User:HorrorFan121/Sam Evans

Sam Evans
Glee character
First appearance	"Audition"
Created by	Ryan Murphy Brad Falchuk Ian Brennan
Portrayed by	Chord Overstreet
In-universe information
Occupation	High school student

Sam Evans is a recurring fictional character from the Fox musical comedy-drama series Glee. The character is portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet, and has appeared on Glee since the second season premiere episode titled "Audition", first broadcast on September 21, 2010.

Storylines

Sam first appears on Glee during the first episode of the show's second season. He auditions for the school glee club, New Directions, by performing Travie McCoy's "Billionaire". However, Sam later declines to join because of the low social status of the glee club members. In Grilled Cheesus, he is shown as a replacement for football captain Finn Hudson after he is kicked off the team. He later injures himself, making Finn feel responsible. Sam officially joins the glee club in "Dutes". He slowly begins forming a relationship with head cheerleader and glee club member, Quinn Fabray. After a slushy is thrown in his face, Quinn helps him clean up and later asks if he will partner up with her for a glee club performance. Sam and Quinn sing "Lucky" by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat. All of the club members vote for themselves, except Finn and Rachel Berry, who vote for Sam and Quinn, ensuring that they win the competition. Over dinner at Breadstix they form a rapport, and Quinn tells Sam that she considers the meal their first date. In a "Rocky Horror" oriented episode of Glee "The Rocky Horror Glee Show", Sam is shown playing Dr. Frank N. Furter's monster, Rocky.

In "Furt", Sam tells Quinn that he loves her and wants to marry her, offering her a promise ring. After another member of the football team starts bullying Kurt Hummel of his sexuality, Artie Abrams, and Mike Chang confront him. Later, impressed by the way Sam stood up for Kurt, Quinn accepts his promise ring. In "Comeback", Sam establishes a one-man tribute band to teen singer Justin Bieber, entitled "The Justin Bieber Experience," hoping to win over his girlfriend Quinn, who he suspects still has feelings for her ex-boyfriend Finn. He performs Bieber's "Baby", dedicated to Quinn, and also entices the other girls in the club. Several of the male members—Puck (Mark Salling), Artie (Kevin McHale) and Mike (Harry Shum, Jr.)—are impressed by the effect he has on the girls, and convince him to let them join his tribute band. The foursome then performs "Somebody to Love", recreating the music video for the song in the auditorium, to the girls' delight. Quinn chooses Sam over Finn, but when Santana Lopez (Naya Rivera) convinces Sam that Quinn cheated on him, he breaks up with her and begins dating Santana.

Development

Dianna Agron (pictured) plays head cheerleader Quinn Fabray, who is featured largely in Sam's storylines.

Sam is regularly portrayed by actor Chord Overstreet. Unlike most of the original cast, glee creator Ryan Murphy did not find Overstreet on Broadway. He landed the role after auditioning with Commodores' "Easy" and Gavin DeGraw's "I Don't Want to Be". He later sang "Billionaire" by Travie McCoy featuring Bruno Mars as a studio test, and eventually sang this in the season premiere "Audition", along with "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" by Poison. Following Overstreet's casting, media speculation suggested Sam might have been created as a boyfriend for Kurt. Overstreet later confirmed this, but stated that his storyline had been adjusted to pair Sam with Quinn, as a result of the chemistry the producers detected between himself and Agron. Overstreet studio tested with Travie McCoy's "Billionaire", which he later used to audition for the glee club. Chord Overstreet said of his casting process: " It was like a week long process. I did three or four auditions. I went in the casting office with Robert Ulrich and sang three or four songs. Did the studio test, network test, and I found out the next day and went right into the studio to record “Billionaire.”"

Discussing his character in an interview with The TV Chick, Overstreet commented: "I think I put a little bit of my personality in him. I would say so. I’m such a nice, sweet guy that you don’t even have to act, it’s me. I’m kidding, I’m kidding. I’m not that full of myself. It’s similar to my personality, I would say. I’m kind of goofy and say stupid things to girls when I’m attracted to them. And when I like them, I say stupid things without thinking like the Avatar stuff, that’s very [much] something I would say." Overstreet said that the writers picked up lines from himself and added them to his character:

"Actually, yeah. I had Brad Falchuk call me. He called because he was like 'I hear you do impressions. What impressions do you do?' I was like I do George Bush, I do Matthew McConaughey, a couple of other ones. And he was like 'Alright, well thanks.' And then next thing I know, I get the next episode and they wrote it in there. I thought that was hilarious. I was just like “YES!” I was so excited to do it, I was like “Yesss!” Matthew McConaughey!! I wonder if he watches the show. If he watched the show, and saw my impression, God I hope!"

Reception

The character has received mainly positive reviews from television critics. Amy Semigran of MTV said of the episode "Dutes":"Turns out their strategy, as well as Sam's crush on singing partner Quinn, worked. Despite some mixed signals and apprehension on Quinn's part, the two turned out a cute little rendition of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat's "Lucky." It was so cute, in fact, Mr. Schue awarded them the winners of the challenge and sent them off on what would ultimately turn out to be their first date." The Sam-Quinn relationship has been generally well received by critics. Amy Reiter of the Los Angeles Times commented: "The is-he-gay-or-is-he-straight storyline is resolved as these two sing a button-cute, guitariffic, blonde-meets-blond rendition of Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat’s “Lucky.” Is Quinn’s return to abstinence in danger? Sam-I-Am might not like green eggs and ham, but he sure likes a certain flirty-eyed Cheerio. How do you say “awww” in Na'vi?"

Anthony Benigno of Daily News commented of the relationship: Meanwhile, Sam and Quinn are partnered, and Sam, having come from an all boys' school and devoid of social skills, takes Quinn's throwaway "Avatar" reference and runs with it. Yes, folks: our boy is spitting game in Na'vi. And Quinn's kind of digging it.Remember when I said this show was realistic with its sexual tension stuff? I take it back. Anyway, Quinn's kind of feeling Sam, but she'd rather keep her heart cold and shriveled so as not to risk her popularity again, so she tells him to take his hair and get lost. Problem is, she and Sam were the only team who stood a chance of knocking off Rachel and Finn, so Rachel and Finn cement their plan by singing a thoroughly offensive song (I'll get to that in a bit) and reuniting the giant-killers. And so succeeds evil machination #4. Sam and Quinn go on their free dinner on the condition that it soooo isn't a date. But Sam awkwardly praises Quinn's bravery after her fall from grace, while admitting his own terrible secret: he does, in fact, dye his hair. And he once got collagen injected in his lips. No one is surprised at this, and I'm making that second thing up. In any case, Quinn's heart grows four sizes and she puts away the gift certificate, because Sam, the gentleman, should pay on the first date. Sam's totally loving it, but wait till he realizes he's suddenly out 50 bucks. That's like, a month's worth of peroxide there, dude.