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Sam Neill

Sam Neill
Sam Neill
Born: Sep 14, 1947 in Omagh, Northern Ireland
Occupation: Actor, Director, Writer,
Active: '80s-2000s
Major Genres: Drama, Thriller
Career Highlights: The Piano, Dead Calm, A Cry in the Dark
First Major Screen Credit: Sleeping Dogs (1977)
Filmography
CRY IN THE DARK, A 1988
DEAD CALM 1988
BLOOD OF OTHERS, THE 1984
HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER, THE 1990
PLENTY 1985
UNTIL THE END OF THE WORLD 1992
ONE AGAINST THE WIND 1991
QUESTION OF FAITH 1993
MEMOIRS OF AN INVISIBLE MAN 1992
RAINBOW WARRIOR 1993
PIANO, THE 1993
JURASSIC PARK 1993
IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS 1995
SNOW WHITE: A TALE OF TERROR 1997
EVENT HORIZON 1997
MERLIN 1998
IN COLD BLOOD 1999
HOSTAGE 1992
DEATH IN BRUNSWICK 1990
FEVER 1991
POSSESSION 1981
MOLOKAI: THE STORY OF FATHER DAMIEN 1999
JURASSIC PARK 3 2001
DISH, THE 2001
PERFECT STRANGERS 2003
YES 2004
REILLY: ACE OF SPIES 2005
IRRESISTIBLE 2006
LITTLE FISH 2005
MERLIN'S APPRENTICE 2006
INCREDIBLE JOURNEY OF MARY BRYANT, THE 2005
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO: MINISERIES-VOL. 1 2003
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO: MINISERIES-VOL. 2 2003
DOCTOR ZHIVAGO: MINISERIES 2003
DEAN SPANLEY 2008
ANGEL 2008
DAYBREAKERS 2010
ATTACK FORCE Z 1982
38 Videos for Sam Neill
Daybreakers (2010) The Dish (2000) One Against the Wind (1991)
Crusoe [TV Series] (2008) Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (1999) Until the End of the World (1991)
Dean Spanley (2008) Merlin (1998) Death in Brunswick (1990)
Angel (2007) Event Horizon (1997) The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Merlin's Apprentice: The Search for the Holy Grail (2006) Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) Dead Calm (1989)
Irresistible (2005) In Cold Blood (1996) A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Little Fish (2005) In the Mouth of Madness (1994) Leap of Faith (1988)
The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (2005) Jurassic Park (1993) Plenty (1985)
Wimbledon (2004) Rainbow Warrior (1993) The Blood of Others (1984)
Yes (2004) The Piano (1993) Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983)
Perfect Strangers (2003) Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) Attack Force Z (1982)
Doctor Zhivago (2002) Fever (1991) Possession (1981)
Jurassic Park III (2001) Megaville (1991)
Photos


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Biography:

One of the most famous film personalities to hail from the South Pacific, New Zealand-bred actor Sam Neill possesses the kind of reassuring handsomeness and soft-spoken strength that have made him an ideal leading man. Born Nigel Neill to a military family in Omagh, Northern Ireland, Neill relocated to New Zealand in 1953 at the age of six.

There he picked up the nickname that would become his stage name, and attended both the University of Canterbury and the University of Victoria before beginning his acting career. Neill labored as a director/editor/screenwriter for the New Zealand National Film Unit for several years; he made his first movie in 1975 and scored his first significant film success four years later as the romantic lead opposite Judy Davis in director Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career.

Shortly thereafter, Neill was brought to England under the sponsorship of star James Mason (who undoubtedly recognized the marked similarity between his acting style and Neill's). The actor's subsequent movie work included two memorable collaborations with actress Meryl Streep and director Fred Schepisi: Plenty (1985) and A Cry in the Dark (1988).

Neill's British TV credits were highlighted by his starring role in the unorthodox espionage drama Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), for which he won the British television BAFTA Best Actor award. He also began working on American films during the '80s, including the 1981 Omen sequel The Final Conflict (in which he demonstrated a considerable breadth of range as Satan's son Damien) and the 1987 TV miniseries Amerika.

Neill also kept busy with projects down under, with perhaps his most memorable film being Dead Calm (1989), a masterfully crafted thriller that starred the actor as Nicole Kidman's husband. Neill truly came to international prominence during the '90s (as evidenced by his guest spot as a cat burglar on an episode of The Simpsons).

He experienced a bumper-crop year in 1993, portraying the raptor-fearing Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg's blockbuster Jurassic Park, before returning to New Zealand to portray Holly Hunter's taciturn, unexpectedly violent husband in The Piano (1993). He was also honored with the Order of the British Empire that same year.

Neill continued to work on a wealth of diverse international projects throughout the rest of the decade, notably John Duigan's Sirens (1994), which cast him as a '30s bohemian artist; the Australian satire Children of the Revolution (1996), reuniting him with Judy Davis; Revengers' Comedies (1997), which cast him as a suicidal businessman; the acclaimed miniseries Merlin (1998), in which he played the titular wizard; Robert Redford's The Horse Whisperer (1998), as the husband of Kristin Scott Thomas (the two had previously co-starred in Revengers' Comedies); and Bicentennial Man (1999), which featured the actor as the head of a family who purchases an uncannily human robot played by Robin Williams. In addition to acting and managing a New Zealand winery, Neill directed an acclaimed 1995 documentary about the New Zealand film industry, Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill.

~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide.