Born on this day – Sam Neill:

Sam Neill

Actor

Director

Producer

Writer

September 14, 1947 – July 13, 2026

Book:

Did I Ever Tell You This?
A Memoir

by Sam Neill.

Published by Penguin Books Ltd.
Published 2023 / updated 2024.
ISBN-10: 140595745X
ISBN-13: 978-1405957458

Description:

In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion.

By his own account, his career has been a series of unpredictable turns of fortune. Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, he emigrated to New Zealand at the age of seven. His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island, but young Sam was sent away to boarding school in Christchurch, where he was hopeless at sports and discovered he enjoyed acting.

But how did you become an actor in New Zealand in the 1960 and 1970s where there was no film industry? After university he made documentary films while also appearing in occasional amateur productions of Shakespeare. In 1977 he took the lead in Sleeping Dogs, the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade, a project that led to a major role in Gillian Armstrong’s celebrated My Brilliant Career.

Movies, television & voice-over:

14th AACTA Awards (2025); 15th AACTA Awards (2026); 3 News (2006); 5 Second Movies (2008); 7th AACTA Awards (2017); A Cry in the Dark (1988); A Long Way Down (2014); A Taste of My Life (2008); ABC News Breakfast (2024–2025); AFI Life Achievement Award (1995); Alcatraz (2012); Amerika (1987); And Then There Was Something: The Making of 'And Then There Were None' (2016); And Then There Were None (2015); Angel (2007); Apples Never Fall (2024); Architect Athfield (1977); Ashes (1975); Assassin Club (2023); At the Movies (2005); Attack Force Z (1981); Australian Story (2020–2023); Backtrack (2015); Beached Az (2009); Before Stardom (2002); Beyond Jurassic Park (2001); Bicentennial Man (1999); Big John (2006); Blackbird (2019); Bring Him to Me (2023); Bro'Town (2009); Buck (2011); Buck (2011); Cannes Film Festival (1993); CBS Mornings (1988); Century of Cinema (1995); Children of the Revolution (1996); Cinema Quarantine: Das Bad (2020); Cinema Quarantino: Das Bogroll (2020); Cinema Quarantino: Das Fone Hell (2020); Cinema Quarantino: Das Underachiever (2020); Cinema Quarentine: Das Leek (2020); Colin McCahon: I Am (2004); Confessions (2018); Country Life (1994); Cowboys of Culture (1990); Crusoe (2008–2010); CTV News at 11:30 Toronto (2019); Daisy Quokka: World's Scariest Animal (2020); Dancing with the Stars (2010); Dark Air with Terry Carnation (2021); das Konversazion (2020); David Stratton's Stories of Australian Cinema (2017); Daybreakers (2009); De película (1989); Dead Calm (1989); Dean Spanley (2008); Death in Brunswick (1990); 'Death in Brunswick' Hits the Road Archival Publicity Tour (2022); Death in Brunswick: Deleted Scenes (2007); Death in Brunswick: Memories of Murder (2007); Días de cine (2019); Dirty Deeds (2002); Doctor Zhivago (2002); Dream in the Making: The Making of Sleeping Dogs (2018); Enigma (1982); Enough Rope with Andrew Denton (2004); Entertainment Tonight (2015–2025); Entertainment UK (1993); Equity Foundation Australia & New Zealand (2020); Escape Plan (2013); Event Horizon (1997); Family Pictures (1993); Farewall to the King: Michael Hirst on the Tudors Finale (2010); Festival de Cine de San Sebastián (2008 / 2019); Fever (1991); Film '80 (1980); Flack (2020); Flare: A Ski Trip (1977); For Love Alone (1986); Forgotten Silver (1995); Four Shorts on Architecture (1975); Framed (2002); From a Far Country (1981); From Jurassic Park to Jurassic World: Greatest Moments (2022); Gallipoli (2005); Get Krack!n (2017); Getaway (2005); Godzilla x Kong: Supernova (2027); Happy Town (2010); Harry (2013); Have You Been Paying Attention? (2019); Hollywood Insider (2022); Hostage (1992); House of Bond (2017); House of Hancock (2015); Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016); Hunt's Duffer (1973); Hyperspace (2001); Ice (2011); Icons Unearthed (2023); I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not (2025); In Cold Blood (1996); In Her Skin (2009); In the Mouth of Madness (1994); Inside 'the Living Daylights' (2000); Insiders (2018); Intimate Portrait (1999); Invasion (2021); Iron Road (2009); Irresistible (2006); Ivanhoe (1982); Jessica (2004); Jet 7 (1998); Julia Zemiro's Home Delivery (2017); Jurassic Park (1993); Jurassic Park III (2001); Jurassic World Evolution (2018); Jurassic World Evolution 2 (2021); Jurassic World: Dominion (2022); Just Out of Reach (1979); Kane & Abel (1985); Kids React (2015); Landfall (1975); Late Night with Conan O'Brien (1995); Late Show with David Letterman (1996); Le Champion (2019); Leap of Faith (1988); Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010); Les Chroniques du Mea (2018–2022); Les effrontées: Le cinéma au féminin (2022); Leunig Animated (2002); Leunig: How Democracy Actually Works (2002); L'Histoire nous le dira (2020); Lindy Chamberlain: The True Story (2020); Little Fish (2005); Live Lunch (2001); Lorraine (2024); Lucinda Brayford (1980); Making of 'Wimbledon: The Movie' (2004); Making 'Under the Mountain' (2010); Maquillando entre monstruos (2007); Mary Bryant (2005); Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992); Merlin (1998); Merlin's Apprentice (2006); MindGamers (2015); Minty Comedic Arts (2019); Molokai (1999); Movie Night Extravaganza (2022); My Brilliant Career (1979); My Mother Frank (2000); New Country: New People (1978); New Zealand: Earth's Mythical Islands (2016); Not Only Fred Dagg But Also John Clarke (2025); Numero Bruno (2000); Old School (2014); Omen III: The Final Conflict: Audio Commentary with Graham Baker (2000); On Location with 'Robbery Under Arms' (1985); On the Road with Red Mole (1979); One Against the Wind (1991); Palm Beach (2019); Peaky Blinders (2013–2016); Perfect Strangers (2003); Peter Rabbit (2018); Peter Rabbit 2: The Runaway (2021); Plenty (1985); Plenty: Days of Plenty - A Conversation with Director Fred Schepisi (2002); Possession (1981); Quan arribin els marcians (2019); Rake (2010); Rams (2020); Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983); Reinventando Hollywood (2008); Restoration (1995); Rétrogaming made in France (2019); Return to Jurassic Park: Dawn of a New Era (2011); Return to Jurassic Park: Making Prehistory (2011); Return to Jurassic Park: The Next Step in Evolution (2011); Richard & Judy (2006); Rick and Morty (2019); Ride Like a Girl (2019); River Deep, Mountain High: James Nesbitt in New Zealand (2013); Robbery Under Arms (1985); Robert Enrico, bref passage sur la Terre (2018); Rove Live (2001–2003); Russell Howard Stands Up to the World (2021); Sally Hemings: An American Scandal (2000); Scarygirl (2023); Sci Fi Inside: 'the Triangle' (2005); Sci-Fi Buzz (1992 / 1997); ScreenSlam (2015); Sea Lions: Life by a Whisker (2020); Séries express (2008); Shadow of China (1989); Short Poppies (2014); Sirens (1994); Skin (2008); Sleeping Dogs (1977); Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997); South Australia: Ocean to Outback (2003); South Australian Film Corporation 40th Anniversary Showreel (2012); Spielberg (2017); Split Enz - Spellbound (1993); Star Trek: Voyager (1997); Steven Spielberg Directs 'Jurassic Park' (2001); Stiff (2004); Storm Stories (2009); Stray (2018); Strong Medicine (1986); Submerged (2001); Sunday Night (2017); SuperCroc (2001); Surf Sail (1978); Sweet Country (2017); Sweet Country: Behind the Scenes (2018); Sweet Country: Sam Neill and Bryan Brown (2018); T. Rex (2024); Telephone Etiquette (1974); That Scene with Dan Patrick (2021); The 28th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (1986); The 42nd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1985); The 47th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (2005); The 50th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards (1998); The 56th Annual Golden Globe Awards (1999); The 58th Annual TV Week Logie Awards (2016); The 61st Annual TV Week Logie Awards (2019); The 63rd Annual TV Week Logie Awards (2023); The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box (2013); The Assembly (2024); The Blood of Others (1984); The Brian Conley Show (2001); The Brush-Off (2004); The Celluloid Heroes (1995); The Chris Moyles Show on Radio X (2016–2021); The City of No (1971); The Commuter (2018); The Country Girls (1983); The Daughter (2015); The Dinosaurs of 'Jurassic Park III' (2001); The Dish (2000); The Dovekeepers (2015); The Dragon Pearl (2011); The Final Conflict (1981); The Fox (2025); The French Revolution (1989); The Games (1998); The Good Wife (1987); The Governor (1977); The Graham Norton Show (2016–2021); The Great Entertainer (2025); The Horse Whisperer (1998); The Hour (2011–2012); The Hunt for Red October (1990); The Hunter (2011); The Journalist (1979); The Jungle Book (1994); The Kelly Clarkson Show (2024); The Last Resort (2027); The Last Whale (1994); The Living Room (2019); The Magic Pudding (2000); The Magical Making of Merlin (1998); The Making of 'Daybreakers' (2010); The Making of 'Event Horizon' (2006); The Making of 'Jurassic Park' (1993); The Making of 'Jurassic Park' (1995); The Making of 'Jurassic Park III' (2001); The Making of Rudyard Kipling's 'the Jungle Book' (1994); The Making of 'Sleeping Dogs' (2004); The Martin Short Show (1999); The Movies That Made Us (2021); The One Show (2021); The Ordained (2013); The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill (2018); The Piano (1993); The Portable Door (2023); The Project (2020); The Rainbow Warrior (1993); The Real Hunt for Red October (2021); The Revengers' Comedies (1998); The Sealhunters (1973); The Simpsons (1994); The Special Effects of 'Jurassic Park III' (2001); The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011); The Sullivans (1979–1980); The Tem Show (2005); The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (1993); The Triangle (2005); The Tudors (2007 / 2010); The Twelve (2022–2025); The Vow (2012); The Water Cycle (1972); The Weekly with Charlie Pickering (2015–2023); The Zookeeper (2001); This Is Your Life (1987–2002); This Morning (2020–2021); Thor: Love and Thunder (2022); Thor: Ragnarok (2017); Time Team (2001); To the Ends of the Earth (2005); Today (2024); Tommy's Honour (2016); Try Not to Smile or Laugh (2015); Tutankhamun (2016); Two Twisted (2006); Under the Mountain (2009); United Passions (2014); Untamed (2025); Until the End of the World (1991); Variety Studio (2016); Verity Lambert: Drama Queen (2008); Victory (1996); Voice Activated (2022); Voyage of the Nautilus (2001); Weekend Breakfast (2025); Weekend Sunrise (2017); Why Anzac with Sam Neill (2015); Wimbledon (2004); Wogan (1985); Working with a Master: John Carpenter (2006); WTF with Marc Maron (2021); Xfinity: Jurassic Park... Works (2026); Yes (2004); Young Ramsay (1980).