Samba Schutte

Samba Dirk-Jan Schutte is a Mauritanian-Dutch actor, comedian, and writer. He is known for his role as Roach in the series Our Flag Means Death and for portraying Hakim in Sunnyside, the first Ethiopian character in an American sitcom. He also stars in the 2025 American sci-fi series Pluribus.

Early life and education Samba Dirk-Jan Schutte was born in Nouakchott, Mauritania, to a Mauritanian Muslim mother and a Dutch Christian father. At the age of two, he relocated to Ethiopia when his father began working for a non-governmental organization. In 2001, he moved to the Netherlands to study theatre at the Utrecht School of the Arts.

Career

Early career in the Netherlands Schutte began performing stand-up comedy in Dutch clubs in 2004, later joining the comedy collective Comedy Explosion. In 2006, he won both the Jury and Audience Awards at the Leids Cabaret Festival, leading to several years of national touring. He also worked as a writer and presenter for the Dutch adaptation of The Daily Show, titled .

United States In 2011, Schutte moved to Los Angeles on an O-1 visa for "Aliens of Extraordinary Ability." Schutte gained wider recognition for his role as the ship's cook Roach in the acclaimed HBO Max series Our Flag Means Death (2022–2023).

He has established a prolific voice-acting career, with roles in animated series such as The Legend of Vox Machina, Jurassic World: Chaos Theory, and Monster High. He also performed voice work for the video game Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (2024).

In 2025, he appeared as Koumba Diabaté in the Apple TV science fiction series Pluribus.

Personal life Schutte is multilingual, fluent in English, French, Dutch, and Amharic. 2026 Saturn Awards Best Guest Star in a Television Series Pluribus