Sam Neill's Final Hunt for the Wilderpeople Interview — SkimNews
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- Sam Neill played Hector Faulkner in Taika Waititi's Hunt for the Wilderpeople, based on Barry Crump's novel "Wild Pork and Watercress"; he gave this interview in June, a month before his death on 13 July.
- Rima Te Wiata wrote the now-famous Ricky Baker birthday song in roughly 10 minutes during filming because the traditional Happy Birthday song wasn't yet in the public domain.
- The scene where a wild boar wounds Hec's dog Zag was shot on location with actors reacting to a puppet pig operated by crew; Neill called the finished sequence "pretty full-on," noting parents often have to comfort children afterward.
- Julian Dennison played Ricky Baker without auditioning, having previously worked with Taika Waititi on an anti-drugs advert; he drew on real-life family members, including a cousin who acted like Ricky and a brother who listened to Tupac.
- Rachel House, who played the child welfare officer, also served as Dennison's acting coach and taught him to record and listen to his lines the night before filming — a technique he still uses.
- Taika Waititi welcomed cast improvisation, including a joke Dennison pitched from a hot tub rehearsal: during a scene with Rhys Darby's Psycho Sam, he suggested Sam open a door and realize he hadn't dug the tunnel yet.
- The film's car chase was shot on Ngāti Rangi ancestral land, with army personnel helping the production because part of the territory doubles as a military training ground.
Why it matters: This piece pairs behind-the-scenes memories of a beloved New Zealand film with the news that Neill shared them a month before his death on 13 July, giving the recollections unintended valedictory weight. The improvised birthday song, puppet-pig boar scene, and hot-tub pitches reveal how much of the film's oddball charm came from accident rather than script.
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