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Sam Neill - An Actor of the World

© Dexter Wolfe

As a king, spy, president or even an invisible man, Nigel “Sam” Neill has played them all. Born September 14, 1947 in Omagh, Northern Ireland, Sam is one of three children of New Zealand descent and retains a New Zealand and British citizenship.

Nigel took the nickname, Sam, to the movie screen launching a career that has spanned the early 70’s to the new millennium.

As an actor of the world, Sam has become famous Down Under in Australia and New Zealand. He has captured America’s leading roles in blockbuster hits like Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park I (1993, with Jeff Goldblum) and III (2001), Hunt for Red October (1990, with Sean Connery) and the Bicentennial Man (1999, with Robin Williams).

Sam attended boarding school at Christchurch's Christ College, an Anglican boys' school and continued his education at Canterbury University attaining a B.A. in English. With only a few university acting classes he toured for a year in a minibus with the Players Drama Quartet. Later he started working for the New Zealand National Film Unit in Wellington and directed a few documentaries.

One of his first film roles was in the movie Ashes (1975) where he played a priest questioning his faith. He landed a role on the The Sullivans (TV series, an Australian soap opera). My Brilliant Career (1979) was the film that established his solid footing in movies.

This film had brought Sam’s acting abilities to the attention of actor, James Mason who recommended him for a role in The Final Conflict: The Omen III (1981). It was on this film production he met the leading lady co-star, Lisa Harrow, with whom he had his first child, Tim. Although the romance was not permanent they later co-stared in the movie, From a Far Country (1981).

Later Sam stared in the adventure/drama movie Ivanhoe (1982) with James Mason. One of his most noted TV mini series was Reilly: The Ace of Spies (1983) where he portrays the greatest spy in British history.

This was followed by another mini series entitled Kane and Able (1985, drama) a struggle between two men of wealth and power. Another good movie was Merlin (1998) in which he portrays the dramatic character of the noble wizard, Merlin.

With leading actresses like Meryl Streep in Plenty, 1985, A Cry in the Dark (1988), Jodie Foster (The Blood of Others, 1984) and Nicole Kidman (Dead Calm, 1989), Sam has made himself known to movie fans.

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