Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Wwhen i first met sam, i thought he was cute, cool and incredibly shy. He was always a mixture of the eccentric and the sophisticated: a big man, a democrat without a cow. I just enjoyed the way he looked like he was just going through life. He was so comfortable with her.
Acting was only one part of his life: there was always a lot going on. He couldn’t wait to get back to his farm with his wine and his animals. I remember when we were making Merlin in 1998, he took me out to lunch. We had a delicious bottle of pinot noir, and he said it was what he wanted with his Paddocks wine press.
Then, in 2015, and Then It Wasn’t, he brought back bottles of his pinor noir to give away to the public. They told us to give it a few hours to rest before opening. I was very intemperate. I thought, “He can’t mean it.” So after 45 minutes, I tasted it and it happened dirty things. I thought: Oh my God, how am I going to tell Sam that his wine is bad? I have to lie and I can’t do that. However, I left the bottle sitting around, and two hours later I was drinking again and of course it was very tasty. I never told him about it. He would say it served me well.
In 2020 we worked together at the Rams in Australia. I was happy, but in the end I didn’t spend much time with him because he was almost everywhere and I had a lot of free time. So I explored the area extensively, driving hundreds of miles and discovering new places. Towards the end of the shoot, he asked me what I had been doing. When I told him he said: “Oh, good for you!” He was happy that I didn’t just go to the hotel or to my hometown. This was a huge compliment to Sam and meant a lot to me. Indeed, he was one of the people you are looking for a favor.
I have never been to his farm, but I think there was a time when it was considered that he would name an animal after me. I don’t know what breed it is, but it seemed to be very fond of ducks, so I wouldn’t think it was one of those. It was great to know that so many people were affected by Sam; I think he found a new audience on social media during the Covid era when people discovered his life on the farm. That was fun.
He was a guy who felt like time was running out, and I thought his bravery about death – to say he didn’t worry about it – was great. I think, and I hope, he had a lot of fun. Sam feels like a full life to celebrate.
