Nigel John Dermot Neill was born on the 14th September 1947, in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland, UK, and is now a New Zealand actor, probably best recognized for starring in the role of Michael Chamberlain in “Evil Angels (A Cry In The Dark)” (1988), playing Dr. Alan Grant in “Jurassic Park” (1993), and as Jeremiah Blackthorn in the TV series “Crusoe” (2008-2010). His career has been active since 1975.
So, have you ever wondered how rich Sam Neill is, as of early 2017? According to authoritative sources, it has been estimated that the total size of Sam’s net worth is over $18 million, accumulated through his successful involvement in the entertainment industry as a professional actor.
Sam Neill Net Worth $18 Million
Sam Neill was raised with his brother by his father, Dermot Neill, who was a British Army officer, and his mother, Priscilla Beatrice. He was born in Northern Ireland, as his father was stationed there, but in 1954 the family returned to New Zealand, where they owned one of the largest retailers called Neill and Co. There, he was educated at Anglican boys’ boarding school Christ’s College in Christchurch, after which he enrolled at the University of Canterbury, before he transferred to Victoria University in Wellington, from which he graduated with a BA degree in English Literature. Right after graduation, he began to perform with the New Zealand Players and other theater groups.
In no time, Sam’s career began, when he worked for six years as a film director and screenwriter at the New Zealand National Film Unit. Afterwards, he wanted to try himself as an actor, so making his debut appearance as a priest in the 1975 film “Ashes”, which was followed by a role in “Landfall” in the same year. Two years later, he won the lead role in the film “Sleeping Dogs”, and in 1979 starred alongside Judy Davis in the romantic comedy “My Brilliant Career”, which added a considerable amount to his net worth.
At the beginning of the next decade, Sam earned his first big international role, portraying Damien Thorn in the 1981 film “Omen III: The Final Conflict”, directed by Graham Baker, after which he landed the role of Mark in Andrzej Zulawski’s film “Possession” (1981). In 1983, Sam was selected to play in the TV series “Reilly: Ace Of Spies”, and later in another TV series called “America” (1987), both successes. In the following year, he starred as Michael Chamberlain in the film “Evil Angels (A Cry In The Dark)”, which earned him the AACTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. In the 1989 film “La Révolution française”, Sam appeared as Marquis de Lafayette; all of these roles increased his net worth by a large margin.
Sam’s first role in the 1990s was in the film “The Hunt For Red October” (1990), in which he starred as Captain Vasily Borodin, then in 1993 he was chosen to portray Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s film “Jurassic Park”, which he reprised in a sequel “Jurassic Park III” in 2001. Moreover, he played the title role in the mini-series “Merlin” (1998), which he also reprised, in the mini-series “Merlin’s Apprentice” (2006).
To speak further about his acting career, Sam also starred in the role of Richard Runche in the TV series “Jessica” (2004), for which he won the Logie Award for Outstanding Actor in a Drama Series, played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in the TV series “The Tudors” (2007), and as Jack Mindy in the 2011 film “The Hunter”, for which he was nominated for an AACTA Award. Most recently, he was cast as Bill Thornton in the film “The Vow” (2012), portrayed Ted McCabe in the TV series “Old School” (2014), and as Lord Carnarvon in the mini-series “Tutankhamun” in 2016. His net worth is certainly still rising.
Thanks to his accomplishments in the film industry, Sam was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 1991, and he also has the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2002, he was made an honorary Doctor of Letters from the University of Canterbury.
Regarding his personal life, Sam Neill has been married to make-up artist Noriko Watanabe since 1989; the couple has a daughter. Previously, he was married to actress Lisa Harrow (1978-1989), with whom he has a son. Although he has homes in Sydney, Australia, and in Wellington, New Zealand, his current residence is in Queenstown, New Zealand, where he owns the winery Two Paddocks.
AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor, Logie Award for Most Outstanding Actor
Nominations
AACTA Award for Best Supporting Actor, Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Movie, Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television, AACTA Award for Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama, Gemini Award for B...
Movies
Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Jurassic Park, Dead Calm, Event Horizon, The Piano, Jurassic Park III, Thor: Ragnarok, The Hunt for Red October, Daybreakers, In the Mouth of Madness, Possession, Omen III: The Final Conflict, My Brilliant Career, Bicentennial Man, The Dish, Evil Angels, United Passions, T...
TV Shows
Peaky Blinders, The Tudors, Reilly, Ace of Spies, Happy Town, Crusoe, Merlin, House of Hancock, Alcatraz, The Sullivans, The Triangle, Short Poppies, Space, Newshub, Kane & Abel
#
Quote
1
[on changing his name from Nigel to Sam, aged ten] I saved myself a lifetime of pain.
(2012, on filming Sleeping Dogs and working with Warren Oates) You see, that was my first feature film of all, with my friend Roger Donaldson, and there I really had no idea what I was doing. In fact, none of us did. Apart from Michael Seresin, who shot it, no one on that production had ever made a feature film before. In fact, there hadn't been a feature film made in New Zealand for something like 17 years. So we were really... We lit a little candle, which didn't illuminate much of the darkness in front of us, but we got through it. It's a very uneven film, and I'm pretty uneven in it. Oh, actually, the other person on the film who had any experience was, of course, the wonderful Warren Oates. He came in for about two weeks, I think, and... He discovered on day one, I think, that in the area of New Zealand where we were working, they grow the best marijuana, and so he was basically smoking joints all day. In some of the scenes where he's playing Col. Willoughby, a U.S. army advisor in New Zealand, he's addressing his men with his hands behind his back, and you might even possibly detect the little curving smoke behind his right shoulder, because he wouldn't even put the joint aside when the camera was rolling. He just put it behind his back! But Warren was a lovely guy, and when he left-I'll never forget this, actually: He shook my hand, and he said, "Goodbye, Sam! I'll see you in the movies!" It was such a surprising thing for him to say, but I was very touched by it. I never saw him again, because he died rather young not very long after that. But he lived hard, you know. And he had some great stories of the madness of working with Sam Peckinpah.
4
(2012, on Dead Calm) Well, that was fantastically good fun, actually, although quite a lot of the time we were seasick and cold and wet and stuff like that. It was a very interesting film to do, as there were only three characters, you know, but it works very well, and it built quite a few careers. For [director] Phillip Noyce, it launched him into big action films, and there's this Australian actress called Nicole Kidman in it who you might've heard of...
5
(2012, on My Brilliant Career) A most important role for me, I must say, because that's the film that took me out of New Zealand, the film that allowed me to live and work in Australia, which I love. Yeah, that was probably more transformative than anything else I've done, in a way. Without that film, I never would've-prior to that, I'd done Sleeping Dogs, and I thought, "That was a one-off, I'll never do another film." And if you look at Sleeping Dogs, you think, "Well, I wouldn't use that bugger again." But I did get cast in Brilliant Career, I kind of understood a little bit more about what was necessary, and it was a great opportunity for me. That film changed me into an actor rather than just a part-time thespian.
6
The pathetic thing about actors is they don't feel valid unless they're acting.
7
If all I did was acting, I'd go out of my mind.
8
"Perhaps we should look at somewhere else where they recently used the time-old bribe of tax cuts, and see how it worked. In 2000, George W. Bush, under the reasonable sounding 'compassionate conservatism', offered huge tax cuts. And he delivered. Take a look at America now. The rich are certainly richer, but the economy is in the tank, a healthy surplus has been converted into a massive deficit, and the U.S. is a place that cannot even afford the basics. Like maintaining levees in low-lying Louisiana. Might I suggest that tax cuts led indirectly to the flooding of New Orleans?".
9
Referring to The Simpsons (1989): "I'm playing a cat burglar. I've made it. This is the high point of my career. I'm really chuffed". EW, 7/23/93.
10
"Of all the characters I've played, I think I have more in common with that guy than with Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983) referring to Carl Fitzgerald in Death in Brunswick (1990). Who Weekly (NZ) 8/23/93.
#
Fact
1
Has fluent Irish accent.
2
Suffered with a stammer when he was younger.
3
Owns a winery, Two Paddocks, in the Central Otago region of New Zealand. It was started in 1993.
4
Studied at the University of Canterbury and at the Victoria University in Wellington, from which he graduated with a BA in English Literature.
5
Born to Priscilla Beatrice (Ingham), who was English, and Dermot Neill, a New Zealand army officer. His ancestry includes English, Anglo-Irish (Northern Irish), and Irish.
Was considered for the role of the villainous "Doc Ock" in Spider-Man 2 (2004). His wife ended up as the principal make-up & hair stylist for Kirsten Dunst in the movie.
10
He is one of the three founders of Huntaway Films, along with his good friends John Clarke and Jay Cassells.
11
Montana is a recurring element in his films: in The Hunt for Red October (1990) he wants to live in Montana; in The Horse Whisperer (1998) he goes to Montana to find with his wife; in Jurassic Park (1993) he is digging up fossils in Montana.
His vineyard is in the Gibbston Valley, Otago. His wine is a Pinot Noir called Two Paddocks.
14
"Best Actor on British Television" for Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), Australian Film Institute Award "Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role" for A Cry in the Dark (1988) (aka "Cry in the Dark (1988)").
15
Awarded the O.B.E. for Service to Acting (1993).
16
He has homes in Beverly Hills, Sydney and New Zealand.
$18 Million
