A versatile actor whose roles went far beyond Jurassic Park - Sam Neill dies aged 78

BySteven McIntosh

Entertainment reporter

Sam Neill, the New Zealand histrion who has died aged 78, volition everlastingly beryllium astir associated with the movie that made him an planetary star: Jurassic Park.

The 1993 blockbuster dominated his filmography and sparked a bid of sequels and reboots - including the caller Jurassic World series, successful which helium reprised his relation arsenic palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant.

But determination was overmuch much to Neill's vocation than escaping Velociraptors successful the visitant centre of a billionaire's tropical island.

Across a vocation spanning 5 decades, Neill showed himself to beryllium an histrion of depth, susceptible of taking connected a wide scope of roles successful films ranging from container bureau hits to acclaimed arthouse movies.

He became a planetary household sanction comparatively precocious successful his career. By the clip Jurassic Park came out, Neill was 43 years aged and already had a drawstring of surface credits nether his belt.

Neill was calved successful 1947 successful Northern Ireland, wherever his begetter was serving arsenic an serviceman with the Royal Irish Fusiliers.

"I was calved successful Omagh, we lived successful Armagh and my favourite spot present was Tyrella beach, I benignant of deliberation that's wherever I grew up," Neill told the BBC successful 2012.

The household relocated to New Zealand erstwhile Neill was seven.

His existent sanction was Nigel, but helium began calling himself Sam aft uncovering his caller schoolhouse already had respective boys with his name. He aboriginal joked that "being christened Nigel acceptable maine backmost for years".

He was not initially definite what benignant of vocation to pursue. Neill decided not to travel his begetter into the army, oregon the hospitality concern his household owned.

A little effort astatine a vocation successful the ineligible assemblage was chopped abbreviated aft helium failed his archetypal twelvemonth astatine instrumentality school.

Having starred successful pupil productions of Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream, Neill alternatively decided to embark connected an acting career.

Various movie and TV bid successful New Zealand followed, with a breakout relation successful his location state coming successful 1977 with an quality successful Sleeping Dogs, earlier Neill moved to Australia and began to onshore bigger parts.

He credited 1979's My Brilliant Career arsenic "a astir important relation for me, due to the fact that that's the movie that took maine retired of New Zealand, and allowed maine to unrecorded and enactment successful Australia, which I love".

"Yeah, that was astir apt much transformative than thing other I've done, successful a way."

Highlights from this pre-Triceratops epoch of his filmography see 1981's cult fearfulness Possession and a relation other Meryl Streep successful 1988's A Cry successful the Dark, which earned him the Australian Film Institute grant for champion pb actor.

One of his main breakthrough roles was filmed successful the UK successful the aboriginal 1980s, erstwhile helium appeared arsenic Damien Thorn, lad of the devil, successful the supernatural fearfulness Omen III: The Final Conflict.

He besides appeared successful Jane Campion's 1993 play play The Piano, which received the apical prize astatine the Cannes Film Festival and went connected to triumph 3 Oscars.

But it was the merchandise of Jurassic Park successful the aforesaid twelvemonth that propelled him to an elite level of worldwide fame.

Steven Spielberg's epic was similar thing audiences had seen before. For the exertion disposable astatine the time, the dinosaurs looked incredibly realistic and near viewers transfixed.

Jurassic Park went connected to gross much than $970m (£720m), becoming the highest grossing movie of each clip - until it was dethroned by Titanic successful 1997.

Speaking to the BBC astatine the 1993 premiere of Jurassic Park, which co-starred Richard Attenborough and Laura Dern, Neill said the mode the movie had been received was a "big surprise".

His quality is people fascinated by the dinosaur parkland but soon realises the reptiles are breeding, aft discovering breached dinosaur eggshells and babe footprints successful the jungle. The consequences are deadly.

Whether helium was playing steely but likeable heroes oregon a chillingly menacing villains, Neill was 1 of the astir versatile stars successful the movie manufacture and ever commanded attraction connected screen.

His different Hollywood roles included The Hunt For Red October arsenic Sir Sean Connery's 2nd successful command, and Dead Calm arsenic Nicole Kidman's husband.

He besides appeared successful Perfect Strangers, Bicentennial Man, and much precocious successful manager Taika Waititi's 2016 breakout deed Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

The collaboration with Waititi led to Neill's instauration to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the manager gave him a tiny portion successful 2017's Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder successful 2022.

He besides appeared alongside Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet successful Blackbird, which sparked speech astir the contented of assisted dying.

Neill returned to his roots erstwhile helium was formed arsenic a Belfast constabulary main successful the BBC's Peaky Blinders successful 2013.

However, increasing up successful Northern Ireland sadly didn't assistance him maestro the accent, which was affectionately mocked by immoderate viewers.

Neill explained that his Northern Ireland accent had been "well beaten out" of him by classmates successful New Zealand, and that helium needed assistance from friends and chap actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson to re-learn it for the role.

"For each those radical successful Northern Ireland, I accidental blasted it connected Jimmy and blasted it connected Liam, it's their fault," helium joked.

In March 2022, Neill was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma - a benignant of humor cancer, thing helium said made him "take banal of things".

Aged 75 and incapable to work, helium turned to writing. He told the BBC it gave him a crushed to get done the day.

A twelvemonth later, what helium anticipated arsenic a postulation of stories became an autobiography titled Did I Ever Tell you This? It explored his vocation and his diagnosis - but helium stressed that it wasn't a "cancer book".

"The past happening I privation is for radical to obsess astir the crab thing," the histrion said, "because I'm not truly funny successful cancer, I'm not truly funny successful thing different than living."

Among different things, the memoir revealed that Neill erstwhile auditioned to beryllium James Bond (the relation aboriginal went to Timothy Dalton), but helium claimed helium did not truly privation the part.

His cause arranged for him to sojourn Pinewood Studios for the audition and insisted that helium went. "I recovered myself retired determination handling a Luger oregon something," helium told BBC News erstwhile the publication was published, "and successful different simulated furniture scene, feeling wholly foolish."

He explained: "I truly didn't privation to beryllium the Bond that everyone didn't like. If you're a Bond you're a personage everlastingly and I'm not and ne'er person been and ne'er wanted to beryllium a celebrity.

"I'm not dogged by paparazzi. I tin get a java successful the greeting and no-one bothers maine and I deliberation that's wholly priceless. So, my beingness is my own."

Neill accepted a knighthood from New Zealand successful 2022, aft antecedently having rejected 1 erstwhile titular honours were reintroduced by the New Zealand authorities successful 2009.

He made airy astatine the clip of however his crab diagnosis changed his determination to judge the honour.

"I said I didn't privation the rubric for 10 oregon 12 years," helium told ABC successful 2023. "Then erstwhile I thought I was dying a mates of years ago, I thought, 'Oh bugger it, I whitethorn arsenic good spell retired with the title,' truthful I changed my mind."

The state helium called location had bully crushed to beryllium arrogant of him. After Neill's decease was announced, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon described him arsenic "one of the greats".

"He started retired erstwhile determination was hardly a movie manufacture successful this state to talk of," helium noted.

"For much than 50 years helium took New Zealand stories to the satellite and his talents helped marque our movie manufacture into what it is contiguous – 1 of our top taste exports."