Sam Neill

Sir Sam Neill
KNZM OBE
Neill in 2022
Born
Nigel John Dermot Neill

(1947-09-14) 14 September 1947 (age 77)
Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland
Citizenship
  • New Zealand
  • United Kingdom
  • Ireland
[1][2]
Education
OccupationActor
Years active1970–present
Spouse
Noriko Watanabe
​
​
(m. 1989; sep. 2017)​
Children4

Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill KNZM OBE (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor and vintner. Neill's career has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he is regarded as one of the most versatile actors of his generation.[3][4]

Born in Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Neill moved to Christchurch with his family in 1954.[5] He first achieved recognition with his appearance in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs, which he followed with leading roles in My Brilliant Career (1979), Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession (both 1981), Evil Angels (also known as A Cry in the Dark) (1988), Dead Calm (1989), The Hunt For Red October (1990), The Piano (1993) and In the Mouth of Madness (1994). He came to international prominence as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993),[6] a role that he reprises in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).

Outside of film, Neill has appeared in numerous television series in guest and recurring roles, including Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983), The Simpsons (1994), The Tudors (2007), Crusoe (2008–2010), Happy Town (2010), Alcatraz (2012), and Rick and Morty (2019), starring as Merlin in Merlin (1998) Merlin's Apprentice (2006) and Major Chester Campbell in the first two series of Peaky Blinders (2013–2014). He has presented and narrated several documentaries.

Neill is the recipient of the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, the Longford Lyell Award, the New Zealand Film Award and the Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor. He also has three Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy Award nominations.[7] He won the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor[8] at the 2023 Logies.

  1. ^ "Sam Neill on life, love, lymphoma and his brilliant career". 22 April 2023. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024. I've got three citizenships: Irish, British and New Zealand.
  2. ^ "Sam Neill on what he's learned". Belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 14 May 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2023. Retrieved 4 July 2024. I've got three passports. New Zealand, British and Irish
  3. ^ Screen, NZ On. "Sam Neill | NZ On Screen". www.nzonscreen.com. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  4. ^ "Revel in the versatile charm of Sam Neill". SBS Movies. 3 December 2021. Retrieved 16 November 2022.
  5. ^ "Sam Neill in Uncharted territory with new series". The New Zealand Herald. 4 August 2018. Retrieved 7 November 2018.
  6. ^ Yasharoff, Hannah (25 September 2019). "Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill to return for 'major roles' in 'Jurassic World 3'". USA Today. Archived from the original on 9 November 2019. Retrieved 25 October 2019.
  7. ^ Awards for Sam Neill at IMDb
  8. ^ Gossling, Kahla Preston and Bronte (30 July 2023). "Sam Neill wins most popular actor silver Logie: 'I think there has been a mistake'". Stuff. Retrieved 30 July 2023.