Because I wasn’t too thrilled with him during The Glee Project’s first season, I did not have high hopes for Sam Larsen on Glee. Never a favorite of mine, his performances and acting always left a little bit to be desired in my book (and did anybody else notice how he subtly stole the Christian limelight from fellow Glee Project contestant Cameron Mitchell? Totally uncool). But let’s face it, nobody could be a more perfect poster child for Glee. The guy pretty much fits the show to a T, from his dreads to his ‘tude.
Needless to say, I was more than a little pleasantly surprised when I found him, and his character Joe Hart, to be very likeable and very much enjoyable in this week’s new episode, “Heart”. I even forgive you Sam, for stealing Cameron’s potential “I love Jesus” character because to be honest, you pulled it off a million times better than I think Cameron ever could have (don’t worry Cameron, I still love you).
So what made me go from I’m-not-a-fan-of-Sam to oh-my-gosh-he’s-perfect?
His character. Just. Works. Don’t get me wrong, I am a huge, huge fan of Damian McGinty and I think his character, Rory Flanagan is simply adorable. But while he’s cute, and it’s true he’s also a misfit, I don’t feel Rory fully measured up to the kind of Glee character he could be. He’s always just been kind of…floating. Sam came in with a bang, in a scene that was totally and completely Glee (reminded me so much of season 1’s amazing Celebacy Club scenes) – with a personality that was totally and completely Glee (a kid who has Jesus tats and is down with gay/lesbian love? As Artie would say, “Damn straight”). Plus, he plays guitar so he fits right in with the likes of Chord Overstreet as Sam and Mark Salling as Puck.
His voice meshes with the rest of the cast. Not to say that Damian doesn’t have the kind of vocals that make you want to melt inside, but Sam’s got more than that. He’s got a strong voice on its own that doesn’t outshine his cast members’, heck not even that, he has vocals that fit with his cast members’. I can’t remember the last time a voice sounded so good with Chord Overstreet’s and Amber Riley’s.
His acting rocks. Yes, I agree that he could have done better with his first chunk of lines, but if we’re going to start picking on saying dialogue too fast, where shall we start? By the end of the episode, it didn’t even matter because everything about Sam’s acting was completely up to par with the rest of the cast – from his facial expressions to the rest of his lines to the very vibes of his character. Sam’s definitely got the whole Glee package.
And that scene at the end, at Sugar’s party? All kinds of win. Not only do you rock Sam Larsen, Joe Hart rocks! So looking forward to what else Ryan Murphy and co. will have this character bring to the show.
How about you guys, what did you think of Sam’s overall performance/character? Would you like to see him continue on Glee in future seasons?
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I think that Sam Larsen really hit it off! Glee is such an amazing show and it always throws twists at its audience that leave you going ‘wow, did not see that coming!’. At first you’re a little hestitant with the new guy, seems like a drifter. But he proves himself through his voice. He dominated “Stereo Hearts” and now the audiene loves him. Damien is so adorable and sweet, and he has the accent that girls will fall for. But we get to see a bad side to this cutie that has the audience picking sides. In the end I think that Sam’s character, Joe, will end up sticking around. Everyone loves him and he fits right in.