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‘Cool, suave and weirdly shy’: Miranda Richardson remembers Sam Neill

Sam had such ease about him and I just loved the way he seemed to cruise through life. But he confronted his mortality with real courage Sam Neill’s final interview and his life in pictures ‘A true gentleman’: actors, directors and leaders pay tribute to Sam Neill Jane Campion remembers Sam Neill When I first met Sam, I thought he was handsome, cool and weirdly shy. He was always a rare combination of suave and down-to-earth: this great, democratic guy with no bullshit. I just loved the way he seemed to cruise through life. He had such ease about him. Acting was just one chunk of his life: there was always a lot of other stuff going on. He couldn’t wait to get back to his farm and his wine and his animals. I remember when we were making Merlin in 1998, he kindly took me out for lunch. We had a really delicious bottle of pinot noir, and he said that was what he was aiming for with his win

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Sam had such ease about him and I just loved the way he seemed to cruise through life. But he confronted his mortality with real courage Sam Neill’s final interview and his life in pictures ‘A true gentleman’: actors, directors and leaders pay tribute to Sam Neill Jane Campion remembers Sam Neill When I first met Sam, I thought he was handsome, cool and weirdly shy. He was always a rare combination of suave and down-to-earth: this great, democratic guy with no bullshit. I just loved the way he seemed to cruise through life. He had such ease about him. Acting was just one chunk of his life: there was always a lot of other stuff going on. He couldn’t wait to get back to his farm and his wine and his animals. I remember when we were making Merlin in 1998, he kindly took me out for lunch. We had a really delicious bottle of pinot noir, and he said that was what he was aiming for with his win

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According to The Guardian’s linked report, ‘Cool, suave and weirdly shy’: Miranda Richardson remembers Sam Neill, Sam had such ease about him and I just loved the way he seemed to cruise through life. But he confronted his mortality with real courage Sam Neill’s final interview and his life in pictures ‘A true gentleman’: actors, directors and leaders pay tribute to Sam Neill Jane Campion remembers Sam Neill When I first met Sam, I thought he was handsome, cool and weirdly shy. He was always a rare combination of suave and down-to-earth: this great, democratic guy with no bullshit. I just loved the way he seemed to cruise through life. He had such ease about him. Acting was just one chunk of his life: there was always a lot of other stuff going on. He couldn’t wait to get back to his farm and his wine and his animals. I remember when we were making Merlin in 1998, he kindly took me out for lunch. We had a really delicious bottle of pinot noir, and he said that was what he was aiming for with his win

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The development sits in VINI’s Culture coverage for readers following arts, entertainment, fashion, film, music, celebrity, and the business of culture. The original report is linked so readers can check the source account, follow later updates, and compare new coverage against the first published record. The linked report is dated 2026-07-16T11:10:21+00:00.

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Primary source: ‘Cool, suave and weirdly shy’: Miranda Richardson remembers Sam Neill via The Guardian. VINI cites and links the source; it does not reproduce the publisher’s full article text without rights clearance.

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