In memory
Rest in peace, Sam. Thank you for every character you gave us.

Film
1947 – 2026 · aged 78 · Winegrower, Film actor, Television actor
Remember Sam
Latest: Anonymous
lit a candle 7d ago
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (14 September 1947 – 13 July 2026) was a New Zealand actor. Known as a leading man in film and television, he received nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the…
Sir Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill (14 September 1947 – 13 July 2026) was a New Zealand actor. Known as a leading man in film and television, he received nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards. He was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours for services as an actor.
Born in Northern Ireland to an English mother and a New Zealand father, Neill moved to Christchurch with his family in 1954. He first achieved recognition with his appearance in the film Sleeping Dogs (1977), followed by leading roles in My Brilliant Career (1979), The Final Conflict (1981), Possession (1981), Evil Angels (1988), Dead Calm (1989), Death in Brunswick (1990), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Until the End of the World (1991), The Piano (1993), In the Mouth of Madness (1994), Restoration (1995), Event Horizon (1997), The Dish (2000), and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). He came to international prominence as Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park (1993), a role he reprised in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
On television, Neill portrayed Merlin in the miniseries Merlin (1998) and Merlin's Apprentice (2006), the former of which earned him nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award and the Golden Globe Award. He was also nominated for a Golden Globe for playing historic spy Sidney Reilly in Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983) and a British officer during World War II in One Against the Wind (1991). In addition, he played Thomas Wolsey in The Tudors (2007) and Major Chester Campbell in Peaky Blinders (2013–2014). He was also known for narrating various documentary projects.
Biography adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Memories, thanks and farewells from the people Sam touched.
Rest in peace, Sam. Thank you for every character you gave us.
Sending love to everyone grieving today. Sam belonged to all of us, and we all lost something.
A life fully lived. Thank you, Sam.
To the family: you shared Sam with all of us for so long. Thank you. We're holding you in our thoughts.
Not many people can say they made millions of strangers feel less alone. Sam could.
I never met Sam, but I feel like I grew up with them. Thank you for being part of my life.
Couldn't agree more.
My grandmother loved Sam. When she died we played their work at the funeral. Now they're both gone. Strange how connected it all is.
Well put.
Thank you for a lifetime of it, Sam. Rest in peace.
Nobody could hold a scene like Sam. Not one wasted moment.
Thank you, Sam. For the joy, the honesty, and for showing up when it mattered.
This made me cry. Thank you.
192 people are remembering Sam here. Light a candle when words are hard. It stays here.
Be the first to give.
Well put.
Thank you for sharing this.