Sam Neill, ‘Jurassic Park’ Star, Dies at 78
Sam Neill, the versatile actor whose career of more than 50 years was highlighted by his three appearances in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and...
Key points
- Sam Neill, the versatile actor whose career of more than 50 years was highlighted by his three appearances in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic World” franchises, died on July 13 in Sydney, Australia.
- Summarizing Neill’s career in “The New Biographical Dictionary of Film,” critic David Thomson wrote, “There’s a Sam Neill who seems always there in large films, watching Meryl Streep or the dinosaur with the basic common sense that know all stars are alike.
- That actor has been a patient, loyal servant to great ladies….Then look again, and see what a wry, watchful actor he is, [of] considerable intelligence.” Born in Northern Ireland and raised in New Zealand, Neill was a pioneering figure in the development of film in the antipodes.
- That film’s success was dwarfed by that of Steven Spielberg’s science fiction thriller “Jurassic Park,” the adaptation of Michael Crichton’s bestseller, which marked the bow of Neill’s best-known character: paleontologist Dr.
What happened
Sam Neill, the versatile actor whose career of more than 50 years was highlighted by his three appearances in the blockbuster “Jurassic Park” and “Jurassic World” franchises, died on July 13 in Sydney, Australia. Summarizing Neill’s career in “The New Biographical Dictionary of Film,” critic David Thomson wrote, “There’s a Sam Neill who seems always there in large films, watching Meryl Streep or the dinosaur with the basic common sense that know all stars are alike. That actor has been a patient, loyal servant to great ladies….Then look again, and see what a wry, watchful actor he is, [of] considerable intelligence.” Born in Northern Ireland and raised in New Zealand, Neill was a pioneering figure in the development of film in the antipodes. That film’s success was dwarfed by that of Steven Spielberg’s science fiction thriller “Jurassic Park,” the adaptation of Michael Crichton’s bestseller, which marked the bow of Neill’s best-known character: paleontologist Dr. Neill returned as Grant in two of the original feature’s five sequels, “Jurassic Park III” (2001) and “Jurassic World Dominion,” the third of a second trilogy in which marauding dinosaurs have escaped Isla Nubar to...
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