Did you consult a canine expert about how best to regress into a dog in Dean Spanley? WomanofWolfville
There was no consultation. I’ve studied dogs – wittingly or unwittingly – over the years, so the portrayal came from that.
I’ve had dogs all my life. I understand them better than I do people. I had a Staffy for 15 years. They are the most expressive of dogs – every flicker of guilt or pleasure is written all over their faces. If I had to leave, my dog wouldn’t take it well. I’d pack in secret – if she saw a suitcase, she’d plunge into despair. When I returned, she’d walk right past me and shun me as punishment. I’d think: “Are you ever going to forgive me?”
Sam Neill in Hunt for the Wilderpeople (2016). Photograph: Kane Skennar/Piki Films/Allstar
She was a rescue dog called Fire, which we had to keep because it was all she’d answer to. Fine at home – “Come here, Fire” – but in the park, you’d be yelling “Fire!” like it was the end of the world.
She’d fly with me between New Zealand and Australia. It cost more to fly her in a cage than it did the rest of us. A friend who worked in the airport ground staff heard an announcement over the intercom: “Flight 8497 to Queenstown is delayed. Sam Neill’s dog has taken a shit in the back.”
How was it working with Robin Williams in Bicentennial Man? stephenw1979
I loved Robin dearly. I hadn’t seen the film in nearly 30 years, but it came up on Netflix the other day, so I looked at it out of curiosity. It’s strange to see yourself as a much younger man whose hair they had to grey. More than anything, it reminded me how delightful Robin was.
His constant humour was almost an affliction – he couldn’t help it. It would take us hours to get on set because he knew every crew member by name – there must have been 200 of them – and he’d fix on one person and riff endlessly. It was a phenomenon to watch.
Bicentennial Man (1999). Photograph: Columbia Pictures/Allstar
There was another side to him too. The explanations for his death never quite account for the terrible sadness he carried. You could sense it in quieter moments, just the two of us running our lines in the trailer. Then we’d step outside and he’d light up the party.
Which is more challenging – reacting to special effects you can’t see like in Jurassic Park, or when the focus is entirely on the tension, like in Dead Calm? Ludders
Neither are easy. On Jurassic Park, there was plenty to see – enormous puppet creatures built by Stan Winston. CGI was coming into its own, while animatronics had reached their zenith. The combination worked beautifully – you believe the puppets because of the CGI, and the CGI because of the puppets.
I was particularly fond of the T rex. When he attacks the children through the sunroof of the Jurassic Park truck, there were dozens of people operating him. I was more concerned for the T rex than for the children. Sometimes he’d lunge too far, hit the truck, half a dozen teeth would fall out, and we’d have to stand down for the dinosaur dentist to repair his fangs.
Someone was taking the piss out of me the other day, and did the glasses take-off thing. Spielberg didn’t ask for that. I just thought it was a good way to express complete astonishment – though it’s counterintuitive when you think about it. When you stare up into the bright sky, you ought to really put on your sunglasses, not take them off.
Jurassic Park (1993). Photograph: UNIVERSAL/Allstar
Do you enjoy playing the baddie, like you did in The Piano? GasparGarcao
Yes. I’d like to think that, in life, I’m a goodie, so the chance to play a baddie can be a lot of fun. I loved playing Major Campbell in Peaky Blinders because he had a very sad dimension, so I felt slightly sorry for him. But I don’t feel sorry for the other very influential bad guys in positions of power on the planet as we speak.
What does an animal have to do to get a celebrity name on your farm? LouisLou
Sometimes it’s to annoy people; sometimes to flatter them. Helena Bonham Carter is very happy to be a cow. She’s had 16 calves now. She’s up for it, if nothing else. I have two new kunekune piglets. Amy Adams came to visit, so I thought: “It’s time this pig had a name.”
Sam Neill with his pig Angelica. Photograph: Fiona Goodall/The Guardian
Amy Adams the pig is not, by any standard, a pretty thing, so not very flattering. My rooster, Michael Fassbender, is usually fairly noisy in the morning, though he’s quiet today. He has a bit of a limp at the moment, which is ironic, because I tend to refer to him as my big cock.
Why did you decide to switch from your actual first name – Nigel? PickleMan
Changing it has been the best decision I’ve ever made. Now there is – God save us – the vague prospect of one of the worst Nigels ever becoming prime minister. Exceptions prove the rule – Havers, Planer, Davenport. Mostly, Nigels are fools.
No one has called their child Nigel in the UK for years. I’m not surprised. It’s the wettest name ever. There’s a pub up north somewhere where they have a Nigel reunion, where these poor Nigels get together and provide mutual comfort. Maybe I should go and speak.
I got out of the Nigel game when I was 11, because my best friend was called Nigel, so it was pragmatic. My brother and sister persist in calling me Nigel, but that’s about the end of it. If I’d stayed with Nigel Neill, I don’t think I would have had a film career.
Who do you support when Ireland play the All Blacks? PeteTheBeat
There’s something about sport in general that has become so – I don’t know – unsporting. It’s so commercial. I don’t want to cheer for a business. I’d choose Ireland because they’re the underdog. Everyone’s the underdog to the All Blacks, until they play South Africa. Then the All Blacks become the underdog, and I’m the first to get behind them.
Jurassic Park (1993). Photograph: Moviestore Collection Ltd/Alamy
How have you changed your diet since your cancer diagnosis? janeytinspain
When I left hospital, I was looking forward to going to some good restaurants. I said to my nurse: “What should I be eating?” She said: “Sam, eat whatever you feel like.”
I was on chemo for five years. You can’t eat at all for two or three days after you’ve had chemo. So now, I eat whatever I want. I grow a lot of fruit on the farm – and I’ve just had my breakfast, which involved stewed plums, stewed apricots, and stewed rhubarb, all of which I grow down in the veggie garden.
Would you have honestly turned down the role of Bond? RoyWilliams
I suspect I would have done it – because I was bullied into doing the bloody screen test by my agent, Margaret – God rest her soul. I’m also aware that I wouldn’t have enjoyed my life so much if I was an ex-Bond. That’s what people would say when I went for my morning coffee. “Look – it’s what’s-his-name, who used to be James Bond?” “Yeah, he was the one I never really liked.”
Do you know what’s happened to the mythical missing footage from Event Horizon? The_Mighty_Clam and clickclickdrone
There’s quite a bit more material – a number of scenes where you don’t know where the threat is. When they’re doing thrillers or horror films, people overlook: it’s what you don’t see that’s scary. If you can see the monster, you can deal with it. But if you can’t, who knows what’s going to happen? When I first saw the theatrical cut, I was surprised that we never had time for those eerie, darker moments. How they went missing permanently, I have no idea.
You have such a recognisable face. Is this part of your success? AmongstTheWaves
No. If anything, I’ve had to overcome the ordinariness of my appearance.
Sam Neill near his vineyard in New Zealand earlier this year. Photograph: Aina J Khan
Do you remember being invited to your college to receive an honorary tie and sending the entire school into fits of laughter by saying how much you hated it there? Thatsover
I was a boarder in New Zealand from the age of nine, which was rough, but I survived. I remember talking to those boys, looking at all these prefects and the First XI and First XV who all had fancy blazers with stripes, which I never had because I was never good at anything. I pointed to all the important boys and said: “Look, you’ve done all right. I’m not interested in you. It’s everyone that doesn’t have a special blazer that I’m interested in. You’re the ones that’ll make something of your lives.” Being made head prefect, you’d never get over that. The rest of your life would be a disappointment.
If it gets too hot for pinot noir, are you emotionally prepared to start making chardonnay? MissJJ
We had two acres of pinot noir at our Fusilier vineyard which has never done terribly well, so this season we pulled it up to plant chardonnay. In a couple of years, we’ll have our own organic chardonnay ready to go. I want to live long enough to pour my first chardonnay, so I’m looking forward to that.