Richardson Remembers Sam Neill: 'Cool, Suave and Weirdly Shy'
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- Miranda Richardson says she first met Sam Neill while making Merlin in 1998, when he told her he was aiming to produce pinot noir at his New Zealand winery Two Paddocks.
- On the 2015 set of And Then There Were None, Neill brought his own pinot noir to share and told the cast to let it breathe for hours; Richardson tasted at 45 minutes and found it 'filthy,' then 'completely delicious' after two hours.
- The pair reunited on Rams in 2020 in Australia, but Richardson had limited scenes with him and spent her downtime driving 'hundreds of miles' exploring the region — which she says drew his approval.
- Richardson recalls Neill was once considering naming a farm animal after her, 'probably' a duck from the menagerie he 'lavished' attention on at his farm.
- Neill gained 'a whole new audience on social media during Covid' as fans discovered his farm life, according to Richardson, who calls his 'courage about mortality' — saying he didn't worry about death — 'fabulous.'
- Richardson describes Neill as 'always a rare combination of suave and down-to-earth: this great, democratic guy with no bullshit,' adding: 'Sam's felt like a full life to be celebrated.'
Why it matters: Richardson's account adds a behind-the-scenes, personal dimension to the wave of tributes following Neill's death, layering specific anecdotes from three decades of working together — 'Merlin' (1998), 'And Then There Were None' (2015), and 'Rams' (2020) — onto a public figure already widely mourned. The story humanizes a star whose second act as a winemaker and farmer built him a new fanbase on social media during the pandemic.
