In I Am Legend, Robert Neville’s dog is named Sam.
Sam is Neville’s loyal German Shepherd companion in the 2007 film, which stars Will Smith as a scientist living alone in a devastated New York City. The dog provides Neville with companionship and helps him maintain a routine while he searches for a cure to the infection that has transformed most survivors into dangerous creatures.
The name is short for Samantha, although Neville usually calls the dog Sam. Their relationship is one of the film’s emotional centers, and Sam also helps demonstrate how isolated Neville has become. The movie’s depiction differs from Richard Matheson’s 1954 novel, where Neville’s dog is not given the same central identity.
The film was directed by Francis Lawrence and is a loose adaptation rather than a scene-by-scene version of the novel. Its alternate ending also presents the infected in a different light, which is a common point of discussion among viewers.