Sam Neill
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Sam Neill | |
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Neill at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
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Born | Nigel John Dermot Neill 14 September 1947 Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom |
Nationality | British, New Zealand |
Education | Christ's College, Canterbury |
Alma mater | University of Canterbury |
Occupation | Actor, voice actor |
Years active | 1975–present |
Spouse(s) | Lisa Harrow (19?? – c. 1989); 1 child Noriko Watanabe (2 September 1989 – present); 1 child |
Contents
Early life
Neill was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the second son of Dermot Neill, a Harrow- and Sandhurst-educated British Army officer and third-generation New Zealander, and his English wife, Priscilla (née Ingham).[1] At the time of Neill's birth, his father was stationed in Northern Ireland, serving with the Irish Guards.[2] His father's family owned Neill and Co., the largest liquor retailers in New Zealand.In 1954, Neill returned with his family to New Zealand, 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 had his first exposure to acting. While at university he lived at College House.[3] He then moved to Wellington to continue his tertiary education at Victoria University, where he graduated BA in English literature.
In 2004, on the Australian talk show Enough Rope, interviewer Andrew Denton briefly touched on the issue of Neill's "very bad" stuttering. It affected most of his childhood and as a result he was "hoping that people wouldn't talk to [him]" so he would not have to answer back. He also stated, "I kind of outgrew it. I can still... you can still detect me as a stammerer."[4]
Neill first took to calling himself "Sam" at school where there were other Nigels and the name Nigel was "a little effete for ... a New Zealand playground".[4][5][6]
Acting career
After working at the New Zealand National Film Unit as a director, Neill was cast for the lead role in 1977 New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs. Following this he appeared in Australian romance My Brilliant Career (1979), opposite Judy Davis.In the late 1970s, his mentor was James Mason. In 1981 he won his first big international role, as Damien Thorn, son of the devil, in Omen III: The Final Conflict; also in that year, he played an outstanding main role in Andrzej Zulawski's cult film Possession. Later, Neill was also one of the leading candidates to succeed Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, but lost out to Timothy Dalton. His Bond screen-test can be found on the special features of the The Living Daylights (1987) DVD.
Among his many Australian roles is playing Michael Chamberlain in Evil Angels (1988) (released as A Cry In The Dark outside of Australia and New Zealand)[7] about the case of Azaria Chamberlain.
Neill has played heroes and occasionally villains in a succession of film and television dramas and comedies. In the UK he won early fame, and was Golden-Globe nominated, after portraying real-life spy Sidney Reilly in mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). His leading and co-starring roles in films include thriller Dead Calm (1989), two-part historical epic La Révolution française (1989)(as Marquis de Lafayette), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Jurassic Park (1993), Sirens (1994), Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994), John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (1995), Event Horizon (1997), Bicentennial Man (1999), and comedy The Dish (2000).
Neill has also occasionally acted in New Zealand films, notably The Piano (1993), which marked the first time a woman director (Jane Campion) had won the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. His other New Zealand features include Gaylene Preston's genre-crossing 'romance' Perfect Strangers, and a 2009 adaptation of science fiction tale Under the Mountain. Neill himself returned to directing in 1995 with documentary Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995) which he wrote and directed with Judy Rymer. Made as part of a BFI series marking the centenary of cinema, the film saw Neill providing his own take on New Zealand film history.
In 1993, Neill co-starred with Anne Archer in Question of Faith, an independent drama based on a true story about one woman's fight to beat cancer and have a baby.
In 2002, he hosted and narrated a documentary series for the BBC entitled Space (Hyperspace in the United States).
Neill also portrayed the legendary wizard in Merlin (1998), a miniseries based on the legends of King Arthur. He reprised his role as Merlin in the sequel, Merlin's Apprentice (2006), in which Merlin learns he fathered a son with the Lady of the Lake.
Neill starred in the historical drama The Tudors, playing Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. "I have to say I really enjoyed making The Tudors", Neill said,[8] “It was six months with a character that I found immensely intriguing, with a cast that I liked very much and with a story I found very compelling. It has elements that are hard to beat: revenge and betrayal, lust and treason, all the things that make for good stories."[8]
He also acted in short-lived Fox TV series Alcatraz as Emerson Hauser. By May 2012, he was working on the fantasy adventure movie Mariah Mundi and the Midas Box[9] throughout the South West of England, playing the role of Otto Luger. The movie is scheduled for release in 2013. He is currently starring in the new BBC series 'Peaky Blinders' set in post World War I Birmingham. He plays the role of Chief Inspector Chester Campbell who has come to clean up the town on Churchill's orders.
Personal life
Neill lives in Queenstown and owns a winery called Two Paddocks, made up of a vineyard at Gibbston and two near Alexandra, all in the Central Otago region of New Zealand's South Island.[10] He also has homes in Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. He has one son, Tim (born in 1983), by New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, and one daughter, Elena (born in 1991),[11] by makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he married in 1989. He also has a stepdaughter, Maiko Spencer, (born 1982) who is from Noriko Watanabe's first marriage. He is a supporter of the Australian Speak Easy Association and the British Stammering Association (BSA). He also supports the New Zealand Labour Party[12] and the Australian Labor Party. He is a patron of the National Performance Conference and donated a pair of jeans to the Jeans for Genes auction; they were painted by artist Merv Moriarty and auctioned in August 1998.Neill's hobby is running Two Paddocks. "I’d like the vineyard to support me but I’m afraid it is the other way round. It is not a very economic business", said Neill,[8] "It is a ridiculously time- and money-consuming business. I would not do it if it was not so satisfying and fun, and it gets me pissed once in a while."[8]
Neill is friends with New Zealand musicians Neil Finn and Tim Finn, of Crowded House and Split Enz, and with Australian musician Jimmy Barnes.[citation needed]
Neill has been appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM). When knighthoods were returned to the New Zealand Honours System in 2009, those with DCNZM or higher honours were given the option of converting them into knighthoods. Neill chose not to do this, saying the title of Sir was "just far too grand, by far".[13]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1975 | Landfall | Eric | |
Ashes | Priest | ||
1977 | Sleeping Dogs | Smith | |
1979 | Just Out of Reach | Mike | |
The Journalist | Rex | ||
My Brilliant Career | Harry Beecham | ||
1981 | Omen III: The Final Conflict | Adult Damien Thorn | |
Possession | Mark | ||
From a Far Country | Marian | ||
1982 | Ivanhoe | Brian de Bois-Guilbert | |
Attack Force Z | Sergeant D.J. (Danny) Costello | ||
1983 | Enigma | Dimitri Vasilikov | |
1984 | The Blood of Others | Bergman | |
The Country Girls | Mr Gentleman | ||
1985 | Robbery Under Arms | Captain Starlight | |
Plenty | Lazar | ||
1986 | For Love Alone | James Quick | |
1987 | The Good Wife | Neville Gifford | |
1988 | Evil Angels (A Cry in the Dark)[7] | Michael Chamberlain | AACTA Award for Best Leading Actor |
1989 | Dead Calm | John Ingram | |
La Révolution française | Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette | ||
1990 | The Hunt for Red October | Captain Vasily Borodin | |
Shadow of China | TV reporter | Credited as John Dermot | |
1991 | Death in Brunswick | Carl 'Cookie' Fitzgerald | Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Leading Actor |
Until the End of the World | Eugene Fitzpatrick | ||
1992 | The Rainbow Warrior | Alan Galbraith | |
Memoirs of an Invisible Man | David Jenkins | ||
Hostage | John Rennie | ||
1993 | The Piano | Alisdair Stewart | Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor |
Jurassic Park | Dr. Alan Grant | ||
Sirens | Norman Lindsay | ||
1994 | Country Life | Dr. Max Askey | |
Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book | Colonel Geofferey Brydon | ||
In the Mouth of Madness | John Trent | ||
1995 | Restoration | King Charles II | |
1996 | Children of the Revolution | Nine | |
Victory | Mr. Jones | ||
1997 | Event Horizon | Dr. William Weir | |
Snow White: A Tale of Terror | Lord Fredric Hoffman | ||
1998 | The Horse Whisperer | Robert MacLean | |
Sweet Revenge | Henry Bell | ||
The Revengers' Comedies | Henry Bell | ||
1999 | Molokai | Walter Murray Gibson | |
Bicentennial Man | 'Sir' Richard Martin | ||
2000 | My Mother Frank | Professor Mortlock | Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor |
The Dish | Cliff Buxton | ||
The Magic Pudding | Sam Sawnoff | Voice role | |
2001 | Jurassic Park III | Dr. Alan Grant | |
The Zookeeper | Ludovic | Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Award for Best Actor | |
2002 | Dirty Deeds | Ray | |
Leunig Animated | Narrator | ||
2003 | Perfect Strangers | The Man | |
Yes | Anthony | ||
2004 | Wimbledon | Dennis Bradbury | |
2005 | Gallipoli | Narrator | Voice role |
Little Fish | The Jockey | ||
2006 | Irresistible | Craig | |
2007 | Angel | Théo | |
2008 | Dean Spanley | Dean Spanley | |
Skin | Abraham Laing | ||
2009 | In Her Skin | Mr. Reid | |
Iron Road | Alfred Nichol | ||
Under the Mountain | Mr. Jones | ||
Daybreakers | Charles Bromley | ||
2010 | Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole | Allomere | Voice role |
2011 | The Dragon Pearl | Chris Chase | |
The Hunter | Jack Mindy | Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor | |
2012 | The Vow | Bill Thornton | |
2013 | Escape Plan | Dr. Kyrie | |
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box | Otto Luger | ||
2014 | United Passions | João Havelange | |
A Long Way Down | Jess's father |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1982 | Ivanhoe | Brian de Bois-Guilbert | |
1983 | Reilly, Ace of Spies | Sidney Reilly | 12 episodes Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
1985 | Kane and Abel | William Lowell Kane | |
1987 | Amerika | Colonel Andrei Denisov | |
1991 | One Against the Wind | Sergeant James Liggett | |
1993 | Family Pictures | David Eberlin | |
1994 | The Simpsons | Malloy | Voice role Episode: "Homer the Vigilante" |
1995 | Forgotten Silver | Himself | |
1996 | In Cold Blood | Agent Alvin Dewey | |
1998 | Merlin | Merlin | Nominated - Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Miniseries or Television Film |
The Games | Citytrans CEO | Episode: "Transport" | |
2000 | Sally Hemings: An American Scandal | Thomas Jefferson | |
2001 | Submerged | Lt. Cmdr. Charles B. 'Swede' Momsen | |
2002 | Doctor Zhivago | Victor Komarovsky | |
Framed | Eddie Meyers | ||
2004 | Stiff | Lionel Merricks | |
Jessica | Richard Runche | Logie Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series Nominated - AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama |
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2005 | The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant | Governor Arthur Phillip | 2 episodes |
To the Ends of the Earth | Mr. Prettiman | 3 episodes | |
The Triangle | Eric Benerall | 3 episodes Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actor on Television |
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2006 | Merlin's Apprentice | Merlin | |
Two Twisted | Mick | Episode: "Von Stauffenberg's Stamp" | |
2007 | The Tudors | Cardinal Thomas Wolsey | 10 episodes Nominated—Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Drama Series Nominated—Monte-Carlo Television Festival Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series |
2008–2010 | Crusoe | Jeremiah Blackthorn | 14 episodes |
2009 | Happy Town | Merritt Grieves | 8 episodes |
2010 | Rake | Dr Bruce Chandler | Episode: "R vs Chandler" |
2011 | Ice | Anthony Kavanagh | |
2012 | Alcatraz | Emerson Hauser | 13 episodes |
2013 | Peaky Blinders | C.I. Campbell | 6 episodes |
Harry | Jim “Stocks” Stockton | ||
2014 | Old School | Ted Macabe |
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