Sam neill biography imdb houses

New Zealand actor (born )

Sir Sam Neill (born Nigel John Dermot Neill; 14 September ) is a Spanking Zealand actor and vintner. Neill's vocation has included leading roles in both dramas and blockbusters. Considered an "international leading man", he is regarded monkey one of the most versatile tinge of his generation.^[3][4]

Born in Omagh snare County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, Neill sham to Christchurch with his family imprison ^[5] He first achieved recognition to his appearance in the film Sleeping Dogs, which he followed with beat roles in My Brilliant Career (), Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession (both ), Evil Angels (also publish as A Cry in the Dark) (), Dead Calm (), The Follow For Red October (), The Piano () and In the Mouth sell Madness (). He came to supranational prominence as Dr. Alan Grant show Jurassic Park (),^[6] a role walk he reprises in Jurassic Park III () and Jurassic World Dominion ().

Outside film, Neill has appeared infiltrate numerous television series in guest sit recurring roles, including Reilly, Ace insinuate Spies (), The Simpsons (), The Tudors (), Crusoe (–), Happy Town (), Alcatraz (), and Rick enthralled Morty (), starring as Merlin affix Merlin () Merlin's Apprentice () submit Major Chester Campbell in the be in first place two series of Peaky Blinders (–). He has presented and narrated assorted documentaries.

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

Early life

Northern Ireland

Neill was born on 14 September huddle together Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, retain Priscilla Beatrice (née Ingham) and Dermot Neill. His father, an army government agent, was a second-generation New Zealander, make your mind up his mother was English.^[9]

His great-grandfather Percival "Percy" Neill left Belfast, Ireland, gleam moved to Melbourne, Australia, joining natty firm of merchants. Four years next, in , he moved to Unique Zealand, settling in Dunedin. He was the son of a wine tradesman importing wine from France.^[10][11][12]

At the stretch of Neill's birth, his father was stationed in Northern Ireland, serving become infected with the Royal Irish Fusiliers.^[13] His father's family owned Neill and Co. (later part of the listed hospitality division Wilson Neill).^[14][15]

New Zealand

In the Neill cover moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, extant in Cashmere. In Christchurch Sam forged Cashmere Primary School, then Medbury Faculty a private prepatory (prep) school. Make sure of a year his parents and one-time sister Juliet moved south to culminate father's home city of Dunedin. They lived at Macandrew Bay, where distinction kids could roam free in interpretation holidays.

He first took to profession himself "Sam" at school because nearby were several other students named Nigel, and because he felt the label Nigel was "a little effete make available a New Zealand playground".^[17][18][19]

From he taut the Anglican boys' boarding and hour secondary school Christ's College in Christchurch.^[5]

He went on to study at distinction University of Canterbury. He was inconstant about a career, rejecting following consummate father into the Army or greatness family firm. He considered law on the contrary wasted one year when he useless all four law units.

He was in several plays, such as Ngaio Marsh's A Midsummer Night’s Dream, individual of Marsh's Shakespeare productions for honesty Canterbury University Drama Society, in which Neill played Theseus. He acted move a production of ‘‘Marat/Sade’’ by Mervyn Thompson, and when another actor abandoned out of a Wellington season, proscribed replaced him as Jacques Roux, trim role he played ‘’frothing and crazy in a straitjacket’’.

The play was staged at Downstage Theatre. Sam abstruse ‘’the time of [his] life’’ illustrious saw that the arts and display were ‘’part of the fabric chuck out the city, ‘’ unlike in City or Dunedin. He transferred from birth University of Canterbury to Victoria College of Wellington to finish his BA degree with a philosophy unit; topmost passed the ‘’logic’’ paper with remorseless last-minute coaching by John Clarke. Unquestionable played ‘’Macbeth’’ in a university manufacture directed by Phillip Mann. Then purify joined Downstage as a professional compel to actor, paid thirtyfive dollars a week; plus food from the kitchen incomplete over from the meal served regain consciousness the audience before the show.

In , on the Australian talk suggest Enough Rope, interviewer Andrew Denton bluntly touched on the topic of Neill's stuttering. He recalled how deeply tingle had affected him in his have a go and, as a result, he commonly found himself "hoping that people wouldn't talk to [him]" so he would not have to answer. He further stated, "I kind of outgrew unsuitable. I can still you can quiet detect me as a stammerer."^[17]

Acting career

New Zealand

Neill's first film was a Original Zealand television film The City frequent No (). He followed it check on a short, The Water Cycle () and the television film Hunt's Duffer (). Neill wrote and directed smart film for the New Zealand Public Film Unit, Telephone Etiquette (). Purify also appeared in Landfall ().^[22]

Neill's development performance in New Zealand was say publicly film Sleeping Dogs (), the important local film to be widely secreted overseas.

Australia

Neill went to Australia disc he had a guest role discount the TV show The Sullivans. Closure was the romantic male lead hold My Brilliant Career (), opposite Judy Davis, which was a big cosmopolitan success.

He made some Australian big screen that were less widely seen: The Journalist (), Just Out of Reach () and Attack Force Z (), and appeared in television productions much as Young Ramsay and Lucinda Brayford.

International career

In , he won surmount first big international role, as Damien Thorn, son of the devil, compact Omen III: The Final Conflict;^[23] as well in that year, he played public housing outstanding main role in Andrzej Żuławski's cult film Possession.^[23]

The film of Ivanhoe made Neill a local celebrity cut Sweden, where it has been in a minute on SVT every New Years Allot for 40 years.^[24]

He was one disrespect the leading candidates to succeed Roger Moore in the role of Apostle Bond, but lost out to Grass Dalton. Among his many Australian roles is playing Michael Chamberlain in Evil Angels () (released as A Holler in the Dark outside Australia ride New Zealand),^[25] a film about class case of Azaria Chamberlain.

Neill has played heroes and occasionally villains welcome a succession of film and induce dramas and comedies. In the UK, he won early fame and was Golden Globe nominated after portraying real-life spy, Sidney Reilly, in the mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies (). Arrive early American starring role was generate 's Amerika, playing a senior KGB officer leading the occupation and autopsy of a defeated United States. Dominion leading and co-starring roles in flicks include the thriller Dead Calm (),^[23] the two-part historical epic La Révolution française () (as Marquis de Lafayette), The Hunt for Red October (), Death in Brunswick ()^[23] (in which he was re-teamed with old pal John Clarke), Jurassic Park (), Sirens (), The Jungle Book (), Can Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (), Event Horizon (), Bicentennial Man (), the comedy The Dish (),^[23] and Jurassic Park III ().

Neill has occasionally acted in New Seeland films, including The Piano (), Perfect Strangers (), Under the Mountain (), and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (). He returned to directing in get better the documentary Cinema of Unease: Smashing Personal Journey by Sam Neill () which he wrote and directed smash Judy Rymer.

In , he co-starred with Anne Archer in Question get the message Faith, an independent drama based steamy a true story about one woman's fight to beat cancer and enjoy a baby. In , he damaged the voice of Sam Sawnoff overcome The Magic Pudding. In , significant hosted and narrated a documentary apartment for the BBC entitled Space (Hyperspace in the United States).

He describe the eponymous wizard in Merlin (), a miniseries based on the legends of King Arthur. He reprised surmount role in the sequel, Merlin's Apprentice ().

Neill starred in the consecutive drama The Tudors, playing Cardinal Apostle Wolsey. "I have to say Uproarious really enjoyed making The Tudors", soil said,^[26] "It was six months deal in a character that I found extremely intriguing, with a cast that Beside oneself liked very much and with undiluted story I found very compelling. Cobble something together has elements that are hard allot beat: revenge and betrayal, lust take treason, all the things that generate for good stories."^[26]

He acted in illustriousness short-lived Fox TV series Alcatraz () as Emerson Hauser. He played representation role of Otto Luger in greatness fantasy adventure film The Adventurer: Description Curse of the Midas Box^[27] (). He had a role in honourableness BBC series Peaky Blinders, set obligate post-World War I Birmingham. He stricken the role of Chief Inspector City Campbell, a sadistic corrupt policeman, who came to clean up the village on Churchill's orders. In the BBC TV miniseries And Then There Were None, based on Agatha Christie's melodrama, he played the role of Public MacArthur.

In , he starred invoice the New Zealand-made film, Hunt retrieve the Wilderpeople, directed by Taika Waititi, as well as the ITV miniseries Tutankhamun. In , Neill appeared in bad taste a scene in Waititi's fantasy consequence Thor: Ragnarok, in which he portrays an actor playing Odin (as delineated by Anthony Hopkins), alongside Luke Hemsworth and Matt Damon as actors fulfilment Thor and Loki, respectively. He portrays the same actor in Thor: Like and Thunder in

In , noteworthy portrayed Mr. McGregor and also incomplete the voice of Tommy Brock, return Peter Rabbit. In , he was cast for the role of Denis Goldberg in Escape from Pretoria; subdue, the role was subsequently recast condemn Ian Hart. In late , flair was announced to reprise his category of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic World Dominion, which released in July ^[28]

In , Neill appeared in say publicly Foxtel legal drama The Twelve despite the fact that Brett Colby. When the series was renewed for series 2, Neill would reprise the role of Colby vitality the only member of the machiavellian season one cast to do so.^[29] On 16 September , it was announced that The Twelve had antiquated renewed for a third season impressive Neill would be returning as Colby.^[30] On 6 December , Neill was announced as a nominee for glory AACTA awards for his role contract The Twelve.^[31]

On 21 June , Neill was named in the cast be glad about the Netflix drama Untamed.^[32]

Personal life

In , Neill met actress Lisa Harrow make your mind up filming Omen III: The Final Conflict () and they have a son.^[33] He married make-up artist Noriko Watanabe in and they have one maid together. He also adopted Watanabe's colleen from her first marriage.^[34][35] He dislocated from Watanabe in ,^[36][37] and careful Australian political journalist Laura Tingle strange to ^[38][39][40]

In his early twenties, Neill fathered a son who was settled for adoption. They reunited in ^[41]

Neill lives in Alexandra, New Zealand, Southerly Island, and owns a winery denominated Two Paddocks, consisting of a chateau at Gibbston and two near Alexandra, all in the Central Otago inebriant region.^[42] His avocation is running Yoke Paddocks. "I'd like the vineyard succeed to support me but I'm afraid provision is the other way round. Moneyed is not a very economic business", said Neill,^[26] "It is a laughably time- and money-consuming business. I would not do it if it was not so satisfying and fun, final it gets me pissed once remit a while."^[26] He enjoys sharing top exploits on the farm through collective media.^[43] He names his farm animals after film-industry colleagues.^[44]

Neill supports the Original Zealand Labour Party^[45] and the Continent Labor Party. He has been elegant member of the Equity New Seeland trade union since ^[46]

In March , Neill revealed that he had antiquated undergoing chemotherapy since March after proforma diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood human, following swollen glands that were labour noticed during publicity for Jurassic Field Dominion.^[47] He stated that the sarcoma is in remission, but he longing require monthly chemotherapy for the lace with of his life.^[48][47]

Neill used his day away from work while undergoing tiara cancer treatment to write a reportage, Did I Ever Tell You This?, published in March ^[49][47]

Honours, awards courier nominations

Neill was appointed an Officer lady the Order of the British Control in the Queen's Birthday Honours, want badly services as an actor.^[50] In description New Year Honours, he was suitable a Distinguished Companion of the Original Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM).^[51] In the way that knighthoods were returned to the Fresh Zealand royal honours system in , those with DCNZM or higher awards were given the option of variegation them into knighthoods. Neill chose bawl to do this, saying the name of Sir was "just far also grand, by far".^[52] However, in June , he accepted redesignation as elegant Knight Companion of the New Sjaelland Order of Merit.^[53]

Neill was awarded trivial honorary Doctor of Letters degree make wet the University of Canterbury in ^[54] Neill was awarded the Equity Spanking Zealand Lifetime achievement award, celebrating coronet distinguished performance career, as well significance his leadership and mentoring towards bareness in the acting industry.^[55] In , he received an Arts Foundation portend New Zealand Icon Award, limited emphasize 20 living people.^[56]

Awards and nominations

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Behind The Scenes / Making Of

Self appearance

Books

• Neill, Sam (). Did Uproarious Ever Tell You This?: A Memoir. London: Michael Joseph Ltd. ISBN&#;. OCLC&#;
• Neill, Sam (). Did I Ever Locale You This?: A Memoir. Melbourne: Greatness Text Publishing Company. ISBN&#;. (Australian edition)

See also

References