” he said.

“Meditation helps for sure. I think a lot of what you admire in others is your true self yearning to be expressed.”

Sam Corlett, right, with Leo Suter in Vikings: Valhalla. Picture: Netflix

Vikings: Valhalla is the sequel to the original Vikings series that starred the likes of Travis Fimmel, Gabriel Byrne and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and ran for six seasons on Netflix.

The second season was shot in Ireland and is released January 12. The third season has already been shot too.

Traditional gender roles is a key theme explored in the hit TV series.

“I think what is cool about the Viking world is how egalitarian it was. If we look at the history that was written on them early, it was all from the English side so we are seeing the kind of pillages idea put on them, just as we saw in the Americas,” he said.

“They were the Indigenous population of Scandinavia and their connection to earth and nature was so strong. To see strength in a woman, and ownership of where they are in history, in time, in their body as well, that is not often out there.”

Of Leif’s story, specifically masculinity, he added: “At the end of season one, we see outbursts of rage triggered by grief. At the start of season two, we see that too but he (Leif) has to reckon with that. It is the falling apart of man, almost like Leif’s true self fighting old masculinity. I feel like a lot of young men today are going through that as well.”

Vikings: Valhalla season two premieres January 12 on Netflix