Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor who delivered stellar performances for more than four decades, has died at the age of 78. From scientists to farmers, spies to the devil incarnate, Neill's range was extraordinary. Here is a look back at his 20 all-time greatest performances, as ranked by critic Luke Buckmaster.
20. Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983)
This performance made you think Neill could have been a great James Bond. In this UK TV series, he plays a Russian spy who works for the British, a devil with the ladies, and looks great in a tuxedo. The show is adapted from Robin Bruce Lockhart's 1967 book Ace of Spies, based on real-life spy Sidney Reilly, executed by the Soviets in 1925.
19. The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Holding his own against Sean Connery was no easy feat, but in John McTiernan's deep-sea blockbuster, Neill delivered a thoroughly engrossing supporting performance as Vasily Borodin, second-in-command to Connery's Capt. Marko Ramius, a Soviet defector. Borodin is pragmatic and process-driven but embroiled in volatile circumstances.
18. The Tudors (2007-10)
In this glamorous, racy series set in 16th-century England, Neill played Henry VIII's most trusted adviser, Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. A man of the cloth who enjoys being called “your eminence,” he is also a cunning powerbroker. Staying on the king's good side proves difficult; Wolsey does not survive to the second season.
17. Sweet Country (2017)
In Warwick Thornton's sumptuously shot neo-western, one of the greatest Australian films of the century, Neill plays preacher Fred Smith. He is a little pious but walks the walk, following Bryan Brown's sergeant to track down an Aboriginal man accused of murder. It is not a huge performance but beautifully balanced—tender yet tough.
16. The Dish (2000)
Rob Sitch's pleasant historical drama is based on the true story of the Parkes Observatory, which helped NASA track and broadcast Apollo 11's moon voyage. Neill plays Cliff, the observatory's mild-mannered but intensely focused director, delivering a warm, fully rounded performance with an avuncular tone, complete with a face-stretching smile and pipe.
15. The Piano (1993)
Initially, Neill's character in Jane Campion's Palme d'Or-winning masterpiece seems fair-minded, playing the new husband of Holly Hunter's mute protagonist, Ada. That changes in the final act when he violently responds to discovering Ada's love affair with a retired sailor (Harvey Keitel), tipping the film into nightmarish terrain. All performances are great.
14. Daybreakers (2009)
The vampire villain gets a corporate makeover in the Spierig brothers' revisionist genre movie. Neill plays Charles Bromley, CEO of the largest blood supplier in the US. In a world where most humans are vampires, a massive blood shortage occurs, and Bromley is determined to exploit it. Neill gives him a monstrously large impact with menacing sophistication.
13. Death in Brunswick (1990)
In this classic Australian black comedy, Neill plays Carl, a manchild who sleeps late, rarely washes his clothes, and lives in a grubby house. The plot kicks into gear when Carl, a two-bit chef at a dingy club, accidentally kills a drug dealer and sets off a gangland war. Neill makes him blase, aloof, and pitiable but also his own worst enemy.
12. The Omen: The Final Conflict (1981)
An adult Damien Thorn could have tipped into cartoonish evil, but Neill is devilishly good in The Omen's second sequel. He imbues the protagonist with a disquietingly calm, serpentine presence—his smile stretches too wide, his eyes seem to look through people. The film builds a genuinely creepy psychological space despite its goofy talk of prophecies.
11. My Brilliant Career (1979)
In Gillian Armstrong's superb adaptation of Miles Franklin's classic feminist novel, Neill plays Harry Beecham, the primary love interest of Judy Davis's bull-headed protagonist Sybylla Melvyn. Harry is a man of the world with a polite, dignified way that takes on extra layers as the role deepens. He is swoon-worthy, but Sybylla twice rejects his marriage proposals.
10. Merlin (1998)
Neill cut a charismatic presence as the lead in this two-part miniseries about the mythic magician, giving the role dramatic weight while leaning into fairytale elements. The special effects have dated, but the production holds up with an appealingly old-timey spirit of adventure.
9. Event Horizon (1997)
Critics were never kind to Paul Anderson's gruesome sci-fi about astronauts landing on a ship that haunts them with their deepest fears, but it is a cracking movie. Neill's role as ship designer Dr. William Weir begins in geeky scientist mode but becomes a berserk reinvention of the mad scientist trope. “Where we're going, we won't need eyes to see,” says Weir, around the time he opens the gates of hell.
8. Possession (1981)
No string of words can capture the balls-to-the-wall spirit of Neill's ghoulish performance in Andrzej Żuławski's cult classic. He plays Mark, a spy who returns to West Berlin and discovers his wife (Isabelle Adjani) wants a divorce—possibly due to a bedroom kink involving a tentacled alien. The film is a bizarre combination of relationship drama and Grand Guignol spectacle.
7. Rams (2020)
Neill was never more huggable than in Jeremy Sims' remake of the Icelandic drama. He stars as Colin, a hardy, empathetic sheep farmer who loves his flock but not his crotchety brother Les (Michael Caton), who lives next door. The pair haven't spoken in years, but that might change when a rare disease infects their animals.
6. Evil Angels (1988)
Titled A Cry in the Dark outside Australia and New Zealand, Fred Schepisi's drama about the trial of Lindy and Michael Chamberlain arrived in cinemas just six weeks after their convictions for murdering their daughter Azaria were quashed. Neill stars opposite Meryl Streep as Michael, a holier-than-thou pastor who questions his faith when the trial puts them through the wringer.
5. Peaky Blinders (2013-22)
Cillian Murphy's gangster Tommy Shelby and his gang find themselves in an existential fight for survival when Neill's hotshot chief inspector Maj. Campbell arrives from Belfast to clean up the streets and retrieve stolen weapons. It is a deliciously entertaining performance with chest-thumping dialogue and sizzling chemistry with Murphy.
4. Jurassic Park (1993)
Who could forget Neill's palaeontologist, Dr. Alan Grant, gawking at a Brachiosaurus while John Williams' beautiful score swells? This moment from Jurassic Park demonstrates how special effects can evoke wonder. Grant got his own film, Jurassic Park 3, and remains one of Neill's most iconic roles.
3. Dead Calm (1989)
For a large chunk of Phillip Noyce's white-knuckle thriller, Neill's navy officer John is alone on a sinking ship, requiring emotional and physical intensity. The calm-under-fire John tries to stay alive and return to his wife (Nicole Kidman), who is alone on their yacht with a psychotic stranger (Billy Zane). The film is pacy as hell with a real electrical charge.
2. Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016)
Taika Waititi's beloved New Zealand comedy unforgettably pairs on-the-run young delinquent Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison) with Neill's cranky foster uncle Hector. Neill goes whole hog on the grumpy old man shtick—smoking, grunting, and firing off lines like, “You ever worked on a farm before, are you just ornamental?” The stoic Hector may not want our love, but he got it.
1. In the Mouth of Madness (1994)
John Carpenter's sensationally loud, Lovecraftian horror movie features a brilliant, wall-rattling performance from Neill. He plays John Trent, an insurance investigator convinced that a mass hysteria event surrounding a new horror novel is a PR trick. The hardened cynic who becomes a true believer is a classic trajectory, and Neill runs with it to hell and back, his sanity erupting like a burst blood vessel.
