In his more than 50 years on screen, Sam Neill — who died on Monday at the age of 78 — was a leading man of both blockbusters and independent films, had memorable turns in several prestige TV series and excelled at playing heroes and villains alike.
Though the New Zealand actor is best known for his beloved role as Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 dinosaur classic “Jurassic Park” and its follow-ups “Jurassic Park III” (2001) and “Jurassic World Dominion” (2022), Neill also starred in horror hit “Possession” (1981), Jane Campion’s Oscar-winning romance “The Piano” (1993), fantasy miniseries ‘Merlin” (1998) and Netflix’s hit show “Peaky Blinders” (2013-14).
Take a look back at Neill’s career in photos below.
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My Brilliant Career (1979)
Image Credit: Analysis Films/courtesy Everett Collection After breaking through in the New Zealand thriller “Sleeping Dogs” in 1977, Neil scored a role in Gillian Armstrong’s acclaimed period drama “My Brilliant Career” alongside Judy Davis. He captivated hearts as Harry Beecham, the love interest of Davis’ Sybylla Melvyn.
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Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981)
Image Credit: ©20thCentFox/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill’s first big Hollywood production was “Omen III: The Final Conflict,” the last installment in the supernatural horror franchise. Neill played the lead role of Damien Thorn, the antichrist and son of the devil, alongside Lisa Harrow as his love interest. The two became romantically involved off-set and later had a son together.
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Possession (1981)
Image Credit: Soma Film/courtesy Everett Collection Neill continued his horror streak with Andrzej Żuławski’s cult classic “Possession,” in which he played an international spy whose wife (Isabelle Adjani) begins exhibiting strange behavior after asking for a divorce.
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Attack Force Z (1982)
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Neill starred alongside Mel Gibson in the war film “Attack Force Z,” about the joint Australian, British and New Zealand unit during World War II known as the Z Special Unit. Though the film was only released in Australia, both Neill and Gibson would go on to become international stars.
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Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983)
Image Credit: Everett Collection / Everett Collection Neill played a James Bond-esque role in British series “Reilly: Ace of Spies,” which dramatized the life of Sidney Reilly, a Russian-born man who became one of the greatest spies to work for the U.K. For his performance, Neill was nominated for a Golden Globe for best acor in a minseries or TV film.
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A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill starred alongside Meryl Streep in 1988’s “A Cry in the Dark,” a drama based on the real-life story of Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, who struggled to prove their innoncence after their nine-week-old daughter disappeared. Streep received an Oscar nomination for her performance.
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Dead Calm (1989)
Image Credit: ©Warner Bros/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill played the husband of a 21-year-old Nicole Kidman in “Dead Calm,” a psychological thriller about a married couple stranded at sea.
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The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Image Credit: ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill played Sean Connery’s second-in-command in the submarine spy thriller “The Hunt for Red October.”
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The Piano (1993)
Image Credit: ©Miramax/Courtesy Everett Collection In Jane Campion’s history-making Oscar darling “The Piano,” Neill played Alisdair Stewart, the cruel man who Holly Hunter’s mute Ada is forced to marry. The film went on to become a critical and commercial hit, and Campion became the first woman to win the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival.
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Jurassic Park (1993)
Image Credit: ©MCA/Courtesy Everett Collection The same year Neill starred in “The Piano,” he also led Steven Spielberg’s dino blockbuster “Jurassic Park.” In the beloved sci-fi adventure, he plays paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant alongside Laura Dern’s paleobotanist Ellie Sattler. The film is highly regarded as one of the greatest ever made.
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In the Mouth of Madness (1995)
Image Credit: ©New Line Cinema/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill returned to horror with John Carpenter’s “In the Mouth of Madness,” in which he stars as an insurance investigator who begins to lose his sanity after he begins looking into the disappearance of a horror novelist.
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Event Horizon (1997)
Image Credit: ©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill starred alongside Joely Richardson and Laurence Fishburne in the sci-fi horror film “Event Horizon,” which follows a crew of astronauts in 2047 who are sent on a rescue mission for a missing spaceship.
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Merlin (1998)
Image Credit: ©Hallmark Entertainment/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill dipped his toe into the fantasy genre to play the title role in “Merlin,” a miniseries about the mythical wizard that earned him Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.
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Jurassic Park III (2001)
Image Credit: ©Universal/Courtesy Everett Collection Neill returned as Dr. Alan Grant in 2001’s “Jurassic Park III,” which centers around the paleontologist after a divorced couple enlist his help in finding their son who has gone missing on Isla Sorna.
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The Tudors (2007)
Image Credit: ©Showtime Networks Inc./Courtesy Everett Collection Neill played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, trusted adviser to King Henry VIII, in Season 1 of the historical drama series “The Tudors.”
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Peaky Blinders (2013-14)
Image Credit: ©Netflix/Courtesy Everett Collection In the Netflix hit, Neill spent two seasons as baddie Major Chester Campbell, an inspector hired by Winston Churchill to recover missing guns from the Birmingham Small Arms factory.
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Jurassic World Dominion (2022)
Image Credit: Courtesy Everett Collection Neill made one final appearance as Dr. Alan Grant in 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion.” He returned alongside original stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, who helped new franchise leaders Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard to expose a conspiracy by the genomics corporation Biosyn.
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