Sam Neill
Sam Neill (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor who was born in Northern Ireland.He has had a number of high-profile roles including: the lead in Reilly, Ace of Spies, the adult Damien in Omen III: The Final Conflict, Merlin in the miniseries Merlin, the executive officer, Capt 2nd Class Vasily Borodin in The Hunt for Red October, Lord Friedrich Hoffman in Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Alisdair Stewart in The Piano, and paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.
Most recently he played Cardinal Wolsey in the Peace Arch Entertainment production for Showtime, The Tudors.
Lisa Harrow, and one daughter, Elena (born in 1990), by makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he married in 1989. He also has a stepdaughter, Maiko Spencer, (born 1981) who is from Noriko Watanabe’s first marriage. He is a supporter of the Australian Speak Easy Association and the British Stammering Association (BSA). Neill also 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.
Neill’s hobby is running a vineyard, the Two Paddocks winery in Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island. “I’d like the vineyard to support me but I’m afraid it is the other way round. It is not a very economic business”, say Neill. “It is a ridiculously time and money-consuming business. I would not do it if it was not so satisfying and fun — and it gets me pissed once in a while.” Neill also has a home in Wellington New Zealand
Neill is friends with New Zealand musicians Neil Finn and Tim Finn (of Crowded House and Split Enz) and with Australian musician Jimmy Barnes.
He rejected a knighthood when they were returned to the New Zealand Honours System in 2009, saying the title of Sir was “just far too grand, by far”.
