In Memoriam: 7 of Sam Neill's Favorite Films

New Zealand actor Sam Neill, best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park and its 2022 sequel, Jurassic World Dominion, died on Monday in Sydney, Australia. He was 78.

While American audiences likely know Neill best for Jurassic Park, he had a long and varied career in film and television. His sheer versatility won him fans around the world. He played the grown Damien in Omen III: The Final Conflict, a Russian officer in The Hunt for Red October, and even made brief cameos in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder.

On television, Neill earned his first Golden Globe nomination for the lead role in "Reilly, Ace of Spies" in the 1980s. He was nominated for both an Emmy and a second Golden Globe for playing the titular Arthurian wizard in the 1998 miniseries "Merlin." He also portrayed Cardinal Wolsey in "The Tudors" and was part of the ensemble cast in the 2015 adaptation of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None."

Neill was magnetic as the ruthless CI Major Chester Campbell in "Peaky Blinders," an antagonist and romantic rival to Cillian Murphy's Tommy Shelby. His career spanned a wide range of roles, demonstrating his broad acting capabilities.