- Born
- Died
- Birth nameNigel Neill
- Height5′ 11¾″ (1.82 m)
- Sam Neill was originally from Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the son of army parents: an English mother, Priscilla Beatrice (Ingham), and a father from New Zealand, Dermot Neill. His family moved to the South Island of New Zealand in 1954. He went to boarding schools and then attended the universities at Canterbury and Victoria. The 6-foot tall star has a BA in English Literature. Following his graduation, he worked with the New Zealand Players and other theater groups. He also was a film director, editor and scriptwriter for the New Zealand National Film Unit for six years.
Sam Neill is internationally recognized for his contribution to film and television. He is well known for his roles in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993) and Jane Campion's Academy Award-winning film The Piano (1993). Other film roles include The Daughter (2015), Backtrack (2015) opposite Adrien Brody, MindGamers (2015), United Passions (2014), A Long Way Down (2014), Escape Plan (2013), The Hunter (2011) with Willem Dafoe, Daybreakers (2009), Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010), Little Fish (2005) opposite Cate Blanchett, Skin (2008), Dean Spanley (2008), Wimbledon (2004), Yes (2004), Perfect Strangers (2003), Dirty Deeds (2002), The Zookeeper (2001), Bicentennial Man (1999) opposite Robin Williams, The Horse Whisperer (1998) alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, Sleeping Dogs (1977), and My Brilliant Career (1979).
He received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the NBC miniseries Merlin (1998). He also received a Golden Globe nomination for One Against the Wind (1991), and for Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983). The British Academy of Film and Television honored Sam's work in Reilly by naming him Best Actor. Sam received an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in Jessica (2004).
Other television includes House of Hancock (2015), Rake (2010), Doctor Zhivago (2002), To the Ends of the Earth (2005), The Tudors (2007) with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Crusoe (2008), Alcatraz (2012) and recently in Old School (2014) opposite Bryan Brown, Peaky Blinders (2013) alongside Cillian Murphy and The Dovekeepers (2015) for CBS Studios.
- IMDb mini biography by: Shanahan Management
- SpousesNoriko Watanabe(September 2, 1989 - 2015) (divorced, 1 child)Lisa Harrow(1978 - 1989) (divorced, 2 children)
- Children
- ParentsPriscilla Beatrice Neill (Ingham)Dermot Neill
- He was cremated at Sydney Crematorium in Kemps Creek, Australia. His family subsequently sprinkled his ashes around Two Paddocks within the Central Otago region of New Zealand. This vineyard began in 1993.
- Suffered with a stammer when he was younger.
- Moved to New Zealand at age 7.
- One of the original candidates for the fourth and fifth actor to portray James Bond - 007 in The Living Daylights (1987) and GoldenEye (1995). Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan ended up as James Bond, respectively.
- He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991 for his work as an actor.
- "Of all the characters I've played, I think I have more in common with that guy than with Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983) referring to Carl Fitzgerald in Death in Brunswick (1990). Who Weekly (NZ) 8/23/93.
- Referring to The Simpsons (1989): "I'm playing a cat burglar. I've made it. This is the high point of my career. I'm really chuffed". EW, 7/23/93.
- "Perhaps we should look at somewhere else where they recently used the time-old bribe of tax cuts, and see how it worked. In 2000, George W. Bush, under the reasonable sounding 'compassionate conservatism', offered huge tax cuts. And he delivered. Take a look at America now. The rich are certainly richer, but the economy is in the tank, a healthy surplus has been converted into a massive deficit, and the U.S. is a place that cannot even afford the basics. Like maintaining levees in low-lying Louisiana. Might I suggest that tax cuts led indirectly to the flooding of New Orleans?".
- If all I did was acting, I'd go out of my mind.
- The pathetic thing about actors is they don't feel valid unless they're acting.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content
