Sam Neill dead
Discussion
Recommended!! Was very sad to wake up to this news today. I know he was a man I'd never met, but he was one of my favourite actors and had only just finished reading his memoir novel actually which was very good. Event Horizon I am particularly obsessed with, but also love him in the John Carpenter film In the Mouth of Madness. Also Possession is a mad film, the Omen III, the Hunt for Red October and of course Jurassic Park (I wouldn't say his acting in that was terrible by the way).
He had a couple of vineyards in the Central Otago region of New Zealand, where he still resided and was very actively campaigning against the building of a goldmine in that beautiful unspoilt area. His winery 'Two Paddocks' makes an excellent Pinot Noir by all accounts, I promised myself i would get a bottle one day.
He could literally play any character, and if that's not the mark of a good actor I don't know what is. Farewell, Nigel, you hated that name, it's not very movie star is it?
A little car related snippet from an interview with Sam, this is also in his book too:
"This was... 20-something years ago and I was living in London, and I'd just done a series called 'Reilly: Ace of Spies', which took about eight months and was very hard work. And I thought, "I'll reward myself. I've got some money in the bank. I've always wanted a Porsche.
"So I went out and bought... I actually ordered it from Stuttgart or wherever they're made. And it looked like a blowfly. It was all black. There was no chrome. It was just all black with black leather. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And I was completely thrilled. And I got in it and drove it home - it was quite difficult to drive - and I got it back to the flat. And as the days went on, I got more and more uncomfortable with the idea that... I mean... I'm not a Porsche man. That's the thing.
"I'd completely... it was a stupid, stupid thing to do. And I would walk out of the flat and I'd walk down the street, and I'd walk past the Porsche and then I'd check if anyone was looking. And if the coast was clear, I'd jump in and roar off.
"Then I was driving through Hyde Park one day and it was Sunday so there was no-one around - you could actually open it out a bit - and it was middle of winter, nobody around, and I stopped at a... There was one pedestrian in the middle of all of Hyde Park. And this was when I was feeling at my most uncomfortable in my Porsche. And I realised to my horror that I knew the person who was crossing the road. It was Judy Davis. And I thought, "God, I hope she doesn't see me." And I looked up - "Oh!" - and she'd seen me and she came over to the thing and I...you know, and I had an electric window, and it went, "Zzsshh." And she just shook her head like this. "Not you, Sam, not you." And turned and walked away. And I... "Oh, well, that's it. I'm buggered now." I sold the car the next day. It was never seen again."
He had a couple of vineyards in the Central Otago region of New Zealand, where he still resided and was very actively campaigning against the building of a goldmine in that beautiful unspoilt area. His winery 'Two Paddocks' makes an excellent Pinot Noir by all accounts, I promised myself i would get a bottle one day.
He could literally play any character, and if that's not the mark of a good actor I don't know what is. Farewell, Nigel, you hated that name, it's not very movie star is it?
A little car related snippet from an interview with Sam, this is also in his book too:
"This was... 20-something years ago and I was living in London, and I'd just done a series called 'Reilly: Ace of Spies', which took about eight months and was very hard work. And I thought, "I'll reward myself. I've got some money in the bank. I've always wanted a Porsche.
"So I went out and bought... I actually ordered it from Stuttgart or wherever they're made. And it looked like a blowfly. It was all black. There was no chrome. It was just all black with black leather. I thought it was the most beautiful thing I'd ever seen. And I was completely thrilled. And I got in it and drove it home - it was quite difficult to drive - and I got it back to the flat. And as the days went on, I got more and more uncomfortable with the idea that... I mean... I'm not a Porsche man. That's the thing.
"I'd completely... it was a stupid, stupid thing to do. And I would walk out of the flat and I'd walk down the street, and I'd walk past the Porsche and then I'd check if anyone was looking. And if the coast was clear, I'd jump in and roar off.
"Then I was driving through Hyde Park one day and it was Sunday so there was no-one around - you could actually open it out a bit - and it was middle of winter, nobody around, and I stopped at a... There was one pedestrian in the middle of all of Hyde Park. And this was when I was feeling at my most uncomfortable in my Porsche. And I realised to my horror that I knew the person who was crossing the road. It was Judy Davis. And I thought, "God, I hope she doesn't see me." And I looked up - "Oh!" - and she'd seen me and she came over to the thing and I...you know, and I had an electric window, and it went, "Zzsshh." And she just shook her head like this. "Not you, Sam, not you." And turned and walked away. And I... "Oh, well, that's it. I'm buggered now." I sold the car the next day. It was never seen again."
Edited by Speed Badger on Monday 13th July 17:41
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