Sam Neill

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Sam Neill

Acting

Biography

Sir Nigel John Dermot 'Sam' Neill (September 14, 1947 – July 13, 2026) was a New Zealand actor. His career 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.

Born in Northern Ireland to an English mother and New Zealand father, Neill moved to Christchurch with his family in 1954. He first achieved recognition with his appearance in the film Sleeping Dogs (1977), which he followed with leading roles in My Brilliant Career (1979), Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession (both 1981), Evil Angels (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), reprising the role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Dominion (2022).

Outside of film, Neill 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). He also starred as the titular character in Merlin (1998) and Merlin's Apprentice (2006), and as Major Chester Campbell in the first two series of Peaky Blinders (2013–2014). He has presented and narrated several documentaries.

Neill received 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 had three Golden Globe and two Primetime Emmy nominations. He won the Silver Logie for Most Popular Actor at the 2023 Logies.

Neill passed away at age 78 on 13 July 2026, in Sydney, Australia. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that he remained cancer free.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Sam Neill, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Films Featuring Sam Neill

Jurassic Park III

20016.2

The Horse Whisperer

19986.9

The Revengers' Comedies

19985.8

The Piano

19937.4

The Hunt for Red October

19907.4

Bicentennial Man

19997.3

Until the End of the World

19916.7

In the Mouth of Madness

19957.2

Memoirs of an Invisible Man

19925.9

Assassin Club

20236.0

The Jungle Book

19946.0

The Final Conflict

19815.8

The French Revolution

19897.5

Dead Calm

19896.6

Enigma

19825.6

The Blood of Others

19845.3

The Dish

20006.8

Possession

19817.3

Ice

20115.5

Dirty Deeds

20025.6

Angel

20075.5

Wimbledon

20046.2

Event Horizon

19976.6

Yes

20055.9

Forgotten Silver

19977.2

Snow White: A Tale of Terror

19976.1

The Magic Pudding

20005.2

Under the Mountain

20094.5

Children of the Revolution

19965.6

Sirens

19945.6

Little Fish

20055.8

Evil Angels

19886.8

Restoration

19956.1

Plenty

19855.7

Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole

20106.8

Perfect Strangers

20034.6

Framed

20025.3

Skin

20096.4

Attack Force Z

19825.9

Sleeping Dogs

19785.6

Death in Brunswick

19916.1

One Against the Wind

19917.1

Victory

19965.2

My Brilliant Career

19796.2

In Her Skin

20096.0

Ivanhoe

19826.4

Gallipoli

20057.1

Dean Spanley

20087.4

Irresistible

20065.5

Daybreakers

20106.3

Bring Him to Me

20235.7

The Hunter

20116.7

The Vow

20127.2

Robbery Under Arms

19856.5

The Making of 'Jurassic Park'

19957.3

Hunt's Duffer

19737.0

The City of No

19717.0

The Good Wife

19875.3

Escape Plan

20136.7

A Long Way Down

20146.2

Country Life

19946.1

Numero Bruno

20009.0

Iron Road

20096.3

From a Far Country

19814.6

Stiff

20047.9

The Making of Sleeping Dogs

2004

My Mother Frank

20005.0

Submerged

20015.6

Sally Hemings: An American Scandal

20008.0

The Zookeeper

20016.6

The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box

20135.7

Voice Activated

20227.0

The Pixar Story

20077.5

Jurassic Greatest Moments: Jurassic Park to Jurassic World

20227.0

Cowboys of Culture

1990

The Making Of Jurassic Park III

20015.0

For Love Alone

19863.7

Thor: Love and Thunder

20226.4

United Passions

20143.5

Shadow of China

19907.7

The Rainbow Warrior

19975.4

Scarygirl

20236.9

Fever

19913.9

Hostage

19923.8

Voyage of the Nautilus

Voyage of the Nautilus

20065.5

Backtrack

20155.8

The Daughter

20156.3

Why Anzac with Sam Neill

2015

Peter Rabbit

20186.7

Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway

20217.0

MindGamers

20154.7

Jurassic Park

19938.0

Jessica

20047.0

The Man in the Hat

2009

The Ordained

20131.0

Hunt for the Wilderpeople

20167.6

Just Out Of Reach

19797.0

The Journalist

19794.8

Tommy's Honour

20176.6

Strong Medicine

19868.0

New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands

20167.7

The Commuter

20186.4

SuperCroc

20017.7

T. REX

20246.2

Inside The Living Daylights

20008.0

Thor: Ragnarok

20177.6

David Stratton: A Cinematic Life

20174.6

The Making of 'Event Horizon'

20067.4

Sweet Country

20186.6

Working with a Master: John Carpenter

20066.0

Ride Like a Girl

20197.3

Molokai: The Story of Father Damien

19996.2

The Country Girls

19837.0

Mystery Ride

New Zild - The Story of New Zealand English

2005

Blackbird

20196.8

The Making of Daybreakers

20107.0

Return to Jurassic Park

20116.6

The Show Must Go On

20193.0

Rams

20206.2

Palm Beach

20195.3

Jurassic World Dominion

20226.6

Landfall

197510.0

Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story

20206.5

Sea Lions: Life By a Whisker

20206.0

Split Enz: Spellbound

1993

River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand

20135.0

Architect Athfield

197710.0

Question of Faith

19889.0

Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal

20216.4

Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill

19955.7

The Water Cycle

1972

Ashes

19758.0

Surf Sail

197810.0

Four Shorts on Architecture

19759.0

The Dragon Pearl

20114.6

The Portable Door

20236.5

Colin McCahon: I Am

20049.0

Masters of Illusion: The Wizards of Special Effects

19949.0

Inside 'The Piano'

1993

Verity Lambert: Drama Queen

2008

Godzilla x Kong: Supernova

2027

The Last Resort

The Last Resort

Not Only Fred Dagg But Also John Clarke

20259.0

The Fox

2026

Odyssey sur les traces de Sam Neill

20159.0

The Legend of Zelda

2027