Sam Neill's best-known roles in pictures
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- Sam Neill died at age 78, leaving behind a career that ranged from Hollywood blockbusters to acclaimed arthouse films
- Jurassic Park (1993), directed by Steven Spielberg, made Neill most recognizable as palaeontologist Dr. Alan Grant, appearing alongside Jeff Goldblum, Laura Dern, and Richard Attenborough
- Neill reprised the Dr. Grant role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and returned for a final appearance in 2022's Jurassic World Dominion alongside the original cast
- His big early role was the adult antichrist Damien in The Omen III (1981), followed by Dead Calm (1989) opposite Nicole Kidman and The Hunt for Red October (1990) opposite Sir Sean Connery
- Neill featured in The Piano (1993), Jane Campion's Oscar-winning drama, cementing his arthouse credentials alongside his blockbuster work
- Later career highlights included the title role in the fantasy TV series Merlin (1998), the sci-fi thriller Event Horizon (1997), and the villainous Major Chester Campbell in BBC's Peaky Blinders
- His more recent credits included the mystery drama series Apples Never Fall alongside Annette Bening
Why it matters: Neill's death at 78 closes a chapter on a rare actor who moved fluidly between Spielberg-scale blockbusters and Oscar-winning arthouse drama, leaving a filmography that stretched across four decades from The Omen III to Apples Never Fall.
