Sam Neill was leaving his local café two weeks ago when he heard a loud call. “Hey,” yelled a man from across the street. “I know you. You’re on TV. What’s your name?”
“I said, ‘Hugo Weaving’,” Sam recalls now, chuckling at the memory. “And he went, ‘Oh yep,’ and wandered off. He seemed perfectly happy with that.”
It seems almost impossible that Sam Neill could pass unrecognised. His five-decade-long career has seen him go from blockbusters to arthouse films, comedy flicks to gritty drama series and more. He’s trodden the boards and taken over social media during lockdown – his Instagram feed as famous for the A-list appearances from his friends as for the farm animals that surround his home in Central Otago, New Zealand. He’s been in so many projects that, he admits today, even he can’t remember the names of all of them. Sometimes when one of his films or series re-runs on television he is startled to see himself suddenly appear.
“Oh yes, I have the odd fright like that,” he admits. “I’m up in the hundreds now and you can’t remember everything with absolute clarity.”
Memories are on Sam’s mind today as we chat. The 74-year-old has been approached by publishers over the years hoping to commission his autobiography. To date, he’s always said no. “My excuse is, look, nothing much happened and if it did, I can’t remember it,” he says.
So it’s ironic, he tells us, having found a little spare time on his hands recently, that he began “tootling around, starting to commit things to my computer”.
この記事は The Australian Women's Weekly の July 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です ? サインイン
この記事は The Australian Women's Weekly の July 2022 版に掲載されています。
7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トライアルを開始して、何千もの厳選されたプレミアム ストーリー、9,000 以上の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしてください。
すでに購読者です? サインイン
Maggie's kitchen
Maggie Beer's delicious veg patties - perfect for lunch, dinner or a snack - plus a simple nostalgic pudding with fresh passionfruit.
Reclaim your brain
Attention span short? Thoughts foggy? Memory full of gaps? Brigid Moss investigates the latest ways to sharpen your thinking.
The girls from Oz
Melbourne music teacher Judith Curphey challenged the patriarchy when she started Australia's first all-girls choir. Forty years later that bold vision has 6500 members, life-changing programs and a new branch of the sisterhood in Singapore.
One kid can change the world
In 2018, 10-year-old Jack Berne started A Fiver for a Farmer to raise funds for drought relief. He and mum Prue share what happened next.
AFTER THE WAVE
Twenty years ago, the Boxing Day tsunami tore across the Indian Ocean, shredding towns, villages and holiday resorts, and killing hundreds of thousands of people from Indonesia to Africa. Three Australians share their memories of terror, loss and survival with The Weekly.
PATRICIA KARVELAS How childhood tragedy shaped me
Patricia Karvelas hustled hard to chase her dreams, but it wasn't easy. In a deeply personal interview, the ABC host talks about family loss, finding love, battles fought and motherhood.
Ripe for the picking
Buy a kilo or two of fresh Australian apricots because they're at their peak sweetness now and take inspiration from our lush recipe ideas that showcase this divine stone fruit.
Your stars for 2025
The Weekly’s astrologer, Lilith Rocha, reveals what’s in store for your astrological sign in 2025. For your monthly horoscope, turn to page 192.
MEL SCHILLING Cancer made me look at myself differently'
One year on from going public with her bowel cancer diagnosis, Mel Schilling reveals where she's at with her health journey and how it's changed her irrevocably.
Nothing like this Dame Judi
A few weeks before her 90th birthday, the acting legend jumped on a phone call with The Weekly to talk about her extraordinary life – and what’s still to come.
