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Sam Neill (born Nigel John Dermot Neill), DCNZM, OBE (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand-Australian film and television actor, and owner of the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago. He is most widely known for playing paleontologist Doctor Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III. He currently resides in Sydney, Australia.
Born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, he was the second son of Dermot, a Harrow and Sandhurst-educated army officer and third generation New Zealander (who was then stationed in Northern Ireland), and his English wife, Priscilla. The family were the owners of Neill and Co., the largest liquor retailers in New Zealand.
Neill returned with his family to New Zealand in 1954, where he attended the Anglican boys' boarding school Christ's College, in Christchurch. He then went on to study English literature at the University of Canterbury, where he got his first exposure to acting. While at Canterbury University he resided at College House, where he held the position of Chief Castigator and Crime Crusher (CCACC). He then moved to Wellington to continue his tertiary education at the Victoria University, from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature. He has one son, Tim (born in 1983), by New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, and one daughter, Elena (born in 1990), by makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he married in 1989.
Acting career
After working at the New Zealand National Film Unit as a director and actor, Neill was cast as the lead in the New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs. Following this he appeared in the Australian classic, My Brilliant Career (1979), opposite Judy Davis. This appearance led to his being selected to play Damien in Omen III: The Final Conflict in 1981, one of the sequels to The Omen. In the late-1970s his mentor was the notable British actor James Mason.
After Roger Moore made his last James Bond movie in 1985, Neill was seriously considered for the role in The Living Daylights. He impressed people with his screen test and was the preferred choice of director John Glen. However, Cubby Broccoli was not as impressed by Neill, and the role eventually went to Timothy Dalton instead. Since then, Neill has played heroes and villains in a succession of film and television dramas and comedies. In the UK, he became well-known in the early-1980s, starring in dramas such as Ivanhoe and notably in the title role of Reilly, Ace of Spies.
Neill is best known for his leading and co-starring roles in major (mainly U.S.-funded) films including Dead Calm (1989), The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Piano (1993), Sirens (1994), Jurassic Park (1993), Event Horizon (1997), The Dish (2000) and Jurassic Park III (2001).
The film Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995) was written and directed by Sam Neill and Judy Rymer. In it Neill narrated his personal recollection of New Zealand film history. Neill was asked to play the role of Elrond in The Lord of the Rings by Peter Jackson, but turned it down because of his contractual obligations to another film, namely, Jurassic Park III (2001). He hosted and narrated a series of 2002 documentaries for BBC entitled Space (Hyperspace in the United States). Neill is expected to reprise his role as Paleontologist Alan Grant in the possible 2008 film Jurassic Park IV.
Trivia
In 2006, Neill also lent his voice to a series of radio ads for Fifth Third Bank in the midwestern U.S.
Is a supporter of the Australian Speak Easy Association and the British Stammering Association (BSA).
Awarded the O.B.E. for Service to Acting (1993)
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV at Golden Globe Awards for MERLIN (1999)
Nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie at Emmy Awards for MERLIN (1998)
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV at Golden Globe Awards for ONE AGAINST THE WIND (1992)
Nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV at Golden Globe Awards for REILLY: ACE OF SPIES (1985)
His great-great grandfather aided in burning down the White House in the War of 1812.
He is friends with New Zealand musicians Neil Finn and Tim Finn (of Crowded House and Split Enz) and with Jimmy Barnes.
He supports the Australian Labor Party, Greenpeace, OxFam, and the World Wildlife Fund. He is a patron of the National Performance Conference. He also donated a pair of jeans to the Jeans for Genes® auction; they were painted by artist Merv Moriarty and auctioned off in August 1998.
Filmography
Television
* Ivanhoe (1982)
* Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983)
* Kane and Abel (1985)
* Amerika (TV miniseries) (1987)
* Simpsons episode 1F09 - "Homer the Vigilante" as Molloy the Cat Burgler (1994)
* In Cold Blood (1996)
* Space (2001)
* Doctor Zhivago (2002)
* Framed (2002)
* Stiff (2004)
* Jessica (2004)
* To the Ends of the Earth (2005)
* The Triangle (miniseries) (2005)
* Two Twisted (TV Series) (2006)
Films
* Sleeping Dogs (1977)
* My Brilliant Career (1979)
* Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
* Possession (1981)
* Attack Force Z (1982)
* Plenty (1985)
* The Good Wife (1987)
* A Cry in the Dark (1988)
* Dead Calm (1989)
* Blood Oath (1990; a.k.a. Prisoners of the Sun)
* The Hunt for Red October (1990)
* Death in Brunswick (1991)
* Until the End of the World (1991)
* Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
* The Piano (1993)
* Jurassic Park (1993)
* Country Life (1994)
* Sirens (1994)
* Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995)
* In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
* Restoration (1995)
* Children of the Revolution (1996)
* Event Horizon (1997)
* Merlin (1998)
* The Horse Whisperer (1998)
* Bicentennial Man (1999)
* The Dish (2000)
* Sally Hemmings: An American Scandal (2000)
* Jurassic Park III (2001)
* The Zookeeper (2001)
* Dirty Deeds (2002)
* Perfect Strangers (2003)
* Yes (2004)
* Wimbledon (2004)
* Little Fish (2005)
* Irresistible (2006)
* Merlin's Apprentice (2006)
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