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Sam Neill
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Sam Neill, DCNZM, OBE (born 14 September, 1947) is a New Zealand film and television actor, and owner of the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago. He is best known for his role in Reilly, Ace of Spies and playing paleontologist Doctor Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.
Contents
- 1 Biography
- 1.1 Early life
- 1.2 Acting career
- 1.3 Personal life
- 2 Filmography
- 3 References
- 4 External links
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Biography
Early life
Neill was born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, Northern Ireland, the second son of Dermot Neill, a Harrow and Sandhurst-educated army officer and third generation New Zealander, and his English wife, Priscilla. Neill's great-great grandfather aided in burning down the White House in the War of 1812.[citation needed] At the time of Neill's birth, his father was stationed in Northern Ireland. The family were the owners of Neill and Co., the largest liquor retailers in New Zealand.
Neill returned with his family to
New Zealand in 1954, where he attended the
Anglican boys' boarding school
Christ's College, in
Christchurch. He then went on to study English literature at the
University of Canterbury, where he got his first exposure to acting. While at Canterbury University he resided at
College House,
[1] where he held the position of Chief Castigator and Crime Crusher (CCACC). He then moved to
Wellington to continue his tertiary education at the
Victoria University, from which he graduated with a
Bachelor of Arts in
English Literature.
Acting career
After working at the New Zealand National Film Unit as a director and actor, Neill was cast as the lead in the New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs. Following this he appeared in the Australian classic, My Brilliant Career (1979), opposite Judy Davis.
This appearance led to his being selected to play Damien Thorn in Omen III: The Final Conflict in 1981, one of the sequels to The Omen. In the late-1970s his mentor was the notable British actor James Mason.
After Roger Moore made his last James Bond movie in 1985, Neill was seriously considered for the role in The Living Daylights. He impressed people with his screen test and was the preferred choice of director John Glen. However, Cubby Broccoli was not as impressed by Neill, and the role eventually went to Timothy Dalton instead. Since then, Neill has played heroes and villains in a succession of film and television dramas and comedies. In the UK, he became well-known in the early-1980s, starring in dramas such as Ivanhoe and notably in the title role of Reilly, Ace of Spies.
Neill is known for his leading and co-starring roles in major (mainly U.S.-funded) films including Dead Calm (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Piano (1993), Sirens (1994), Jurassic Park (1993), Event Horizon (1997), The Dish (2000) and Jurassic Park III (2001).
The film
Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995) was written and directed by Sam Neill and
Judy Rymer. In it Neill narrated his personal recollection of New Zealand film history.
Neill was asked to play the role of
Elrond in
The Lord of the Rings by
Peter Jackson, but turned it down because of his contractual obligations to another film, namely,
Jurassic Park III (2001). He hosted and narrated a series of 2002 documentaries for BBC entitled
Space (
Hyperspace in the United States).
Neill will not be reprising his role as Paleontologist
Alan Grant in the possible
2008 film
Jurassic Park IV.
In 2006, Neill also lent his voice to a series of radio ads for Fifth Third Bank in the midwestern U.S.
Personal life
Neill resides in Sydney, Australia and has one son, Tim (born in 1983), by New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, and one daughter, Elena (born in 1990), by makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he married in 1989. He is a supporter of the Australian Speak Easy Association and the British Stammering Association (BSA). Neill also supports the Australian Labor Party, Greenpeace, OxFam, and the World Wildlife Fund. He is a patron of the National Performance Conference. He also donated a pair of jeans to the Jeans for Genes® auction; they were painted by artist Merv Moriarty and auctioned off in August 1998.
Neill is friends with New Zealand musicians Neil Finn and Tim Finn (of Crowded House and Split Enz) and with Jimmy Barnes.
Filmography
Television
Films
References
