Sam Neill Biography (1947-)

Original name, Nigel John Dermot Neill; born September 14, 1947, in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland; raised in New Zealand; son of Dermot (in the British Army and in business) and Priscilla Neill; married Noriko Watanabe (amake-up artist), September, 1989; children: (with Lisa Harrow, an actress) Tim; (with Watanbe) Elena, Maiko (stepdaughter). Addresses: Agent: International Creative Management, 8942 Wilshire Blvd., Beverly Hills, CA 90211-1934.; Manager: Shanahan Management Pty., Ltd., P.O. Box 1509, Darlinghurst, New South Wales 1300, Australia.

Nationality: Irish
Gender: Male
Occupation: Actor, director
Birth Details: September 14, 1947; Omagh, Tyrone, Northern Ireland

Famous Works

CREDITS
Film Appearances
Telephone Etiquette (documentary), New Zealand Film Unit, 1974
Eric, Landfall, 1975
Priest, Ashes, 1975
Smith, Sleeping Dogs, Satori, 1977
Harry Beecham, My Brilliant Career, Almi Cinema 5, 1979
Mike, Just Out of Reach, Australian Film Commission, 1979
Rex, The Journalist, New South Wales Film Corporation, 1979
Damien Thorn, The Final Conflict (also known as Omen III: The Final Conflict), Twentieth Century-Fox, 1981
Marc, Possession, Limelight International, 1981
Dimitri Vasilikov, Enigma, 1982
Sergeant Danny "D. J." Costello, Attack Force Z (also known as The Z Men and Z-tzu te kung tui), Fauna Productions, 1982
James Quick, For Love Alone, United Artists, 1985
Lazar, Plenty, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1985
Neville Gifford, The Good Wife (also known as Peter Kenna's TheGood Wife, The Umbrella Woman, and Who's Zoomin Who), Atlantic Releasing, 1986
Michael Chamberlain, A Cry in the Dark (also known as Evil Angels), Warner Bros., 1988
John Ingram, Dead Calm, Warner Bros., 1989
Marquis de Lafayette (Marie-Joseph-Paul-Yves-Roch-Gilbert Motier, the Marquis De La Fayette), La revolution francaise (also known as The French Revolution and Die Franzoesische Revolution), 1989
Captain Vasily Borodin, The Hunt for Red October, Paramount, 1990
Carl Fitzgerald, Death in Brunswick (also known as Nothing to Lose), Meridian Films, 1991
Eugene Fitzpatrick, Bis ans Ende der Welt (also known as Untilthe End of the World and Jusqu'au bout du monde), Warner Bros., 1991
(As John Dermot) Television reporter, Shadow of China, 1991
Allan Galbraith, The Rainbow Warrior (also known as The Sinkingof the Rainbow Warrior), Bonny Dore Productions, 1992
David Jenkins, Memoirs of an Invisible Man (also known as Les aventures d'un homme invisible), Warner Bros., 1992
John Rennie, Hostage (also known as El proximo enemigo), Skouras Pictures, 1992
Dr. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park (also known as JP), Universal, 1993
Stewart, The Piano (also known as The Piano Lesson and La lecon de piano), Miramax, 1993
Colonel Brydon, Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (also known as The Jungle Book and El libro de la selva), Buena Vista, 1994
Dr. Max Askey, Country Life, Miramax, 1994
Norman Lindsay, Sirens, Miramax, 1994
Host and narrator, Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (also known as A Personal Journey by Sam Neill), Miramax, 1995
John Trent, In the Mouth of Madness (also known as John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness), New Line Cinema, 1995
King Charles II, Restoration, Miramax, 1995
Mr. Jones, Victory, Miramax, 1995
David "Dave" Hoyle (also known as Agent Nine), Children of the Revolution, Miramax/Roadshow Film Distributors, 1996
Himself, Forgotten Silver, WingNut Films, 1996
Dr. William Weir, Event Horizon, Paramount, 1997
Henry Bell, The Revengers' Comedies (also known as Sweet Revenge and Amour, vengeance et trahison), Miramax, 1998
Robert MacLean, The Horse Whisperer, Buena Vista, 1998
Prime minister Walter Murray Gibson, Molokai: The Story of Father Damien (also known as Damiaan, Father Damien, and Molokai), Unapix Entertainment/Vine International Pictures, 1999
Cliff Buxton, The Dish, Warner Bros., 2000
Professor Mortlock, My Mother Frank, Beyond Films/Filmfar, 2000
"Sir" Richard Martin, Bicentennial Man (also known as Der 200--Jahre Mann), Buena Vista, 2000
Voice of Sam Sawnoff (The Penguin), The Magic Pudding, Twentieth Century- Fox, 2000
Dr. Alan Grant, Jurassic Park III (also known as JP3), Universal, 2001
Ludovic, The Zookeeper (also known as Clovek v zoo), Moviefan Scandinavia, 2001
Himself, Numero Bruno, Hoodwink Pictures, 2001

Detective Ray Murphy, Dirty Deeds, Alliance Atlantis Communications, 2002
The Man, Perfect Strangers, Huntaway Films, 2003
Film Work
Director; Documentaries
Telephone Etiquette, New Zealand Film Unit, 1974
Four Shorts on Architecture, New Zealand Film Unit, 1975
Architect Athfield, New Zealand Film Unit/Television One, 1977
Flare: A Ski Trip, New Zealand National Film Unit, 1977
On the Road with Red Mole, New Zealand Film Unit/Television One, 1977
Surf Sail, New Zealand National Film Unit, 1978
Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (also known as A Personal Journey by Sam Neill), Miramax, 1995
Other
(Editor) Telephone Etiquette (documentary), New Zealand Film Unit,1974
(Editor) Four Shorts on Architecture (documentary), New Zealand Film Unit, 1975
(Stand-in) Death in Brunswick (also known as Nothing to Lose), Meridian Films, 1991
Television Appearances
Series
Sidney Reilly (title role; also known as Sigmund Rosenblum), Reilly--Ace of Spies, Thames Television, 1983, broadcast on Mystery!, PBS,c. 1984
Miniseries
Tony Duff, Lucinda Brayford, Australian Broadcasting Corporation,1980
William Lowell Kane, Kane and Abel, CBS, 1985
Vince Lord, Arthur Hailey's "Strong Medicine" (also known as Strong Medicine), syndicated, 1986
Colonel Andrei Denisov, Amerika (also known as Topeka, Kansas ... U.S.S.R), ABC, 1987
David Eberlin, Family Pictures, ABC, 1993
Agent Alvin Dewey, In Cold Blood, CBS, 1996
Title role, Merlin, NBC, 1998
Thomas Jefferson, Sally Hemings: An American Scandal, CBS, 2000
Victor Komarovsky, Doctor Zhivago (also known as Zhivago),Granada Television and PBS, 2002
Movies
Marian, From a Far Country: Pope John Paul II (also known as From a Far Country, Da un paese lontano, and Z dalekiego kraju), NBC, 1981
Brian de Bois-Guilbert, Ivanhoe, CBS, 1982
Mr. Gentleman, The Country Girls, 1983
Captain Starlight, Robbery under Arms (also known as Robo a mano armado), Independent Television Corporation, 1984
Dieter Bergmann, The Blood of Others (also known as Le sang desautres), HBO, 1984
Oscar Ogg, Leap of Faith (also know as Question of Faith),CBS, 1988
Elliott Mandel, Fever, HBO, 1991
Lord Friedrich Hoffman, Snow White: A Tale of Terror (also known as The Grimm Brothers' Snow White, The Grimm Brothers: Snow White inthe Black Forest, Snow White, Snow White in the Black Forest, and Snow White in the Dark Forest), Showtime, 1997
Eddie Meyers, Framed, TNT, 2001
Lieutenant commander Charles B. "Swede" Momsen, Submerged, PAX TV,2001
Specials
James Leggatt (the member of the Guards), "One against the Wind" (also known as "The Story of Mary Lindell"), Hallmark Hall of Fame, CBS, 1991
The Making of "Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book" (documentary), The Disney Channel, 1994
Visions of Grace: Robert Redford and "The Horse Whisperer" (documentary), Lifetime, 1998
Narrator, SuperCroc (documentary), NBC and National Geographic Channel, 2001
Presenter, Space (also known as Hyperspace and Space/Final Frontiers), BBC and The Learning Channel, 2001
Awards Presentations
Presenter, The 51st Annual Golden Globe Awards, TBS, 1994
Himself, The American Film Institute Salute to Steven Spielberg, NBC, 1995
Episodic
Crossland, "Do or Die," Young Ramsay, 7 Network, 1980
Voice of Molloy (the Springfield cat burglar), "Homer the Vigilante," The Simpsons (animated), Fox, 1994
Himself, The Late Show with David Letterman, CBS, 1996
Citytrans chief executive officer, The Games, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 1998
Himself, Rove Live, 10 Network, 2001
Himself, "Julian Fellowes," This Is Your Life, [Great Britain], 2002
Appeared as Ben Dawson, The Sullivans, 9 Network; appeared in episodes of other series, including Today (also known as The Today Show), NBC.
Stage Appearances
Performed in productions as a member of the Amamus Repertory Theatre, NewZealand.
Major Tours
Appeared in touring productions as a member of the Players Drama Quartet.
RECORDINGS
DVDs
Himself (in screen test in archive footage included on DVD), The Living Daylights, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Home Entertainment, 2000
Audiobooks
On the Beach, Listen for Pleasure, 1981
WRITINGS
Screenplays
Telephone Etiquette (documentary), New Zealand Film Unit, 1974
Four Shorts on Architecture (documentary), New Zealand Film Unit,1975
Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (also known as A Personal Journey by Sam Neill), Miramax, 1995

Further Reference

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals

Entertainment Weekly, July 23, 1993, pp. 18-19
Interview, June, 1993
Parade, May 10, 1998, p. 18
Premiere, July, 1993

Electronic

Huntaway Films, http://www.huntawayfilms.co.nz/html/frame.html, October 23, 2002
Sam Neill, http://www.ibiblio.org/samneill/snfaq.html, October 23,2002
Two Paddocks, http://www.twopaddocks.co.nz, October 23, 2002

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