This gallery traces Sam Neill’s screen career through key roles across film and television, showing how he developed from a New Zealand breakout actor into an internationally recognised star. It matters as a compact overview of the performances and collaborations that defined his reputation over more than five decades.

– Neill’s early rise is marked by his breakout in the 1977 New Zealand film *Sleeping Dogs* and a leading part in Gillian Armstrong’s *My Brilliant Career* (1979), opposite Judy Davis.
– His profile expanded in the 1980s through US television and major film roles, including *Kane & Abel* (1985), *Plenty* (1985) and *A Cry in the Dark* (1988), in which he appeared alongside Meryl Streep.
– The gallery highlights several notable Australian productions, such as *The Good Wife* (1987), *Dead Calm* (1989) with Nicole Kidman, and *Death in Brunswick* (1990), reflecting his strong presence in Australasian cinema.
– It also notes personal context from *Dead Calm*: Neill later married make-up artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he met on that set; their relationship ended in 2015.
– His international standing grew further with roles in *The Hunt for Red October* (1990) and Jane Campion’s *The Piano* (1993), the latter an Oscar-winning film that also won the Palme d’Or at Cannes.
– Neill is presented as most closely associated with Dr Alan Grant in *Jurassic Park* (1993), a role he reprised in *Jurassic Park III* (2001) and *Jurassic World Dominion* (2022).
– The feature adds later credits including *The Jungle Book* (1994), *Bicentennial Man* (1999), *Little Fish* (2005), *Angel* (2007), and his role as Maj Chester Campbell in *Peaky Blinders* from 2013, while noting he amassed more than 150 film and television credits.