Detectives, Dating Apps, and Dreams of a Richard Curtis cameo: Sam Claflin chats about his new series, Vanished

Anyone who has, well, watched a movie in the last decade will know Sam Claflin’s face; from his break-out role in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, to hits like Me Before You, Love, Rosie, and Finnick in The Hunger Games. Since then, the British actor has come a long way from the days of being an on screen hunk for hire, wowing audiences with his depth, range, and ability to throw himself into any role, with no ego present. After a brief break from the industry, Claflin made arguably the most iconic comeback with his performance as Billy Dunne in Prime Video’s adaptation of Daisy Jones and the Six – singing, guitar playing, and emotionally gut-wrenching his audience. Not content with stopping there (thank GOD), Claflin has teamed up with Prime Video once again, this time, delivering a hair-raising, heart-stopping, go-on-then-just-one-more-episode series, titled Vanished.

Starring Kayley Couco alongside Claflin, Vanished is a six-part series set in the dreamy backdrop of Marseilles. What starts as a romantic get-away for jet-setters Alice (Couco) and Tom (Claflin) travelling from Paris to Marseilles quickly becomes a nightmare when Tom disappears from the train. As Alice digs deeper into what’s happened to Tom, secrets unravel, plots thicken, and conspiracies run rife.

In the middle of a busy junket day, Sam popped down to the opulent Mr Fogg’s Pawnbrokers on Dean Street to join us for a cheeky midday pint, and spill the tea on everything from true crime to travel pet peeves.

Vanished (MGM+ 2026 Series) Official Trailer - YouTube

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1. He’s a big - and secret - True Crime lover

As risk averse as you may be, pretty much everyone enjoys a wee bit o crime – whether it’s a crime drama or a fully-fledged true-crime documentary or podcast. And Sam is no exception, despite having starred in his fair share of thrillers.

“I enjoy guessing,” he reflected. ”[Especially] in thrillers what the outcome is going to be. I love it when I get it right. I KNEW that person was the bad guy! With this story, the not knowing was really fun,” Claflin mused.

“I’m a massive (but secret) true crime person,” he confessed. “I’m one of those online sleuths – you know that documentary Don’t fuck with cats when the online sleuths solved the crime? I loved that.

2. Although as much as he loves true crime, not sure he’d be a good detective himself

One of the things average joes (like us) get most jealous about with actors is the ability to dip your toes into any role, and job, and live a little of a life you could usually never have: international spy, Olympian, Paddington’s bestie. When it comes to being part of a crime conspiracy, Sam’s had a few encounters with investigative roles – much to his delight.

“I think everyone wants to be a detective,” Sam agreed. “We all grew up with them on TV – Pink Panther, Inspector Gadget.”

If he had to put on screen sleuthing to the test in real life though, Sam’s not entirely convinced he’d be up to the job…

“I’m very intuitive, I think I have a good read on people… but I don’t think I’d have any evidence to back it up,” Sam laughed. “I’d be like you did it! I just have a feeling! So I think I’d make more of a psychic than a detective,” he joked.

3. He's all for real life yearning over apps

Graham Norton has his orange sofa, Amelia Dimoldenberg has her meticulous research, I have my backlog of dating-app disaster stories to crack the nut that is an interview guest. If all roads lead to Rome, then all interviews lead to Hinge stories (in my case). Pondering matters of the heart, Sam's agreed that apps are not always the best way to connect.

"I can't say I ever went on Hinge, although I did frequent the apps," Sam recalled. "It's not for me, man."

"I definitely believe in love, and meeting people the old fashioned way is the way forward," he added. "Because its all about energy! And you can't get anything [energy-wise] from an image."

Preaching to the choir...

4. Being a dad has changed his perspective

Unless you’re some kind of superhuman fantastic-four-style-superhero person then the struggle between juggling parenthood and career-ing will feel all too familiar. Even just trying to keep up with it all can feel like a challenge, but for Sam, it’s been an eye-opener.

“When you have kids it changes everything - in a wonderful way,” he explained.

“I’ve become less conscious about time. I try to be punctual as ever, but the years seem to slip away so quickly. I have to be mum and dad in one, and I have a boy and a girl and they always want to do different things so I’m always trying to keep everything together.”

5. Getting lost is the best part of being abroad

Apart from the classic escapism a good old thriller brings, Sam’s new series Vanished brings a slice of Southern France to your screen, dishing up panoramic views across Marseille alongside some heart-stopping twists and turns. Luckily, despite the advance of GCI, green-screening and AI, the team actually did head to France to film, and Sam has some carefully honed sure-fire rules when it comes to exploring a new city.

“I like getting lost in a new city,” Sam shared. “People on their phones miss the architecture, they miss the vibrancy that’s all around them.”

“I have to unpack as soon as I get where I’m going,” he added. “Travelling with kids is –” he broke off thinking of how to phrase it. “Kids have these backpacks now, the wheely ones where they just head off and they are great,” he concluded, with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it glint of jealously in his eye.

6. If he had to reunite with a familiar face, he’d be picking a classic

Aside from his own filming accolades, Sam Claflin has racked up a pretty impressive co-star list, with everyone from Jennifer Lawrence to Henry Cavill. As well as actors he’s already worked with, there’s a whole list of names on his dream list too. So, if he had to pick just one to make a cameo in Vanished, in his words, “it’s too hard!”

Groaning at our insistence that he had to give us just one name, he ultimately succumbed.

“Bill Nighy,” Sam suggested, referencing his Lazarus co-star and onscreen dad.

“That man is a gent and such a joy,” he added. “He’s always very funny, you know he’d elevate it.”

7. His kitchen karaoke songs are pretty much just Bob Dylan bangers

Unfortunately the downside to starring in a hit series like Daisy Jones and the Six complete with an accompanying number one album Aurora is that you can’t continue to claim that you can’t sing. Even though he is - by his own admission - not a microphone grabber or big belting-out-bangers kind of guy, if he had to pick a song to sing, it’s always going to be one of the classics.

“I’d choose a Bob Dylan song – Hey Mr Tambourine Man (*starts to sing*), Blowing in the Wind. A few Elvis songs maybe, or a Frank,” Sam reflected.

8. Richard Curtis is the one that got away

Everyone is a sucker for a Richard Curtis movie on some level, whether they admit it or not. Beyond Sam's favourite Notting Hill, you've got the Bridget Jones quartet, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Vicar of Dibley, Yesterday, Mamma Mia Here We Go Again, Blackadder and more. One of the writer/director's crowning jewels, in a crown already overstuffed with massive jewels is his 2013 classic About Time starring Domhnall Gleeson and Rachel McAdams – although, it turns out, that Sam could have made a feature...

"Fun fact, I auditioned for that part [Gleeson's] in About Time and was told I was too pretty," Sam recollected.

"I remember reading that script and weeping and was desperate to work with Richard Curtis. I went into his office and met him for the first time but that was my feedback – I felt rejected but complimented at the same time," he laughed.

Sam Claflin's new series Vanished is now available to stream on Prime Video.

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