Sam Jaeger isn’t interested in playing it safe. With Wolf Man clawing its way into theaters and the final season of The Handmaid’s Tale on the horizon, Jaeger’s career trajectory has been anything but predictable. From indie comedies to prestige drama to straight-up horror, he’s zigged where others zagged.
“I think everybody’s path in life is surprising,” he says with a laugh. “I don’t know anybody who feels like, ‘Well, that traveled exactly the way I expected.’”
At this point, it’s hard to pin down exactly what an “expected” Sam Jaeger role even looks like. He made his mark as the lovable Joel on Parenthood, but instead of getting stuck in nice-guy dad purgatory, he veered left—playing complex, morally gray characters in The Handmaid’s Tale and Why Women Kill, and now, navigating the world of werewolves.
“If you have any sort of longevity in this business, you’re reduced to ashes multiple times,” Jaeger says. “It’s all about being humiliated at every walk of your life.”
From Parenthood to Horror: Making The Wolf Man
In Wolf Man, Jaeger plays a man watching his family—and his own body—come apart at the seams. It’s a far cry from his Parenthood days, but that’s exactly the point.
“Coming off Parenthood, I think a lot of people saw me as that guy—the earnest, good-hearted dude,” he says. “Which is great! But if you don’t break out of that, you’re just playing the same guy in different sweaters for the next decade.”
Instead, Jaeger found himself in a full-blown monster movie—one that, thanks to director Leigh Whannell (The Invisible Man), packs as much emotional weight as it does jump scares.
“This isn’t just about a guy turning into a werewolf,” Jaeger explains. “It’s about isolation, transformation—how much of ourselves we can hold onto when everything is changing around us.”
And yes, there’s a bit of real-world inspiration. “Leigh wrote a lot of this during COVID,” Jaeger says. “We were all stuck inside, losing our minds a little bit. He just took it to an extreme.”
Shooting took him to New Zealand, which—despite standing in for Oregon—provided its own surreal moments. “I came around a corner one day and thought, ‘Why do I know this place?’” Jaeger recalls. “Turns out, it’s where one of the towers stood in Lord of the Rings.”
The Handmaid’s Tale Bows Out—Without Tying It Up in a Bow
Meanwhile, The Handmaid’s Tale is gearing up for its final season, a milestone Jaeger isn’t taking lightly.
“You know, it’s funny—when the second season was announced, there was almost this collective, ‘Oh no, should they be doing this?’” he says. “Like, The Handmaid’s Tale is already a brutal watch, are we really going to keep digging in?”
Yet here we are, several seasons later, and the show remains as eerily relevant as ever. “We didn’t plan to be this relevant,” Jaeger says. “And we wish we weren’t. But here we are.”
Wrapping up a series like Handmaid’s is no easy task, and Jaeger knows it. “There’s a long history of great shows that just didn’t stick the landing,” he says. “Bruce [Miller, showrunner] was really focused on making sure we didn’t try to wrap up everything in some neat little package, because that’s not what this show is about.”
So, no, don’t expect a happily-ever-after. “If it all ends hunky-dory, then what was the point?” he says. “It’s a cautionary tale. It has to feel like one.”
Still, it’s not all doom and gloom. “The show has always been about people striving to do the right thing, even in impossible situations,” Jaeger notes. “If there’s any takeaway, I hope it’s that.”
Why The Wolf Man (and Monster Movies in General) Still Work
With Wolf Man, Jaeger finds himself in another story about transformation, albeit a slightly more literal one. “It’s always interesting to ask, ‘Why do we care about this story?’” he says. “Why, in 2025, are we still making werewolf movies? What’s the hook?”
For him, it comes down to universal themes. “A man losing the ability to communicate with his wife and daughter, becoming something unrecognizable—that’s horror, but it’s also just… life,” he says. “It’s what happens when people change, when families drift apart. That’s why it works.”
And, of course, there’s the fun factor. “Look, sometimes you just want to go to a theater and watch a werewolf rip some shit up,” he says, laughing. “Nothing wrong with that.”
Audience vs. Critics: The Ongoing Battle
One thing Jaeger is well aware of: horror movies, especially Blumhouse-produced ones, tend to have a rocky relationship with critics.
“There’s still that old-school thinking that if a movie opens in January, it’s basically a dump job,” he says. “Like, ‘Oh, they must not believe in it.’”
But audiences? That’s a different story.
“I saw it in a theater with a crowd, and my friend literally jumped out of his seat a few times,” he says. “That’s why we make these movies. Not for the critics, but for the people who just want to go out, sit in a dark room, and have a hell of a time.”
What’s Next for Sam Jaeger?
With Handmaid’s wrapping and Wolf Man howling its way into theaters, Jaeger is keeping his options open. “I’ve stopped trying to predict my career,” he says. “Every time I think I know what’s next, life just laughs at me.”
And honestly? He prefers it that way.
“If you’re just doing the same thing over and over, what’s the point?” he says. “I’d rather keep stumbling into weird, unexpected projects. So far, it’s working out.”
Watch the full interview above and then check out the trailer below
