Sam Neill ✝

Nigel John Dermot Neill DCNZM OBE (born 14 September 1947), known professionally as Sam Neill, is a New Zealand actor, writer, vineyard owner, television presenter and director, who is world-renowned for his roles in many critically lauded films. Born in Northern Ireland, he first achieved leading roles in films such as Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession, Sleeping Dogs and Dead Calm and on television in Reilly, Ace of Spies. He won a broad international audience in 1993 for his roles as Alisdair Stewart in The Piano and Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, a role he reprised in 2001\'s Jurassic Park III. Neill also had notable roles in Merlin, The Hunt for Red October, Peaky Blinders, and The Tudors. In 2016, he starred in Hunt for the Wilderpeople alongside Julian Dennison, to great acclaim. He lives in Queenstown and has three children. \n', ' Neill was born in 1947 in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, to Priscilla Beatrice (born Ingham) and Dermot Neill. His father, an army officer, was a third-generation New Zealander, while his mother was born in England. His great-grandfather Percy Neill left Belfast, Northern Ireland for New Zealand in 1860, settling in Dunedin. He was the son of a wine merchant importing wine from France.\n', ' At the time of Neill\'s birth, his father was stationed in Northern Ireland, serving with the Irish Guards. His father\'s family owned Neill and Co. (later part of the listed hospitality group Wilson Neill), the largest liquor retailers in New Zealand at the time.[when?] Neill holds British citizenship through his place of birth, but identifies primarily as a New Zealander.[better source needed]\n', '