Aren't opera directors meant to live in black polonecks? We'll forgive his questionable taste in shirts as he's the English National Opera's rising star and last year's winner of the prestigious European Opera-directing Prize.
How did he get into opera? In 2008, following the death of his father, Sam found a book of George Formby's music among his dad's possessions and became, "obsessed with wanting to be George Formby". The result was Learn to Play the Ukulele in Under an Hour (How George Formby Saved My Life) at the Edinburgh Fringe. Curiously, he was spotted and snapped up by Opera North – he knew nothing about the art form before that.
He wanted to be George Formby? Yes, but he shook that out of his system with the play. He joined the ENO last year. In April, Sam will direct Wolfgang Rihm's Jakob Lenz, "a thought-provoking exposé of how society makes pariahs of schizophrenics".
He says: "My other lifelong dream was to become a train driver. I got to the last round of interviews with Southern Railway, but never heard back."
We say: A penchant for florals, grade 8 ukulele and a fluency in Latin. Southern Railway's loss is the opera world's gain.
ENO presents Jakob Lenz at the Hampstead Theatre from 17-27 April (hampsteadtheatre.com)