Sam Neill Biography

Sam Neill (born Nigel John Dermot Neill), OBE (born 14 September 1947) is a British-born, New Zealand film and television actor, and owner of the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago. Born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, the second son of Dermot, a Harrow- and Sandhurst- educated army officer and third generation New Zealander (who was then stationed in Northern Ireland) and his English wife Priscilla.

His family returned to New Zealand in 1954, where Neill attended the Anglican boys' boarding school Christ's College, in Christchurch. Neill then went on to study English Literature at the University of Canterbury, where he got his first exposure to acting. His father's family were the owners of Neill and Co., the largest liquor retailers in New Zealand. He has a son, Tim (born in 1983), by New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, and a daughter, Elena (born in 1990), by makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he married in 1989.
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After working at the New Zealand National Film Unit as a director and actor, he 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 in Omen III: The Final Conflict, 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, Sam Neill was 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 impressed by Neill, and the role eventually went to Timothy Dalton instead. Since then, Neill has played heroes and villains in a succession of television and film 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 probably best known for his roles in US-funded films, including Dead Calm (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Piano (1993), and Jurassic Park (1993). He also starred in the 1997 science fiction horror-thriller Event Horizon, opposite Laurence Fishburne.

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 may be returning to his role as paleontologist Alan Grant in the upcoming film Jurassic Park IV.

SAM NEILL PICTURES

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SAM NEILL BIOGRAPHY