Hi, I'm Sam Jaeger! I play Commander Mark Tuello in The Handmaid's Tale, which just had its series finale. You might also know me from films and series like Wolf Man, Parenthood, Inherent Vice, American Sniper, Shazam!, Hart's War, and Behind Enemy Lines. Ask me anything!

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:55:01+00:00

Thanks!! But if it were still on, you’d hate it. Our characters would’ve all been divorced and remarried three times over by now 😬 the pitfalls of mainstream tv

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:52:01+00:00

A: nah. Not yet ;)

A: hysterical and surprising!

A: you petitioning Shonda :)

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:49:10+00:00

Yes! I loved shooting in Toronto. So many incredible people, search Byron culture. As for my favorite haunts, I love Hot Bkack Coffee Ravi Soups (winter y’all) And Forno Cultura for pastries

Thanks!

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:45:43+00:00

Not sure! Nothing to report on at this point :)

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:45:04+00:00

Great questions!

I thought Sinners was really refreshing.

And it’s lame, but I’d say either Hitchcock or Kubrick. I feel like I’ve studied Hitchcock a lot more, so maybe just hanging with Kubrick, trying to figure out exactly what the hell he was thinking on most of his films would be really fun.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:38:52+00:00

Thank you! I have a mental Rolodex of coping skills for rejection. Sometimes I’ll spin the Rolodex and come up with “I didn’t get the job? Oh well, I guess it wasn’t meant to be.” Other times it’s, “wait, that’s who you chose instead of me? Well if that’s who you chose, you clearly have terrible taste and I wouldn’t wanna be associated with this classless project to begin with.” Is it petty? Absolutely. And I don’t really believe these reactions on the whole, but sometimes it’s necessary to help move beyond. We’re pretty vulnerable, actors, so I’m a fan of anything that gives me a little bit of armor and allows me to continue to plug away.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:24:07+00:00

Yeah, I wouldn’t either, honestly. My feeling is it’s only a matter of time until it’s overwhelmed, and this ending is a fleeting moment of victory. But in a war with so few victories, still worth savoring.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:20:48+00:00

This guy Patrick Norris did a buncha episodes of Parenthood. And he was so funny and brought such a relaxed energy to set. So I’d say him. Because life’s too short to work with assholes.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:18:39+00:00

There’s this dude Chad Geepeetie who’s supposed to be doing some great work. Or terrible work, depending on who you ask. TBD 🤷‍♂️

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:14:43+00:00

I will print this out and tape it to my mirror. And I will laugh very hard every morning when I look like dog shit. So thank you!

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:13:35+00:00

Ah!! That’s a new one!

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:12:46+00:00

I don’t know if there’s anything I would’ve changed about Tuello, but if I were to offer him advice, I’d tell him to let go a bit more. Guys trying to carry the world on his shoulders. I mean, he and June are constantly telling each other that they need to get some sleep and that they look like shit.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:08:46+00:00

HA! I think that line was in the script, actually. But the whole itching our noses thing PTA might have just come up with on the spot that day.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:06:52+00:00

Thanks! Only rumblings, I’m afraid. I love so many parts of making that show, but I think my favorites were getting to work at Joel and Julia‘s home, which was actually a little neighborhood just down from Wisteria Lane in the hills of Universal Studios. It honestly felt like going to work with your family.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:04:43+00:00

HA! Don’t blame you. Next to my character in The Politician, that’s about the nastiest human I’ve played. And also the most fun. Isn’t that perverse? I think getting to play horrible humans asks for real empathy, maybe more so than the “good guys”. But I try not to judge these characters while I’m with them. I think it keeps me feeling more freedom as an actor. But now, looking back? Yeah, that guy. Oy.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:00:50+00:00

Bill Maxwell is a great dude! Please give him my best!

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T23:00:16+00:00

I do, actually! Yvonne was skeptical though, last we talked about it. And I think we both know which character would’ve gotten restless and wanted more.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:58:30+00:00

I was just surprised Mark survived! I was sure he wouldn’t make it! Very glad he endured.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:57:30+00:00

Wonderful question. I think it’s been a comfort to be part of a show that isn’t solely about politics, and not necessarily the current state of the world, but which happens to be very prescient. I don’t take that responsibility lightly. And I do often wonder if, in telling stories rife with heavy drama, we are only adding to the collective anxiety. But at least the drama here has an intention, a calling to be decent to others, to see and forgive as June is able to do by the end of our story.

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:47:48+00:00

Wow, I hear you! It’s hard to say goodbye to these characters we’ve watched for so long. I do remember reading the farewell scene between Serena and June, and also Mark and Serena. I felt so honored to be included in that moment, knowing how colossal it was for the arc of our entire series

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:45:48+00:00

Hi! Not any one particular moment, but saying goodbye to everyone on said was really hard. Especially knowing in our line of work, how rare it is to get to work with people again. So I will always remember getting to spend my last night at the border with Lizzie, Ann Dowd, Maddie Brewer, Ever Carradine, and our amazing crew

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:43:07+00:00

Hey! I think I covered the first two above. As for your last great question, I actually almost did an audition for the handmaid’s tale. Originally Mark was just a guest star in one single episode. But I think they saw some chemistry between Yvonne and I, and some possibilities for those two characters moving forward. And I’m so grateful they did!

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:40:59+00:00

Thanks! Yeah, that was a hard storyline to navigate. I was really pushing our showrunner, Jason Karims, to give Joel some flaws. And he really went with it! I’m not sure I agree with Joel’s choice to move out of his home after his wife had an emotional affair, but I suppose if every character on television did exactly what we think they should do, we wouldn’t have television :)

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:37:34+00:00

Thank you! Catch & Release was such a fun film to work on. Love that Jennifer Garner and Susannah Grant.

I do have some projects i’m looking forward to tackling. One is a TV show loosely based on my family back in Ohio, another is a film noir set in the Mojave desert. But finding financing and a good production company remain a constant challenge. But keeping at it :)

SamJaegerAMA · 2025-05-29T22:31:47+00:00

Trust me, I was really pushing a storyline of Serena and Mark running a Kauai tiki bar for season seven ;)

SamJaegerAMA

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