Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor who appeared in more than 150 roles including memorable turns in Jurassic Park films, Peaky Blinders and The Piano, has died aged 78. His breakout role was in the 1977 New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs. Two years later, he landed a leading role in Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career as Harry Beecham, starring alongside Judy Davis.
Early Career and Breakout Roles
Neill's first major US television show was 1985's Kane & Abel, starring alongside Peter Strauss. Neill played an Ivy League-educated Wall Street banker, William Lowell Kane. He and Meryl Streep starred together in two major feature films – Plenty, 1985, and A Cry in the Dark, 1988. Neill embodied Neville Gifford, a charismatic drifter, in Ken Cameron's Australian romantic drama The Good Wife (1987). Set in rural NSW, the film stars Rachel Ward as a repressed housewife in a passionate love triangle.
International Success
Neill had more than 150 film and TV credits over five decades, including In the Mouth of Madness (1994), directed by John Carpenter. Streep was nominated for best actress for A Cry in the Dark (also known as Evil Angels) at the 1988 Academy Awards. She played Lindy Chamberlain, whose baby was taken by a dingo on a family camping trip to Uluru. Neill played Lindy's then husband Michael. Neill and Nicole Kidman played a married couple in the 1989 Australian psychological thriller Dead Calm. Neill later married makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he met on set. Their relationship ended in 2015.
Neill played Carl in the 1990 Australian black comedy Death in Brunswick – a leather jacket-wearing chef at a dingy club who accidentally kills a drug dealer and sets off a gang war. He played Captain Vasily Borodin in the 1990 blockbuster The Hunt for Red October, directed by John McTiernan. Neill's international success was accelerated by his role as New Zealand settler Alisdair Stewart in The Piano, directed by Jane Campion. The 1993 Oscar-winning film premiered at the Cannes film festival where it went on to win the Palme d'Or.
Jurassic Park and Beyond
Neill is perhaps best known for his cool and curmudgeonly character, Dr Alan Grant, in 1993's Jurassic Park. The actor went on to reprise his role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022), along with co-star Laura Dern. Jeff Goldblum, Dern and Neill attended the Jurassic Park Washington DC premiere at the Uptown Theater in 1993. Neill and Jason Scott Lee co-starred in the 1994 live-action adaptation of The Jungle Book. Neill and Robin Williams starred together in the 1999 science-fiction drama Bicentennial Man. Williams played an android, while Neill played Richard Martin, a rich family man who bought the robot.
Later Career and Personal Life
Neill as Brad 'The Jockey' Thompson in the 2005 Australian crime-drama Little Fish, directed by Rowan Woods. He appeared in 2007's Angel. Neill played the corrupt Maj Chester Campbell in Peaky Blinders from 2013. Guardian Australia's Luke Buckmaster called his performance 'deliciously entertaining … with plenty of chest-thumping dialogue'. Neill played cranky foster uncle Hector in Taika Waititi's beloved New Zealand comedy Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). He starred in Foxtel's The Twelve as Brett Colby SC, a quick-witted defence barrister.
Princess Diana talked with Neill at the UK premiere of Jurassic Park, at London's Empire Theatre in Leicester Square, 1993. Director Steven Spielberg, actors Kate Capshaw, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough stood by. Neill started a vineyard called Two Paddocks in Central Otago, New Zealand, in 1993. It was awarded sustainable vineyard of the year at the 2024 Aotearoa/New Zealand Organic Wine awards. It was also his home, where he named his farm animals after his colleagues, including Laura Dern (chicken), Kylie Minogue (duck) and Helena Bonham Carter (cow).
