RIP Sam Neill – our greatest Everyman
We are all heart broken to hear of the passing of Sam Neill – he was a phenomenal acting talent of a global standing – his roles in Sleeping Dogs, Jurassic Park, Event Horizon, The Hunt for Red October, Dead Calm, The Omen 3, The Piano, Peaky Blinders and Hunt for the Wilderpeople were all such incredible performances.
He understood the dark parts of the human psyche and the truth of a moment. Who can ever forget that scene in Jurassic Park when he sees the dinosaurs for the first time?
He was an Everyman actor in the truest sense of the word, but offstage his humanity was always available for his environmentalism and his recent activism against NZ First’s Gold Mining project was an example of that.
The venom and spite Shane Jones launched against Sam for his criticism of the mining industry was utterly unacceptable and Sam’s friends said the toxicity of the NZFirst supporters who threatened him took an enormous toll.
Sam Neill communicated truth of the human experience. He was a unique acting talent and an incredible human being.
We are a poorer nation for his passing.
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Go well Sam. I will always regret I never got the chance for a chat and some of your Pinot.
You impressed way back in 1981 when I first watched Sleeping Dogs and with the work that made you irreplicable as one of our icons. I knew as a fellow Kiwi you had something magical.
You enter that special memorable place as one of our most treasured New Zealanders that will always live on in your films and television work.
And your vocal support for our precious environment and opposition to the destruction that mining will bring to your beautiful Otago.
As New Zealanders we are forever blessed you are one of us.
He had the career I dreamt of back when I was as a film extra in my student days.
RIP Sam Neill, thank you for sharing your life on cinema.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ovtj1BdAr7o
Yes, RIP Sam Neill. I adored Sam. It never mattered to him how much he had or how great an actor he was; he had first class morals, integrity and values. He was humble, kind, caring and never stopped being a splendid human being. I recently read his autobiography which brough out many emotions. He was never afraid to stand up for the principles he believed in, like our environment, anti mining and Dame Jacinda – the treatment he found against her he described as “shameful”. After his battle with cancer he deserved better but he enjoyed a wonderful career that included us. Thank you Sam – we love you.
Sad bittersweet days. Rest in peace mate, ya had a good run.
This is an old short clip of Sam Neill talking about the loss of his mate John Clarke ,,,, but in it we also get to hear why Sam was a top bloke as well. https://youtu.be/xhDHSXXXLR0
They both seemed to share the ‘bullshit detector’ genes
RIP to them both