Sam Neill, despite being considered one of New Zealand’s best actors, was actually born in Northern Ireland. He moved to New Zealand when he was eight-years-old, and would eventually go on to college for English literature before diving into the world of Hollywood.

Sam Neill is one of those actors that may have never been a household name, but has slowly been putting together an incredible career with hit after hit since the 1970s. He’s been in almost every kind of movie you can name. From comedies and period pieces, to science fiction and even body horror. He’s even worked his way into the wine industry. Sam Neill has had a multifaceted career that has earned him three Golden Globe nominations and two Emmy nominations. He would even have been knighted by the New Zealand Government, but he turned it down.

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5 The Piano (1993)

     Miramax

The Piano is about a mute woman named Ada McGrath (Holly Hunter) and her daughter, Flora (Anna Paquin), who move to New Zealand after Ada has been married off to a man named Alisdair Stewart (Sam Neill). Jane Campion, who would go on to direct the recent hit, The Power of the Dog, directed this film in 1993. It’s a dark period piece that covers themes of toxic masculinity and jealousy. All the actors turn in great performances, but it’s Sam Neill who would turn in the best.

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MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

MOVIEWEB VIDEO OF THE DAY

Alisdair Stewart is a complicated and dark character, and this allows Neill to tap into something that he would use several times throughout his career. Sam Neill is excellent at refrained anger, and he does it well here. He’s played a lot of terrible people - and Alisdair is among his worst.

4 Event Horizon (1997)

     Paramount Pictures

Event Horizon isn’t Sam Neill’s first rodeo with horror- but it would end up being one of his best and, in some ways, his most absurd. He undergoes more makeup and prosthetics than in any other role he’s done. That campiness works perfectly as Neill totally leans into that side of things.

The film is a sci-fi horror movie that came out in 1997, and was directed by Paul W. S. Anderson. It’s the story of Event Horizon, a starship that was lost during a trek into space. Years later, a rescue crew is sent to find it, with the creator of the original ship, Dr. William Weir (Sam Neill) leading the charge into the unknown. It’s dark, trippy, and a lot of fun.

There’s a scene near the end of the film, where Sam Neill’s character has totally lost his mind to the ship, and is fighting with Captain Miller (Laurence Fishburne). He’s become physically transformed and mutilated, and is near unrecognizable. Most of the scene is shot in an ultra close-up of Sam Neill’s new face, and it’s utterly terrifying. It’s one of the most underrated ’90s horror movies.

3 In the Mouth of Madness (1994)

     New Line Cinema

In the Mouth of Madness is about John Trent (Sam Neill), an insurance investigator, who, after a bizarre near-death encounter, is asked to locate author Sutter Cane (Jürgen Prochnow). Cane is a horror writer who was working on his final book before disappearing.

Throughout the film, John Trent is slowly losing his mind. The worlds of reality and horror are blending together, and Sam Neill handles that descent into madness perfectly.

The most iconic scene of the movie is one of the very last shots. John is sitting in a theater, and has slowly come to the realization that he is the main character of the manuscript he had been trying to track down, and is watching it unfold on the silver screen. He lets out a haunting laugh, one that slowly dissolves into tears. It’s totally unhinged, and a great performance from Sam Neill. It was directed by horror master John Carpenter, and it’s one of his best.

2 Hunt For the Wilderpeople (2016)

     Madman Entertainment

Hunt For the Wilderpeople is certainly helped by writer/director Taika Waititi’s sense of style and humor. However, the role of Hector Faulkner is hard to imagine as anyone other than Sam Neill.

The story is about Ricky Baker (Julian Dennison), a kid who has been in and out of different foster homes before finally getting assigned to Bella Faulkner (Rima Te Wiata) and her husband Hector Faulkner (Sam Neill), who can at last provide a loving home. It wouldn’t last, as Bella tragically passes away. Dealing with the pain, Hector disappears into the woods to be alone. He doesn’t realize that Ricky has followed him, causing the whole town to think that Hector has kidnapped him.

Hector Faulkner is rough around the edges, but an ultimately caring father-figure to Ricky. He’s dealing with the loss of his love, and trying to learn how to care for this young boy all at the same time. It’s played with a lot of heart and humor, but also gravitas and strength. If Sam Neill was ever to be nominated for an Oscar - this film may have been his best chance so far.

1 Jurassic Park (1993)

     Universal Pictures

If many of the previous performances show the dark side that Sam Neill is capable of conjuring for roles, then his role in Jurassic Park shows how likable he can be too. Despite coming out in 1993, the effects-heavy adventure movie still looks fantastic today. Many things about this movie are now iconic, and that includes the charismatic performance given by Sam Neill as the paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant. The role of Alan Grant may not be the meatiest performance for Sam Neill, but it’s easily his most recognizable.

Based on the Michael Crichton book of the same name, Jurassic Park was directed by the legendary Stephen Spielberg. It’s absolutely one of his best. It tells the story of a group of scientists that have figured out how to clone dinosaur DNA. Alan Grant and a few other scientists are asked to come and see what has been worked on: a theme park full of resurrected dinosaurs. What could go wrong?

Jurassic Park is considered to be one of the greatest films of all time. Sam Neill helped cement this movie as a pop culture staple of the ’90s. He will be returning to this iconic role later this year in Jurassic World: Dominion.