Sam Neill - 'I'm writing a new chapter'

He might just be New Zealand's most famous export, his film and television projects as diverse as they are acclaimed. Yet, despite being in demand, Sam Neill's latest project is far closer to home.

- TIFFANY DUNK

Sam Neill was leaving his local café two weeks ago when he heard a loud call. “Hey,” yelled a man from across the street. “I know you. You’re on TV. What’s your name?”

“I said, ‘Hugo Weaving’,” Sam recalls now, chuckling at the memory. “And he went, ‘Oh yep,’ and wandered off. He seemed perfectly happy with that.”

It seems almost impossible that Sam Neill could pass unrecognised. His five-decade-long career has seen him go from blockbusters to arthouse films, comedy flicks to gritty drama series and more. He’s trodden the boards and taken over social media during lockdown – his Instagram feed as famous for the A-list appearances from his friends as for the farm animals that surround his home in Central Otago, New Zealand. He’s been in so many projects that, he admits today, even he can’t remember the names of all of them. Sometimes when one of his films or series re-runs on television he is startled to see himself suddenly appear.

“Oh yes, I have the odd fright like that,” he admits. “I’m up in the hundreds now and you can’t remember everything with absolute clarity.”

Memories are on Sam’s mind today as we chat. The 74-year-old has been approached by publishers over the years hoping to commission his autobiography. To date, he’s always said no. “My excuse is, look, nothing much happened and if it did, I can’t remember it,” he says.

So it’s ironic, he tells us, having found a little spare time on his hands recently, that he began “tootling around, starting to commit things to my computer”.