Sam Salter is a dancer, model and West End performer who is starring as Clive in Nutcracker, which is a reimagining of the festive classic The Nutcracker.
The reimagining reportedly explores a lot of LGBTQ+ themes, including the romance of Salter’s Clive and Action Man, who is portrayed by Amonik Melaco. Salter was able to overcome a difficult injury in the past, and is now starring in the Nutcracker production, which marks his first lead role onstage.
In July 2020, the dancer posted about his struggles on coming to terms with his sexuality, as well as his experience coming out to his family, sharing:
““Okay fine I’m gay”
I almost screamed out at the dinner table. It felt like two years of confusion suddenly came to a standstill when my parents smiled and said, “that’s okay…we knew anyway”. Relief. I’m fortunate to have a family that understood and showed kindness and patience from the beginning. I know that isn’t everyone’s truth, I feel grateful I had a upbringing that showed me acceptance from day 1.”
In a recent interview with Attitude, he further opened up about his journey to self-discovery and acceptance.
“I think I was in year six, and there was a naughty kid from the secondary school that had to do community service at the school. He was running around with a football, and I was just chasing after him. I thought I admired him, but actually I think I was quite infatuated with him,” Salter recalled.
He also admitted,
“Coming out for me was really tough because I did not want to be gay; I wanted desperately to be straight. The stigma of a dancer being gay was just so obvious. I didn’t want to be gay, and I struggled for years even when I came out.”
The journey may be long and difficult for Salter, but he was able to overcome those challenges in the end. <3
“Growing up, I wish I [had known] myself, and that I [had been] f**king strong with my emotions. I wish I [had been] like, ‘No, this is who I am.’ I believe I am that now, but it took some time,” he shared.
Moreover, the dancer is honest and open about previously struggling with addiction, and he used to post about it on social media. In an interview with Chromatica Magazine, he stated:
“Sharing my story has always been important to me, I get many messages from people online saying that they saw my videos and it helped them get sober/cut down/recognize it.”
“So, I’ve been sober on and off since I was 23. I’m 29 now, so [it’s been] quite a long time. I felt a lot of pressure when I was really open [on social media] a few years ago. The positive side was that I was helping a lot of people, and they were really relating to what I was going through. But then I’d relapse, and I would feel this [enormous amount] of pressure building on top of me,” he also told Attitude.
Salter further touched on the topic of sobriety, sharing:
“One really magical thing about sobriety — I don’t want to be in any way preachy — but I feel things very strongly now. And I love that. And I’m a lot more emotional, I’m a lot more intact. I’m not [feeling] guilt and shame weekly, which is really special.”
And as for what he is looking forward to in the new year, he revealed that he’d “love to work with another actor on a movie.” The dancer expressed,
“I love teaching, and I love films, so I’d love to do another feature film with an actor that wants to dance.”
Now that we’ve gotten to know a bit more about the talented hottie that is Sam Salter, let’s also take a moment to admire some of his thirst-worthy pics, shall we? 😉
Sources: attitude.co.uk, chromaticamagazine.com
‘Okay fine I’m gay.’ I love that he started his post that way. I’ve said it before but the majority of male dancers are gay as myself being one. I’d say around 90% are gay in my experience.