The popular D&D/TTRPG livestream Critical Role has been around for about a decade. One of the core cast members, Sam Riegel, is beloved by fans for his comedy, musical talent, and emotionally-driven character performances. No spoilers here, but due to an in-game incident Riegel has not been seen at the gaming table in a while with his fellow castmates. The reason was recently revealed. On Critical Role’s Twitter/X channel, Riegel talked about his battle with cancer.
Sam Riegel was diagnosed with oropharyngeal carcinoma. He spent four days in a hospital after a surgery that removed his tonsil, part of his tongue, part of his soft palate, and left him with a large scar. Following that, he underwent six weeks of radiation therapy.
“I lost 20 pounds, I couldn’t taste, I got radiation burns, I could barely eat, and I cried a lot. But, I’m happy to report that today I am on the road to recovery.” – Sam Riegel
In Critical Role, Riegel is known for his lovable and memorable characters. His first was gnome bard Scanlan Shorthalt, and Riegel delighted fellow cast members and viewers by singing many of the spells. Scanlan is a member of Vox Machina, and those adventures have been turned into an Amazon Prime television series. He also played human artificer Taryon Darrington briefly, and Critical Role’s game publishing company, Darrington Press, is named after him. In the second D&D campaign, Riegal played the goblin rogue Nott the Brave. And in the most recent campaign he was playing aeormaton cleric Fresh Cut Grass (FCG) prior to Riegel’s departure.
Outside of Critical Role, he is known for his voice acting work. Some of his work includes Star Wars: The Bad Batch, Guild Wars 2: End of Dragons, DuckTales, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Ace Attorney, and much, much more.
In his video, Riegel encourages everyone to talk to a healthcare professional about getting the HPV vaccine as his type of cancer is now 100% preventable through the vaccine.
“So, the big takeaway is, go ask your doctor about that vaccine, please . . . You get the shot, you don’t get the cancer. So please, do not get this cancer. It is awful.”
Riegel was clearly emotional toward the end of the video, speaking about how overwhelmed the process has been and how much he misses his life prior to the cancer. But he promises that he is on the road to recovery, and is excited to get back into Critical Role.
