We remember Sam Neill with some of the Kiwi’s most adored gems in frankie issue 119.

EVENT HORIZON (1997) It’s 2047. Feel like taking a trip to a spaceship containing a gateway to hell? I don’t, but Neill’s Dr Billy Weir sure does! Event Horizon starts off like countless science fiction films: a ragtag team of brainiacs is sent on a mission that turns out a little bit spookier than planned. Despite the film’s occasional silliness (the genre calls for suspensions of reality and hokey explanations of physics) this is Neill at his best. He plays a paranoid spacecraft designer, new to the team, who it turns out has created something truly horrific. Brilliant? Yes. Destructive? Oh, absolutely! It takes a real performer to portray this level of psychological and physical transformation in earnest, and my hunch is Neill really enjoyed it – it’s gory but so fun. Bonus fact: Dr Weir’s jacket sports an Australian flag but with the Aboriginal flag emblem in place of the Union Jack. This was Neill’s request as he believed that’s how the Australian flag should look in the future. He’s a good egg.

DEATH IN BRUNSWICK (1990) This classic black comedy reminds you how extensive Neill’s filmography is – this was his 23rd film! More like HIS Brilliant Career, amirite? (This is a reference to the 1979 film he starred in, and is very funny.) For younger folks it might be wild to think he was already an internationally established actor in 1990, which may be why he absolutely shines in this low-budget thriller. He plays Carl, a fairly blasé chef just trying to get by when… uh oh, accidental murder! Aussies love a gritty crime story and this one takes those genre tropes and turns them on their head. There’s a reason this cult classic is often brought up among my social circle and it’s not just because we’ve all lived in Brunswick near the house where the titular death occurred. Death mishaps, drug deals, dark humour, and a cheeky young Sam at the helm. Perfect.

JESSICA (2004) Neill has appeared in an impressive amount of TV, but his performance in the Australian miniseries Jessica (2004) is a standout. The series is set at the start of the 20th century and stars Leeanna Walsman (aka mean Carly in Looking for Alibrandi) as a young woman unfairly sent to a psychiatric institution. Neill plays her lawyer, Mr Runche, who desperately battles difficult systems like unethical healthcare and misogyny to help restore her freedom. Given his poise and theatrical presence Neill is often cast as the intellectual type, and it suits him. But Mr Runche isn’t a slick-talking bigwig – he’s battling his own demons and struggling with alcoholism. Not many people are on Jessica’s side but Runche is, and his advocacy and humanity is both heart-warming and heart-breaking. You’ll want to have a box of tissues nearby.

IN THE MOUTH OF MADNESS (1994) John Carpenter’s 1994 fantasy film has a bit of everything: psychological headtrips, mystery, genuine spooks. Neill plays a freelance insurance investigator sent on a mission to find a missing author who writes novels in the vein of Stephen King or HP Lovecraft. It’s a great thriller without being too gory for non-horror fans and Neill has a lot of fun playing a sardonic, wily detective. It feels like he’s genuinely having fun here, evoking the vibe of a ’40s film noir detective – he’s a little too daggy and loveable to be truly cynical, which is the kindest criticism one could get. But this is a punchy, tight-paced film and Neill’s increasing madness (come on, it’s in the title) is what makes it a really fun watch, which can’t always be said for a lot of horrors. He’s great at many things but his deranged laugh is a real chef’s kiss.

JURASSIC PARK (1993) I mean, obviously. If you saw this as a child like I did, you’ll never forget the image of him slowly waving a raptor claw over a scared boy’s stomach to illustrate how they’d get you. And oh boy, did they try! When a film is groundbreaking at the time, it’s easy to forget the nuances of the performances that helped make it amazing. But what an ensemble – Dern! Goldblum! Attenborough! And Neill plays sceptical palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant superbly. More of a dino fan than a kid fan, he plays grumpy perfectly: no cheesiness or anger, just a plain old loveable grump. Sure, Dr Grant is an expert in the field and way more risk-averse to the VERY REAL dangers of the park than its creator should have been, but it takes an actor with a big heart to make you remember his kindness and protection of these kids among so many sequences of dinosaur attacks. Neill even came back for Jurassic Park III (which was extremely generous of him), a film not included on this list for good reason.

THE DAUGHTER (2015) In a story about family drama, scandal and heartbreak, you don’t often expect a side character to be a standout – such is the power of Sam Neill. He plays the titular character’s grandfather Walter Finch, a somewhat scraggly man who seems to be in the early stages of dementia. He spends his days quietly tending to injured animals he’s found and helps rehabilitate them. Over the years Neill’s gravitas has worked perfectly for roles in sci-fi, action or anything along the lines of ‘educated man with a presence’. So it’s surprising, in a beautiful way, to see him portray this quiet, gentle man. Sweetness without saccharine, tenderness without melodrama. He’s not the protagonist of this Australian drama but he brings a memorable softness and grace to the film. The relationship between him and his granddaughter counteracts the familial chaos and despair and after seeing this you’ll probably wish he was your granddad, too.

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