All the Actors Who’ve Played Sam Spade, From Humphrey Bogart to Clive Owen

While Bogart is the best known, several other actors have voiced the Dashiell Hammett character or one inspired by it

Humphrey Bogart, Clive Owen, George Segal
Humphrey Bogart, Clive Owen, George Segal (CREDIT: Getty Images, AMC)

Clive Owen takes on the role of private detective Sam Spade in the new AMC series “Monsieur Spade.” He’s the first actor in decades to play the Dashiell Hammett character made famous by Humphrey Bogart in the 1941 classic “The Maltese Falcon.”

But, as Spade fans know, Bogart wasn’t the first to play the P.I., just the best known. Hammett’s novel had already been adapted twice by Hollywood in now hard-to-find versions from 1931 and 1936.

Several other actors voiced the character for radio and still more, including Peter Falk and George Segal, played characters based on the hardboiled detective. Here’s the Sam Spade lineup, in chronological order:

Comments