Photography: © Fiona Goodall / Guardian / eyevine/Headpress.
Sir Sam Neill once said he “overcame the ordinariness of his appearance” to become a movie star, yet there was nothing average about this beloved actor and all-round local legend, who spread joy wherever he went.
Nicole Kidman called him “charming, kind, funny and intelligent”. Russell Crowe described him as “wise, impish, graceful and warm”. And Dame Jacinda Ardern said he was “a thoughtful, curious and decent person – someone who was principled, unafraid of speaking his mind and willing to take up a fight when he saw injustice”.
Sam was all those things and more, and the outpouring of grief over his unexpected death last week is a testament to the huge legacy he leaves behind, not just in the 100-odd films he appeared in, but in life. The much-loved star of The Piano, Jurassic Park and Hunt For The Wilderpeople was born in Northern Ireland and moved to New Zealand at age seven, growing up first in Christchurch and then Dunedin. After making it big in Hollywood, the keen winemaker settled down on his beloved Two Paddocks vineyard in Central Otago.
The tragedy no one expected
When he died suddenly and unexpectedly of pneumonia in Sydney last Monday, at age 78, the news came as a profound shock to his army of friends and fans, who all thought Sam had been given a second chance.
Just three months ago, the actor announced he’d won his five-year battle with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer.
Shaken Kath & Kim star Magda Szubanski, 65, a close friend who also has lymphoma, took to social media just hours after the news broke, saying, “When I spoke to him not long ago, he was cancer-free, and really happy and excited about life, so this is just devastating.”
His partner of three years Laura Tingle – who split from Sam in 2021, just before his cancer diagnosis, and remained a best mate – says his “poor old body just sort of got a bit exhausted”.
A courageous fight until the very end
The Aussie journalist adds, “He’s been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks, and everybody who loved him has been willing him on from near and far, but I think it was just a bit too much to recover from one more time. “He’d had a lot of chemo and immunotherapy, and thankfully, it finally cleared him of the blood cancer that he had, but that left him pretty compromised in terms of his immune system.”
Laura, 65, remembered that Sam had loved the challenge of acting ever since he first moved to Aotearoa as a shy young boy who had to overcome a stutter. He said himself the “bullying” he received at Christ’s College boarding school had moulded him into a thespian.
“I learnt to perform as something else,” he explained.
“I was in the shadows quite a bit, probably observing what other people were doing, how they acted, how they stood and how they behaved towards each other. That was a very formative experience for me.”
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The making of a screen icon
It was also at school, when he was 11, that he changed his name from Nigel to Sam, something he called the “best decision of my life – imagine being a movie actor called Nigel Neill”!
While he initially studied law at the University of Canterbury, his love for performing never faded away and he got his big break starring opposite Sir Ian Mune in 1977 political thriller Sleeping Dogs, which proved he was every inch a leading man.
Australian period drama My Brilliant Career in 1979 was Sam’s international breakthrough and, in 1981, the handsome star made his Hollywood debut as the Antichrist in horror Omen III: The Final Conflict. He went on to become one of the movie industry’s most in-demand actors, picking up nominations for three Emmys and two Golden Globes along the way, and even auditioning for the role of James Bond.
Sam Neill in his iconic films:
Evil Angels
Dead Calm
Jurassic Park
The Piano
Peaky Blinders
Hunt For The Wilderpeople
A family reunited after decades apart
Seven years before Sleeping Dogs, Sam fathered a son named Andrew, who was placed for adoption, with the pair only reuniting 25 years later, when they both went looking for each other. Andrew is the eldest of Sam’s four kids. He also has a son called Tim with Kiwi actress Lisa Harrow, whom he fell in love with while shooting the 1981 film The Final Conflict, and two daughters with his ex-wife, makeup artist Noriko Watanabe. He and Noriko welcomed Elena in 1991 and Sam also adopted Noriko’s daughter Maiko.
He was also an incredibly proud and devoted grandfather to eight grandkids, plus one great-grandchild, occasionally sharing sweet moments with grandsons Nahlo and Felix, and twins Molly and Poppy, on Instagram.
The future he so desperately wanted
When he revealed in his 2023 memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? that he was undergoing chemo for cancer, Sam insisted he wasn’t afraid of dying but that it would “annoy” him as he wanted to live long enough to try Two Paddocks’ upcoming vintage of Chardonnay – and to see his “lovely grandchildren” grow up.
Sam’s son Tim says he was surprised at just how much his “private and reserved” dad embraced social media in recent years, sharing videos of his huge collection of farmyard pets that he “genuinely adored”.
The famous faces on his farm
The Dr Doolittle antics were all the funnier as most of the animals were named after his celebrity friends and co-stars, including chickens honouring Sir Michael Caine, Meryl Streep, Usain Bolt, Dame Kristin Scott Thomas and Holly Hunter, a cow named Helena Bonham Carter and a pig called Amy Adams.
How he made the world smile
A noisy rooster was given the name Michael Fassbender, with Sam quipping, “I tend to refer to him as my big cock.”
Sam started making his social media videos to cheer the world up during the pandemic, saying he felt a responsibility to make people feel a little less bleak in such uncertain times.
“I’m actually in the cheering up business,” explained Sam, who also taught himself to play the ukulele, and counted musicians Tim Finn and Jimmy Barnes as close mates.
“Sam was a big part of our lives,” says Jimmy.
“He lifted our spirits when he walked in the room. Sam was everything he appeared to be on the screen – caring, funny, intelligent, charming, honest, talented… The list could go on.”
Star Tributes
Taika Waititi
“So long, my dear friend. You are so loved and will be sorely missed by us all. Even though you didn’t remember it, I still think your best work is when you explained space travel by poking a pen through a piece of paper in Event Horizon… I’m not sure what other roles you did, but whatever. Love you and see you soon, sweet Nigel.”
Sara Wiseman
“A true gentleman. Generous. Hilarious. Kind. Thoughtful. Compassionate. Fought for every man, woman and all in between. A fierce guardian of our fragile environment and his beloved Central Otago region. A lover of culture, music, art, friends, family, ducks, hogs and top-quality pinot. And rather a good actor on the side.”
Danielle Cormack
“Thank you for your kindness, for fighting for the land, for your wit, and for reminding us that brilliance and gentleness can happily occupy the same body. Love to your whānau and nearest. What a gift you are. Travel well, my friend. Moe mai rā.”
Steven Spielberg
“It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.”
Laura Dern
“He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit. He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr Alan Grant.”
Sir Peter Jackson
“We cherish all the joy, talent and love you shared with this world… You have always been a shining light of talent, creativity and graceful joy in the act of telling a story. We will miss your dry wit and wisdom.”
Dame Jacinda Ardern
“It was just a few weeks ago that I had the profound joy of sitting with Sam Neill, talking about life, politics and home… Anyone who watched him perform knew he was someone special. We’ve lost another incredible Kiwi and I feel profoundly sad.”
Rima Te Wiata
“He was the first big film star from New Zealand, but he was a very steady, peaceful, grounded man with good energy. He was more like a lovely gardener – there was a gentlemanly demeanour that went around with him.”
Rebecca Gibney
“Dear Sam, you were funny and kind and humble (and kind) and smart and the epitome of a gentleman. And so kind! I was lucky enough to play your (ex) wife in a film years ago, and I’ll never forget you pulling me aside and telling me I’d done a good job. I was so thrilled. You were also my idol, but I never told you that.”
