Ron Brown's Reviews > Did I Ever Tell You This?

This is not an autobiography, nor is it a memoir, as the title indicates, and as Mr Neill confirms in his interviews, it is the reminiscing’s of a popular and talented actor who has made countless films and met countless actors and directors and others involved in international film making.

Many Goodreads’ commenters (I feel the word reviewer a misnomer for many) and others comment about him being “a nice guy.” I often find it interesting how well known (again I hate that word ‘famous’) people are able to perpetuate an image of being “a nice guy.” I try to disregard ‘niceness’ when thinking about people who I admire because of their talents. To me it is their talent that interests me. I am sure there are people on this planet who might regard me as ‘nice’ while there are others who place me in the dead shit category. So, Sam Neill has successfully created this image of being Mr Nice Guy. I wonder if Russel Crowe and Mel Gibson would be given that moniker?

If I ever bumped into Sam Neill I’d love to say, “How ya going Nigel?” To understand this, you have to read the book.

As Neill has said in many interviews, he had been diagnosed with Stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma — a blood cancer. While facing treatment and recover he started writing about his life.

“I’m crook. Possibly dying. I have time to burn, and time to think. Writing gets my mind off things.”

The structure of the book is best described a spiral. He admits that it was “flung together” but in a manner that the reader can enjoy and respond. It is as if he has opened a bottle of Two Paddocks Pinot Noir and he is sitting back in a one-way conversation with the reader. Like all conversations it jumps around, doing tangents, reversals, and skips forward. He sort of starts as a child born in Omagh in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, migrates to Christchurch New Zealand, attends boarding school, that he hates, and then launches into his acting career.

I was impressed in the way he named friends, male and female, from that time. His words disclose a love and appreciation of these people three score years later.

Being an internationally acclaimed actor Neill does drop a name or two or ten: Barbara Streisand, Bruce Springsteen, Emmylou Lou Harris, Michael Caine, Sir John Gielgud, Meryl Streep, Bill Nye, Dennis Potter, William Hurt, Wim Wenders, Max Von Sydow, Olivia Hussey, James Mason, Tom Jones, Herbie Hancock, Sting, Harvey Keitel, Sean Connery, Eddie Murphy, Steven Spielberg, Princess Di, Hugh Grant, Stephen Fry, Tim Roth, Sylvester Stallone, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tom Cruise

Australian/NZ acquaintances/friends Wendy Hughes, Jenny Morris, Ernie Dingo, Hugo Weaving, Germaine Greer, Margaret Fink, Jimmy Barnes, Billy Thorpe, Jane Campion, Tim Flynn, Billy Thorpe, John Clarke, Nicole Kidman, Peter Lehmann.

He relates a humours story involving John Howard. He gives two interesting accounts of his relationship with Brian Brown and Judy Davis. He confirms my view of Germaine Greer.

Some have accused Neill of naming dropping, a charge of which he is totally innocent. He mentions them as people he worked with. Most were decent people, and many became his friends, some didn’t. He is neither cruel nor nasty, but he does relate stories about some of these “rich and famous” that he saw them as jerks.

This led into a discussion of celebrityhood. Neill argues that he and most of his fellow actors are professionals who try to do a decent job and then live a life as normal as possible. He does tell of his encounters with “stars” who treated him with disdain. As I read, I wondered if there was a hierarchy of importance with actors. As with most successful individuals I always think luck plays a major role in their success. Neill mentions that with many actors scoring a particular role led to much success.

My Sam Neill favourites are: My Brilliant Career, Dead Calm, Riley Ace of Spies, Evil Angels, The Dish, Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Old School, The Pacific: In the Wake of Captain Cook.

The fact that he never truly left New Zealand, other than to work, showed that he had a deep love of his country and now with his Two Paddocks winery that is where he will spend his last years. He is somewhat of a renaissance man of the left and he is a friend for life.

I enjoyed Sam Neill’s book. It is an unstructured, rambling, personal account of a talented, somewhat humble man. I do hope that the big C stays away for some time yet.