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Sam Neill’s friends, peers and admirers rushed to pay their respects to the actor, who died suddenly on Monday at the age of 78.
Australian director Phillip Noyce, who directed Neill in 1989’s Dead Calm alongside Nicole Kidman, told the Guardian: “Sam was probably the best actor I’ve ever met.
“Ironically, Sam was responsible for my long career in Hollywood. When there were rumors that George Miller might have secretly directed Dead Calm, Sam convinced the American producer, Mace Neufeld, that I was indeed the director – and Mace then signed me to direct Harrison Ford in Patriot Games,” Noyce added.
Actress Magda Szubanski, a friend who Neill named after one of her ducks, said she was “shocked” by his death.
He said: “When I spoke to him recently, he was cancer free and happy and very happy with life. He was talented, talented, beautiful, angry, cheerful.
Actor David Wenham said that “besides being an international legend”, Neill was “the kindest, friendliest, most generous and helpful person ever”.
The new Zealand The Prime Minister, Christopher Luxon, said Neill was one of the leaders.
“He started when there was no film industry in the country,” Luxon said in a social media post. “For more than 50 years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talent helped shape our film industry into what it is today – one of our biggest cultural exports. His work will be seen and loved after all of us.”
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the actor, writing on X: “Sam Neill has played a role in many of Australia’s favorite stories and has found a special place in Australian hearts. Angry and dry, thoughtful and irreverent, Sam fought his illness with the same dignity, humor and passion that powered his every performance.
Author Kathy Lette said Neill’s untimely death was heartbreaking: “Sam was not only a great actor but also a wonderful, compassionate, intelligent and self-deprecating friend.
Fijian New Zealand director Toa Fraser, whose film Dean Spanley portrayed Neill as the titular charactersaid: “Sam inspired me and many of us from the beginning. He changed my life, by his example and his actions … it is one of my biggest regrets that when he came to me on the set of Dean Spanley (often) and said “Do you want to come to dinner,” I refused. I had homework to do.
“Well, I’ll raise him a glass of Hungarian Tokay this evening, and maybe a glass of Pinot in the Burgundian style for him and his coach James Mason too.”
New Zealand filmmaker Chelsea Winstanley remembered Neill as “a wonderful man, a fighter to the end, for the whenua (land), for the screen”.
“Ngā mihi (thank you) Sam for all you have given to the visual industry, you will be missed. Your fight to save apoua (land) from being taken away and fed will continue…. What a time you all have made creating the industry we love, thank you.”
New Zealand actor Joel Tobeck, who starred alongside Neill in the 2003 film Perfect Strangers, wrote on Instagram: “This guy made me feel like I could fly. Even though I was all over the place in front of him he did well. We love playing rugby. RIP my old friend. Sam Neill, a true gentleman.”
Outside of his acting career, Neill was a keen environmentalist who campaigned for a variety of causes including marine conservation and the environment. against mining proposals in New Zealand. After his death, New Zealand’s Department of Conservation called Neill “an iconic Kiwi” and “a fierce and passionate hero of our environment”.
Sam told his story: “Whether he was advocating for our species, advocating for conservation efforts, or simply expressing his deep love for our special places, Sam told his story.” He realized that our nature is not something to just observe, but we must love and protect it.
