Sam Neill was born in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to army parents, an English-born mother, Priscilla Beatrice , and a New Zealand-born father, Dermot Neill. His family moved to the South Island of New Zealand in 1954. He went to boarding schools and then attended the universities at Canterbury and Victoria. He has a BA in English Literature. Following his graduation, he worked with the New Zealand Players and other theater groups. He also was a film director, editor and scriptwriter for the New Zealand National Film Unit for 6 years. Sam Neill is internationally recognised for his contribution to film and television. He is well known for his roles in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park and Jane Campion's Academy Award Winning film The Piano. Other film roles include The Daughter, Backtrack opposite Adrian Brody, Deux Ex Machina, F2014, A Long Way Down, The Tomb, The Hunter with Willem Dafoe, Daybreakers, Legend of the Guardians: The Owls Of G'Ahoole, Little Fish opposite Cate Blanchett, Skin, Dean Spanley, Wimbledon, Yes, Perfect Strangers, Dirty Deeds, The Zookeepers, Bicenntial Man opposite Robin Williams, The Horse Whisperer alongside Kristin Scott Thomas, Sleeping Dogs, My Brilliant Career. He received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the NBC miniseries Merlin. He also received a Golden Globe nomination for One Against The Wind, and for Reilly: The Ace of Spies. The British Academy of Film and Television honoured Sam's work in Reilly by naming him Best Actor. Sam received an AFI Award for Best Actor for his role in Jessica. Other television includes House of Hancock, Rake, Doctor Zhivago, To the Ends of Earth, The Tudors with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Cruseo, Alcatraz and recently in Old School opposite Bryan Brown, Peaky Blinders alongside Cillian Murphy, The Dovekeepers for CBS Studios.
One son, Tim Neill , with Lisa Harrow , a daughter Elena Neill with Noriko Watanabe , and a step-daughter Maiko.
Met wife Noriko Watanabe on the set of Dead Calm , where she worked as a make-up artist.
He has homes in Beverly Hills, Sydney and New Zealand.
Awarded the O.B.E. for Service to Acting.
"Best Actor on British Television" for "Reilly: Ace of Spies" , Australian Film Institute Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role" for Evil Angels (aka "Cry in the Dark ").
His vineyard is in the Gibbston Valley, Otago. His wine is a Pinot Noir called Two Paddocks.
One of the original candidates for the fourth and fifth actor to portray James Bond - 007 in The Living Daylights and GoldenEye . Timothy Dalton and Pierce Brosnan ended up as James Bond, respectively.
Montana is a recurring element in his films: in The Hunt for Red October he wants to live in Montana; in The Horse Whisperer he goes to Montana to find with his wife; in Jurassic Park he is digging up fossils in Montana.
He is one of the three founders of Huntaway Films, along with his good friends John Clarke and Jay Cassells.
Was considered for the role of the villainous "Doc Ock" in Spider-Man 2 . His wife ended up as the principal make-up & hair stylist for Kirsten Dunst in the movie.
He is a big fan of The Beach Boys.
Moved to New Zealand at age 7.
Good friends with musicians Neil Finn , Tim Finn and Jimmy Barnes.
Born to Priscilla Beatrice (Ingham), who was English, and Dermot Neill, a New Zealand army officer. His ancestry includes English, Anglo-Irish (Northern Irish), and Irish.
Studied at the University of Canterbury and at the Victoria University in Wellington, from which he graduated with a BA in English Literature.
Owns a winery, Two Paddocks, in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. It was started in 1993.
Suffered with a stammer when he was younger.
Has fluent Irish accent.
EW, 7/23/93.
[on changing his name from Nigel to Sam, aged ten] I saved myself a,lifetime of pain.
I hate to say it, but there seems to have been some sort of dumbing down as far as movies go. .
