Sam Neill: A life in 10 performances

Back in 2014, I was asked by Downstage Theatre to prepare an intro video for a fundraising Q&A session they had coming up featuring Sam Neill chatting with his great friend Simon Morris. I think Sam was a little embarrassed by it – five minutes can seem like an awfully long time when you are watching clips of yourself on screen – but of course I was frustrated at how much I had to leave out.

Sleeping Dogs (1977)

When the 1970s New Zealand “New Wave” of feature films launched with this adaptation of C.K. Stead’s political thriller Smith’s Dream, Neill was perfectly placed to take advantage. A little earlier, or a little later, and he might have continued to make documentaries for the National Film Unit. Instead, he got noticed.

Sleeping Dogs is a digital rental at NZ Film On Demand, NZ On Screen or AroVision.

Possession (1981)

At the Downstage bar, after that fundraiser, I asked him what his favourite of all his films was. Not his favourite performance – he was too modest to offer up an answer to that question – but his favourite film. While he was buying rounds for everyone from his Harry per diems – he wasn’t just generous of spirit – he told me that it was Żuławski’s terrifying horror film Possession. Banned for a long time in the UK as a “video nasty”, it’s now much easier to find thanks to a recent restoration and is about to get the ultimate accolade – an unnecessary remake.

Possession is streaming on Prime Video.

Evil Angels (1988)

One of the factors in Neill’s success – certainly its longevity – was his willingness to be the foil, a supporting actor. Evil Angels – Fred Schepisi’s Australian drama about the disappearance of baby Azaria Chamberlain was always going to be Meryl Streep’s film but it needed grounding and contrast, and it got it from Neill.

Evil Angels is a digital rental from Apple or Prime Video.

The Hunt for Red October (1990)

Neill famously auditioned to be James Bond in the mid-80s – you can find that clip online. He dodged a bullet there. I’m not sure he quite had the cold-eyed ruthlessness needed for a role that eventually went to Timothy Dalton, and it would have limited his future choices in ways that Alan Grant in Jurassic Park did not. He got to play opposite a James Bond, though, in the Sean Connery submarine classic and produced one of the greatest death scenes ever filmed.

The Hunt for Red October is a digital rental from the usual outlets (inc. AroVision).

Until the End of the World (1991)

To know how respected an actor is, check out the directors that they have worked with: Neill’s collaborators included Gillian Armstrong, John Carpenter, Steven Spielberg, Robert Redford, Gaylene Preston, Sally Potter, François Ozon and Wim Wenders. Wenders’ epic science-fiction road movie was not a commercial success, however, and has been very hard to find – perhaps because there are at least three different versions of it (including one that’s over four and a half hours long).

Until the End of the World is not currently available online in Aotearoa.

The Piano (1993)

Another director who brought out the best in Neill was Jane Campion with The Piano. In lesser hands, Neill’s cuckolded colonial husband could have fallen into melodrama or cliché, but Neill shows the misery, humiliation – and humanity – of a man who is out of his depth and trying desperately not to show it.

The Piano is a digital rental from AroVision.

Cinema of Unease – A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995)

It’s a mystery to me why Neill did not direct more – he clearly knew enough about filmmaking and storytelling. Perhaps it required too much revelation – his contribution to the global documentary series, A Century of Cinema certainly was the “personal journey” promised by the title. Thankfully, New Zealand cinema has moved on from the “unease” that Neill identified in 1995, but I’m not sure that New Zealand itself has.

Cinema of Unease is not currently available to stream (legally) in Aotearoa but there’s a copy on YouTube.

Dean Spanley (2008)

He wasn’t always recognised for it, but Neill was always up for a challenge. In Toa Fraser’s masterpiece about grief, Neill plays a stuffy Edwardian clergyman who reveals himself to have been reincarnated from a Spaniel – to the astonishment of the great Peter O’Toole.

Dean Spanley is available as a digital rental from AroVision or NZ On Screen.

Thor: Ragnarok (2017)

One of the funniest things I’ve ever seen in a Marvel superhero film – not the highest of bars, I grant you – is Neill playing an actor playing Thor’s dad Odin in a re-enactment of the death of Loki (played by Matt Damon). It’s the perfect combination of theatrical gravitas and “how did my career come to this”.

Thor: Ragnarok is streaming on Disney+.

The Twelve (2022-2025)

Seasons 2 and 3 of The Twelve are streaming on TVNZ+.