Sam Neill

Nigel John Dermot Neill was born in Omagh on 14 September 1947, the son of English mother Priscilla Beatrice (née Ingham) and New Zealand father Dermot Neill.{{Cite news |last=Beck |first=Chris |date=2 September 2004 |title=The interview |work=The Age |location=Melbourne |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/01/1093938978893.html |url-status=live |access-date=24 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121104201009/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/09/01/1093938978893.html |archive-date=4 November 2012}} Consequently he has three documented nationalities for New Zealand, Ireland and the United Kingdom.{{cite web | title = Sam Neill on life, love, lymphoma and his brilliant career | date = 22 April 2023 | url = https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/sam-neill-on-life-love-lymphoma-and-his-brilliant-career-20230420-p5d1x4.html | access-date = 4 July 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230422191225/https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/sam-neill-on-life-love-lymphoma-and-his-brilliant-career-20230420-p5d1x4.html | archive-date = 22 April 2023 | quote = I’ve got three citizenships: Irish, British and New Zealand.}}{{cite news | title = Sam Neill on what he's learned | newspaper = Belfasttelegraph.co.uk | date = 14 May 2016 | url = https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/sam-neill-on-what-hes-learned/34702361.html | access-date = 4 July 2024 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20231019144356/https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/life/features/sam-neill-on-what-hes-learned/34702361.html | archive-date = 19 October 2023 | quote = I've got three passports. New Zealand, British and Irish}} His great-grandfather Percival "Percy" Neill had left Belfast for Australia, joining a firm of merchants in Melbourne. Four years later, in 1863, he moved to New Zealand and settled in Dunedin. He was the son of a wine merchant who imported wine from France.{{cite web|url=https://www.northerncemetery.org.nz/biography/?id=15567|title=PERCIVAL CLAY NEILL Biography – Dunedin|website=Northern Cemetery|accessdate=18 March 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/new-cellar-door-pops-neill’s-life|title= "New cellar door pops up in Neill's life"|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223632/https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/central-otago/new-cellar-door-pops-neill’s-life |archive-date=6 January 2021|first=Louise|last=Scott|website=Otago Daily Times|date= 6 January 2016|accessdate= 18 March 2023}}{{cite web|url=https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1217301/my-life-sam-neill |title= My life: Sam Neill|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223655/https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1217301/my-life-sam-neill |archive-date=6 January 2021|first=Susan|last=Jung |website=South China Morning Post|date=21 April 2013|accessdate= 18 March 2023}} At the time of Neill's birth, his father was stationed in Northern Ireland, serving as an officer with the Royal Irish Fusiliers.{{Cite news |last=Condon |first=Eileen |date=8 May 2001 |title=Dishy Sam's got space aspirations; For an actor fascinated by space travel Sam Neill must have thought he'd landed a dream role with his new film, The Dish. The Omagh-born actor talks to Eileen Condon about his latest role |publisher=The News Letter |url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-74280220 |url-status=live |access-date=10 December 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223636/https://www.gale.com/databases/questia |archive-date=6 January 2021}} His father's family owned Neill and Co. (later part of the listed hospitality group Wilson Neill).{{Cite news |last=Beech |first=James |date=4 March 2014 |title=Vineyard named in honour of father |work=Otago Daily Times |url=https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown-lakes/vineyard-named-honour-father |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223657/https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/queenstown-lakes/vineyard-named-honour-father |archive-date=6 January 2021}}{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Annabel |date=21 November 2017 |title=Obituary: Otago businessman Robert Wilson remembered as food industry pioneer |work=Stuff (company) |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/99086492/otago-businessman-robert-wilson-remembered-as-food-industry-pioneer |url-status=live |access-date=3 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223632/https://www.stuff.co.nz/business/99086492/otago-businessman-robert-wilson-remembered-as-food-industry-pioneer |archive-date=6 January 2021}}

In 1954, the Neill family moved to New Zealand and settled in the Cashmere suburb of Christchurch.{{Cite news |date=4 August 2018 |title=Sam Neill in Uncharted territory with new series |work=The New Zealand Herald |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/entertainment/news/article.cfm?c_id=1501119&objectid=12100523 |access-date=7 November 2018}} He attended Cashmere Primary School and Medbury School, a private prep school. After a year, his parents and younger sister Juliet moved south to his father's home city of Dunedin. They lived at Macandrew Bay, where the children could roam free in the holidays.{{sfn|Neill |2023 |pp=45,46}} He first took to calling himself "Sam" at school because there were several other students named Nigel, and because he felt the name Nigel was "a little effete for ... a New Zealand playground".{{Cite web |last=Grams |first=Erika |title=Sam Neill – FAQ |url=http://www.ibiblio.org/samneill/snfaq.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100415102913/http://www.ibiblio.org/samneill/snfaq.html |archive-date=15 April 2010 |access-date=22 July 2010 |publisher=Ibiblio.org}}{{Cite web |date=5 October 2007 |title=Nigel, Neville?? |url=http://lexigame.com/forum/index.php?topic=1093.0 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110713202721/http://lexigame.com/forum/index.php?topic=1093.0 |archive-date=13 July 2011 |access-date=22 July 2010 |publisher=Lexigame.com}} From 1961, he attended the Anglican boys' boarding and day secondary school Christ's College in Christchurch. He went on to study at the University of Canterbury but was uncertain about a career, deciding not to follow his father into the army or the family firm. He considered law, but wasted one year when he failed all four law units.{{citation needed|date = February 2025}}

Neill was in several plays, such as playing Theseus in A Midsummer Night's Dream, directed by Ngaio Marsh for the Canterbury University Drama Society. He acted in a production of Marat/Sade by Mervyn Thompson, and when another actor dropped out of a Wellington season, Neill replaced him as Jacques Roux.{{sfn|Neill |2023 |pp=86–89}} The play was staged at Downstage Theatre. He had "the time of [his] life" and saw that the arts and drama were "part of the fabric of the city" unlike in Christchurch or Dunedin. He transferred from Canterbury to Victoria University of Wellington to finish his Bachelor of Arts with a philosophy unit, and passed the "logic" paper with some last-minute coaching by John Clarke.{{citation needed|date = February 2025}}

Neill played Macbeth in a university production directed by Phillip Mann, then joined Downstage as a professional paid actor for $25 per week, plus food from the kitchen left over from the meal served to the audience before the show.{{sfn|Neill |2023 |pp=90–93}} In 2004, on the Australian talk show Enough Rope, interviewer Andrew Denton briefly touched on the topic of Neill's stuttering. He recalled how deeply it had affected him in his life and, as a result, he often found himself "hoping that people wouldn't talk to [him]" so he would not have to answer them. He also stated, "I kind of outgrew it [but] you can still detect me as a stammerer."{{Cite episode |title=Sam Neill |url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1126851.htm |access-date=22 July 2010 |series=Enough Rope with Andrew Denton |network=ABC |date=7 June 2004 |number=45 |location=Australia |archive-date=3 May 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080503215444/http://www.abc.net.au/tv/enoughrope/transcripts/s1126851.htm |url-status=live}}

File:Sam_Neill-_Landfall_-_A_Film_About_Ourselves_(1974)_(20937182478).jpg

Neill's first film was a New Zealand television film The City of No (1971). He followed it with a short, The Water Cycle (1972) and the television film Hunt's Duffer (1973). Neill wrote and directed a film for the New Zealand National Film Unit, Telephone Etiquette (1974). He also appeared in Landfall (1975).{{Cite web |last= |first= |title=Landfall – A Film about Ourselves {{!}} Television {{!}} NZ On Screen |url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/title/landfall-1975 |access-date=24 November 2023 |website=www.nzonscreen.com |language=en}}

Neill's breakthrough performance in New Zealand was the film Sleeping Dogs (1977), the first local film to be widely screened overseas.

Neill went to Australia where he had a guest role on the TV show The Sullivans. He was the romantic male lead in My Brilliant Career (1979), opposite Judy Davis, which was a big international success.

He made some Australian films that were less widely seen: The Journalist (1979), Just Out of Reach (1979) and Attack Force Z (1981), and appeared in television productions such as Young Ramsay and Lucinda Brayford.

In 1981, he won his first big international role, as Damien Thorn, son of the devil, in Omen III: The Final Conflict;[http://www.fangoria.com/new/for-your-consideration-sam-neill-for-the-fangoria-hall-of-fame/ For Your Consideration: Sam Neill for the FANGORIA Hall of Fame!] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161022154542/http://www.fangoria.com/new/for-your-consideration-sam-neill-for-the-fangoria-hall-of-fame/ |date=22 October 2016 }}, Fangoria.com, 11 January 2015. also in that year, he played a main role in Andrzej Żuławski's cult film Possession.

The 1982 film of Ivanhoe made Neill a local celebrity in Sweden, where it has been aired on SVT every New Years Day for 40 years.[https://www.svt.se/kultur/ivanhoe-skadespelarens-nyarshalsning-till-svenskarna-stolt-over-er Neill's New Year greeting to Sweden 2022]

He was one of the leading candidates to succeed Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, but lost out to Timothy Dalton. Among his many Australian roles is playing Michael Chamberlain in Evil Angels (1988) (released as A Cry in the Dark outside Australia and New Zealand),{{Cite web |title=A Cry in the Dark (1988) – Release dates |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094924/releaseinfo#akas |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921204840/https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094924/releaseinfo#akas |archive-date=21 September 2018 |access-date=14 June 2012 |publisher=IMDb}} a film about the case of Azaria Chamberlain.

File:SamNeill08TIFF.jpg]]

Neill has played heroes and occasionally villains in a succession of film and television dramas and comedies. In the UK, he won early fame and was Golden Globe nominated after portraying real-life spy, Sidney Reilly, in the mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). An early American starring role was in 1987's Amerika, playing a senior KGB officer leading the occupation and division of a defeated United States. His leading and co-starring roles in films include the thriller Dead Calm (1989), the two-part historical epic La Révolution française (1989) (as Marquis de Lafayette), The Hunt for Red October (1990), Death in Brunswick (1990) (in which he was re-teamed with old friend John Clarke), Jurassic Park (1993),{{Cite news |last=Yasharoff |first=Hannah |date=25 September 2019 |title=Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Sam Neill to return for 'major roles' in 'Jurassic World 3' |language=en |work=USA Today |url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/09/25/jurassic-world-3-laura-dern-sam-neill-jeff-goldblum-return/2437851001/ |url-status=live |access-date=25 October 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191109073644/https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/movies/2019/09/25/jurassic-world-3-laura-dern-sam-neill-jeff-goldblum-return/2437851001/ |archive-date=9 November 2019}} Sirens (1994), The Jungle Book (1994), John Carpenter's In the Mouth of Madness (1995), Event Horizon (1997), Bicentennial Man (1999), the comedy The Dish (2000), and Jurassic Park III (2001).

Neill has occasionally acted in New Zealand films, including The Piano (1993), Perfect Strangers (2003), Under the Mountain (2009), and Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). He returned to directing in 1995 with the documentary Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995) which he wrote and directed with Judy Rymer.

In 1993, he co-starred with Anne Archer in Question of Faith, an independent drama based on a true story about one woman's fight to beat cancer and have a baby. In 2000, he provided the voice of Sam Sawnoff in The Magic Pudding. In 2001, he hosted and narrated a documentary series for the BBC entitled Space (Hyperspace in the United States).

He portrayed the eponymous wizard in Merlin (1998), a miniseries based on the legends of King Arthur. He reprised his role in the sequel, Merlin's Apprentice (2006).

Neill starred in the historical drama The Tudors, playing Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. "I have to say I really enjoyed making The Tudors", he said, "It was six months with a character that I found immensely intriguing, with a cast that I liked very much and with a story I found very compelling. It has elements that are hard to beat: revenge and betrayal, lust and treason, all the things that make for good stories."

File:Sam Neill at Burghound Asia in Singapore.jpg

He acted in the short-lived Fox TV series Alcatraz (2012) as Emerson Hauser. He played the role of Otto Luger in the fantasy adventure film The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas BoxAdam Dawtrey (11 April 2012). [https://variety.com/2012/film/news/aneurin-barnard-tapped-for-mariah-mundi-1118052510/ "Aneurin Barnard tapped for 'Mariah Mundi'"] . Variety article. Retrieved 30 July 2012. (2014). He had a role in the BBC series Peaky Blinders, set in post-World War I Birmingham. He played the role of Chief Inspector Chester Campbell, a sadistic corrupt policeman, who came to clean up the town on Churchill's orders. In the 2015 BBC TV miniseries And Then There Were None, based on Agatha Christie's thriller, he played the role of General MacArthur.

In 2016, he starred in the New Zealand-made film, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, directed by Taika Waititi, as well as the ITV miniseries Tutankhamun. In 2017, Neill appeared in a scene in Waititi's fantasy sequel Thor: Ragnarok, in which he portrays an actor playing Odin (as depicted by Anthony Hopkins), alongside Luke Hemsworth and Matt Damon as actors playing Thor and Loki, respectively. He portrays the same actor in Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022.

In 2018, he portrayed Mr. McGregor and also provided the voice of Tommy Brock, in Peter Rabbit. In 2019, he was cast for the role of Denis Goldberg in Escape from Pretoria; however, the role was subsequently recast with Ian Hart. In late 2019, he was announced to reprise his character of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic World Dominion, which released in July 2022.{{Cite web |date=25 September 2019 |title=Jurassic Park trio Laura Dern, Sam Neill, & Jeff Goldblum returning for Jurassic World 3 |url=https://deadline.com/2019/09/jurassic-world-3-laura-dern-sam-neill-jeff-goldblum-reprise-jurassic-park-roles-1202744117/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217034945/https://deadline.com/2019/09/jurassic-world-3-laura-dern-sam-neill-jeff-goldblum-reprise-jurassic-park-roles-1202744117/ |archive-date=17 December 2019 |access-date=19 February 2020}}

In 2022, Neill appeared in the Foxtel legal drama The Twelve as Brett Colby. When the series was renewed for series 2, Neill would reprise the role of Colby being the only member of the original season one cast to do so.{{cite web | url=https://variety.com/2023/tv/news/sam-neill-the-twelve-season-2-western-australia-production-1235709174/ | title=Western Australia's Largest Production, Sam Neill-Starring 'The Twelve Season 2' Gets Under Way – Global Bulletin | date=31 August 2023 }} On 16 September 2024, it was announced that The Twelve had been renewed for a third season and Neill would be returning as Colby.{{Cite web |last=Rigden |first=Clare |date=2024-09-15 |title=Sam Neill happy to be returning to film The Twelve in WA |url=https://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/tv/binge-drama-the-twelve-to-shoot-season-three-in-wa-with-hollywood-star-sam-neill-happily-reprising-his-role-c-16024547 |access-date=2024-09-16 |website=PerthNow |language=en}} On 6 December 2024, Neill was announced as a nominee for the 2025 AACTA awards for his role on The Twelve.{{Cite web |last=Knox |first=David |date=2024-12-07 |title=2025 AACTA Awards: nominations {{!}} TV Tonight |url=https://tvtonight.com.au/2024/12/2025-aacta-awards-nominations.html |access-date=2024-12-07 |website=tvtonight.com.au |language=en-AU}}

On 21 June 2024, Neill was named in the cast for the Netflix drama Untamed.{{Cite web |last=Andreeva |first=Nellie |date=2024-06-21 |title=Sam Neill Joins Eric Bana In Netflix Limited Series 'Untamed' |url=https://deadline.com/2024/06/sam-neill-netflix-limited-series-untamed-eric-bana-1235979693/ |access-date=2024-08-24 |website=Deadline |language=en-US}}

In 1980, Neill met actress Lisa Harrow while filming Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981) and they have a son.{{Cite web |last=Catherall |first=Sarah |date=28 March 2018 |title=Lisa Harrow reflects on the pivotal moments in her colourful career |url=https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/theatre/lisa-harrow-reflects-on-the-pivotal-moments-in-her-colourful-career/ |publisher=The New Zealand Listener|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180715210759/https://www.noted.co.nz/culture/theatre/lisa-harrow-reflects-on-the-pivotal-moments-in-her-colourful-career/|archive-date=15 July 2018}} He married make-up artist Noriko Watanabe in 1989 and they have one daughter together. He also adopted Watanabe's daughter from her first marriage.{{Cite web |title=Sam Neill: Home at Last |url=https://www.twopaddocks.com/news-media/show/sam-neill-home-at-last/855 |access-date=3 March 2023 |website=www.twopaddocks.com|date=31 January 2021 }}{{Cite web |date=10 January 1991 |title=Sam Neill – Family & Companions |url=http://au.movies.yahoo.com/actor-crew/121889/sam-neill/friends-family |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718134946/http://au.movies.yahoo.com/actor-crew/121889/sam-neill/friends-family/ |archive-date=18 July 2011 |access-date=22 July 2010 |publisher=Yahoo!}} He separated from Watanabe in 2017,{{Cite news |date=16 October 2017 |title=Sam Neill's Love Triangle |work=Woman's Day |url=https://www.pressreader.com/australia/womans-day-australia/20171016/281835758927650 |access-date=24 August 2018}}{{Cite web |date=5 April 2018 |title=Actor Sam Neill on family, friends, film and his other passion: winemaking |url=https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/actor-sam-neill-not-quite-a-wildeyed-crazy-hippy-but-kinda-close-20180403-h0ya9u |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223633/https://www.afr.com/life-and-luxury/arts-and-culture/actor-sam-neill-not-quite-a-wildeyed-crazy-hippy-but-kinda-close-20180403-h0ya9u |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=14 September 2019 |website=Australian Financial Review}} and dated Australian political journalist Laura Tingle from 2018 to 2021.{{Cite news |last=Robin |first=Myriam |date=4 February 2018 |title=Actor Sam Neill and AFR political editor Laura Tingle start dating |work=The Australian Financial Review |url=http://www.afr.com/brand/rear-window/revealed-laura-tingles-new-beau-20180204-h0tfps |url-status=live |access-date=13 February 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223634/https://www.afr.com/rear-window/revealed-laura-tingles-new-beau-20180204-h0tfps |archive-date=6 January 2021}}{{Cite web |last=Roach |first=Vicky |date=22 July 2018 |title=Sam Neill: 'I don't like the idea of retiring' |url=https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/lifestyle/stellar/sam-neill-i-dont-like-the-idea-of-retiring/news-story/60937fd89dfb8473612987d88894b344 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223635/https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=DTWEB_WRE170_a&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2Flifestyle%2Fstellar%2Fsam-neill-i-dont-like-the-idea-of-retiring%2Fnews-story%2F60937fd89dfb8473612987d88894b344&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&nk=47b9155de6d3fd558ff92a11c968065b-1568501259 |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=14 September 2019 |website=The Daily Telegraph |location=Australia}}{{Cite web |last=Doreian |first=Robyn |date=2023-03-29 |title='I'm a solitary single man now': Sam Neill |url=https://www.smh.com.au/culture/celebrity/i-m-a-solitary-single-man-now-sam-neill-20230321-p5ctz3.html |access-date=2024-10-22 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |language=en}}

In his early twenties, Neill fathered a son who was placed for adoption. They reunited in 1994.{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Fiona |date=11 October 2014 |title=What I've learnt: Sam Neill |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.com/culture/tv-radio/article/what-ive-learnt-sam-neill-m7dkrlbdt6p |url-status=live |access-date=24 September 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612141342/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/what-ive-learnt-sam-neill-m7dkrlbdt6p |archive-date=12 June 2018 |issn=0140-0460}}

Neill lives in Alexandra, New Zealand, South Island, and owns a winery called Two Paddocks, consisting of a vineyard at Gibbston and two near Alexandra, all in the Central Otago wine region.{{Cite web |last=Scott |first=Cathy |title=Two Paddocks: Our Story |url=http://www.twopaddocks.com/profile.shtml |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160427212838/http://www.twopaddocks.com/profile.shtml |archive-date=27 April 2016 |access-date=20 March 2013}} His avocation is running Two Paddocks. "I'd like the vineyard to support me but I'm afraid it is the other way round. It is not a very economic business", said Neill, "It is a ridiculously time- and money-consuming business. I would not do it if it was not so satisfying and fun, and it gets me pissed once in a while."Pam Brown. [http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=24&ContentID=57032 The West. "A glorious romp through history"], 5 February 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080212074226/http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=24&ContentID=57032 |date=12 February 2008 }} He enjoys sharing his exploits on the farm through social media.{{Cite web |date=24 August 2017 |title=Let's take a moment to appreciate Sam Neill's beautiful, perfect, pig-filled Twitter account |url=http://thewireless.co.nz/articles/let-s-take-a-moment-to-appreciate-sam-neil-s-beautiful-perfect-pig-filled-twitter-account |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223703/https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/the-wireless/374807/let-s-take-a-moment-to-appreciate-sam-neil-s-beautiful-perfect-pig-filled-twitter-account?utm_source=redirect&utm_medium=wireless.co.nz |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=13 February 2018}} He names his farm animals after film-industry colleagues.{{Cite web |date=4 May 2017 |title=Meet Taika, the latest Sam Neill's farm animal with a famous name |url=https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/92240453/Meet-Taika-the-latest-Sam-Neills-farm-animal-with-a-famous-name |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223707/https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/celebrities/92240453/meet-taika-the-latest-sam-neills-farm-animal-with-a-famous-name |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=20 February 2018 |website=Stuff }}

Neill supports the New Zealand Labour Party{{Cite web |title=Sam Neill's Oamaru Speech | Scoop News |url=http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0509/S00178.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223710/https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/PO0509/S00178.htm |archive-date=6 January 2021 |access-date=25 August 2009}} and the Australian Labor Party. He has been a member of the Equity New Zealand trade union since 1979.{{Cite web |title=Sam Neill wins 2019 Equity NZ lifetime achievement award, presented by Ryman Healthcare; Equity New Zealand |url=https://equity.org.nz/sam-neill-wins-2019-equity-nz-lifetime-achievement-award-presented-by-ryman-healthcare/ |access-date=18 July 2022}}

In March 2023, Neill revealed that he had been undergoing chemotherapy since March 2022 after being diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, following swollen glands that were first noticed during publicity for Jurassic World Dominion.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/17/sam-neill-cancer-memoir-interview | title=Sam Neill on his new memoir and living with blood cancer: 'I'm not afraid to die, but it would annoy me' | newspaper=The Guardian | date=17 March 2023 | last1=Clark | first1=Lucy }} He stated that the cancer is in remission, but he will require monthly chemotherapy for the rest of his life.{{Cite news |last=Clark |first=Lucy |date=17 March 2023 |title=Sam Neill: Jurassic Park actor reveals he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2023/mar/18/sam-neill-jurassic-park-actor-reveals-he-is-being-treated-for-stage-three-blood-cancer |access-date=17 March 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}

Neill used his year away from work while undergoing his cancer treatment to write a memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, published in March 2023.{{cite news | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-64969344 | title=Sam Neill diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma | work=BBC News | date=17 March 2023 }}

• {{Cite book |last1=Neill |first1=Sam |year=2023 |title=Did I Ever Tell You This?: A Memoir |location=London |publisher=Michael Joseph Ltd |isbn=9780241648988 |oclc=1356450549}}
• {{Cite book |last1=Neill |first1=Sam |year=2023 |title=Did I Ever Tell You This?: A Memoir |location=Melbourne |publisher=The Text Publishing Company |isbn=9781922790309 |ref=none }} (Australian edition)

Neill was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 1991 Queen's Birthday Honours, for services as an actor.{{London Gazette|issue=52564 |supp=2 |page=30 |date=15 June 1991}} In the 2007 New Year Honours, he was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM).{{Cite web |date=30 December 2006 |title=New Year honours list 2007 |url=https://www.dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190723122217/https://dpmc.govt.nz/publications/new-year-honours-list-2007 |archive-date=23 July 2019 |access-date=29 August 2020 |publisher=Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet}} When knighthoods were returned to the New Zealand royal honours system in 2009, those with DCNZM or higher honours were given the option of converting them into knighthoods. Neill chose not to do this, saying the title of Sir was "just far too grand, by far".{{Cite news |date=1 August 2009 |title=Sir 'just far too grand' for Neill |work=Otago Daily Times |url=http://www.odt.co.nz/the-regions/otago/67857/sir-039just-far-too-grand039-neill |url-status=live |access-date=1 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223707/https://www.odt.co.nz/regions/sir-just-far-too-grand-neill |archive-date=6 January 2021}} However, in June 2022, he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.{{Cite news |title=Redesignation in the New Zealand Order of Merit |work=New Zealand Gazette |url=https://gazette.govt.nz/notice/id/2022-vr2365 |date=14 June 2022 |access-date=14 June 2022}}

Neill was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by the University of Canterbury in 2002.{{Cite web |year=2014 |title=Honorary Graduates |url=http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/theuni/council/Honorary%20Graduates/Annual_Recipient_List_2014.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150304040618/http://www.canterbury.ac.nz/theuni/council/Honorary%20Graduates/Annual_Recipient_List_2014.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2015 |publisher=University of Canterbury |page=2}} Neill was awarded the 2019 Equity New Zealand Lifetime achievement award, celebrating his distinguished performance career, as well as his leadership and mentoring towards others in the acting industry.{{Cite web |title=Sam Neill wins 2019 Equity NZ lifetime achievement award, presented by Ryman Healthcare; Equity New Zealand |url=https://equity.org.nz/sam-neill-wins-2019-equity-nz-lifetime-achievement-award-presented-by-ryman-healthcare/ |access-date=18 July 2022}} In 2020, he received an Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Award, limited to 20 living people.{{Cite news |date=4 July 2020 |title=The 2020 Arts Foundation Icon Award Whakamana Hiranga recipients announced |work=Scoop Culture |url=https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2007/S00023/the-2020-arts-foundation-icon-award-whakamana-hiranga-recipients-announced.htm |url-status=live |access-date=5 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210106223635/https://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/CU2007/S00023/the-2020-arts-foundation-icon-award-whakamana-hiranga-recipients-announced.htm |archive-date=6 January 2021}}

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