R.I.P. Sam Neill

Sam Neill has passed away at the age of 78. I awoke to the news this morning and it really bummed me out. I don't know Sam Neill from much, but the things i know him from have had a tremendous impact on my life.

I first became aware of Neill in "Jurassic Park", as I assume most people my age did. He played Dr Alan Grant. This was a formative movie for me. Growing up I loved dinosaurs. So, the idea of a movie that brought dinos back was such a big deal for me. I believe my folks took me to see it on opening night, and it has stayed with me forever. My wife will tell most people that "Jurassic Park" is her favorite movie of all time. We rewatched it fairly recently, and as I have told many friends of mine, the movie is damn near perfect. And for me, Dr Grant is the best part of the entire movie. The dinos are cool, Laura Dern is amazing, Jeff Blodblum does some of his best work, this may be Wayne Knight's second best performance, behind Newman, but Neill is the best by leaps and bounds. From the start of the movie, where he is lecturing the punkass kid that tries him, to the end, where he is basically the 2 kids in the movie new father, Neill owns it. He is one of the first people to see the issues this park may have. He brings to light many of the problems. When he is there for the birth of the baby raptor, Neill plays all happy go lucky and terrified all within a five minute long scene. He owns every single second that he is in this movie. I took so many things away from this as a kid, and watching it as an adult, my biggest takeaway was how wonderful Sam Neill was in this role. He was an adult who never wanted kids, only wanted to study dinosaurs and have a loving relationship with Laura Dern. But he ends up being the one who helps the kids survive the night, shows that he can be a good role model for younger kids, and is ready to get off the mountain as soon as they are able. And although the sequels and remakes they made for "Jurassic Park" were all terrible, anytime Neill and Dern showed up, at least I knew there'd be a few good scenes in there.

The other movie that I adore that stars Sam Neill is "Hunt For The Wilderpeople". This movie kind of came out of nowhere for me, but after I saw it, I told everyone I could everything about it. The driving force for me at first behind this movie was Taika Waititi being the director. He is one of my favorite directors, especially when he is doing more indie style movies. Then I heard people talk about Julian Dennison and how good he is in the movie. He plays the lead role of Ricky Baker. He's a troublemaker who just needs the right people to watch over him. He gets adopted by a couple, played by Neill and Rima Te Wiata. Rima, the wife, really wants a kid and jumps at the opportunity to adopt. Neill wants to be left alone and left to go out and search the land they live on and near. But, spoiler alert, after the wife unexpectedly passes away, Neill and Dennison are forced to be together. The movie sings from there, and it is due to the performance of these two actors. Dennison is clearly a star, but Neill plays such a different role for him and he absolutely nailed it. He is a sweet curmudgeon. He doesn't want the kid there, but he needs a companion once his wife passes. He tries to ward off Dennison at every turn, but it is to no avail. And as he softens, the movie just gets better and better. I saw this movie a few months after my daughter was born, so I was a father to two. And Neill's performance really hit hard for me. This movie always makes me cry and it is because of the relationship that grows between Dennison and Neill. "Hunt For The Wilderpeople" is a movie that is somehow still slept on, and if you haven't seen it yet, remedy that and watch it in honor of Sam Neill.

I know he has done a ton of other stuff, but these two movies are the cream of the crop for me. I know I will go back and watch some of his other work that I have yet to see now. Movies like "Memoirs of an Invisible Man", "Possession" and "Jessica" are now on my list. My wife loved his turn on the series "The Tudors". And I just found a short called "Cinema Quarantine: Das Bad", that I may watch as soon as I am done writing this.

Sam Neill was a great actor, and it looked as if he was a nice, simple man who enjoyed a quiet, unassuming life. This is a true loss. I'm bummed by this. Sam Neill left an impact on me at two very different times in my life, and for that I will be forever indebted to him. Rest In Peace Sam Neill. You will be missed. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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