Look up Richardson in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Richardson may refer to:

People[link]

• Richardson (surname), an English and Scottish surname

Places[link]

Australia

• Richardson, Australian Capital Territory

Canada

• Richardson, Saskatchewan
• Richardson Islands, Nunavut

United States

• Richardson, Texas
• Richardson, Wisconsin
• Richardson Bay, California
• Richardson Beach, Hawaii
• Richardson County, Nebraska
• Richardson Township, Minnesota
• Richardson Township, Butler County, Nebraska

Other uses[link]

• Richardson number, dimensionless number that expresses the ratio of potential to kinetic energy
• Fort Richardson in Alaska, USA

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

For basketball player Chris Richardson, see Chris Richardson (basketball)

Chris Richardson
Chris Richardson performing as part of the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007
Background information
Birth name	Christopher Michael Richardson
Born	(1984-02-19) February 19, 1984 (age 28) Soignies, Belgium
Origin	Chesapeake, Virginia, United States
Genres	Pop, rock, R&B
Occupations	Singer-songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar, keyboard, drums
Years active	2007—present
Labels	Cash Money Records, Universal Republic
Website	chrisrichardsonmusic.com

Christopher Michael "Chris" Richardson (born February 19, 1984) is an American singer-songwriter who was the fifth-place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.

Personal life[link]

Richardson was born in Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe Hospital in Belgium to Phyllis and Danny Richardson. His father spent 20 years in the Air Force.^[1] Richardson moved to Chesapeake, Virginia, in 1999. He admitted during the March 6, 2007 edition of American Idol that he used to be overweight as a child and teenager. He has lost roughly forty pounds and has become more health conscious; it is reported that he was always motivating his fellow Idols to work out and care about their health and appearance. He graduated from Great Bridge High School in 2002 and studied music composition at Christopher Newport University in Newport News, Virginia, for a year, playing football there as well. He continued his musical studies at Tidewater Community College. Before Idol, Richardson was a kitchen supervisor for a Hooters restaurant.

Chris plays guitar, drums and piano.^[2] His favorite male singers include Jason Mraz, JT, James Brown, and Michael Jackson. His favorite female artists are early 1990s Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera. He has a Bulldog named Tommy.^[3]

Chris and fellow idol Blake Lewis had said on Chris' elimination night that they are best friends.

On January 9, 2012 he signed to Birdman's label Cash Money Records.^[4]

[edit] American Idol

Richardson had auditioned for American Idol in two previous seasons before being cast on season 6. Richardson auditioned in New York, holding number 8963. The judges warmed to him, and he got through the audition process. Richardson was grouped with Paul Kim and AJ Tabaldo in the Hollywood group round.

During American Idol, Chris received many comparisons to Justin Timberlake, including from judge Randy Jackson. But, he adds, those who've drawn the connection should listen to his album when it comes out and then decide if it still holds.^{[citation needed]} "To be even mentioned in the same sentence as someone so successful, it's great," Richardson told the Associated Press on Thursday the day after his elimination in a phone interview. "They might be surprised whenever I come out with my album, that it's completely different than his. So that's when other people might one day be, like `Hey, you sort of sound like Chris Richardson.'"^{[cite this quote]}

American Idol Performances[link]

• Audition: A Song for You (originally sung by Leon Russell, covered by Donny Hathaway)
• Hollywood Week: I Love You More Than You'll Ever Know (originally sung by Donny Hathaway)

[edit] Post Idol

Richardson participated in the Season 6 tour along with the rest of the Top 10 after Season six ended.

He started working on his debut album after the tour, then tentatively titled Come Right Back to You, which he said will be a mix of both rock, soul/R&B. "It'll be a mixture of a Maroon 5 sound with a little bit of Jason Mraz," said Richardson. "I love rock and roll but I have this soulful type voice and I just like to infuse both of them."^[5]

On February 22, 2008, a new song leaked onto the internet from Richardson, entitled "All Alone." The song was then released commercially, being available on iTunes among other places. Richardson performs the song on over 30 radio/tv stations as part of his 10 city tour, sponsored by Dreyers. On May 20, 2008, the album was put on the fast track and was recorded in LA, Miami and Virginia. Producers include Ill Factor (Matisyahu, Ginuwine, Ricky Martin), Brent Paschke (Gwen Stefani, Jesse McCartney, Backstreet Boys)and Troy "Radio" Johnson (Will Smith).

Richardson co-wrote the track "What'cha Got 2 Lose?" on Blake Lewis' debut album A.D.D. (Audio Day Dream), as well as the bonus track "Human" released exclusively via iTunes. He has also said in an interview^[6] that he has written songs for winner Jordin Sparks and Phil Stacey and plans on writing with Gina Glocksen.

On April 19, 2008, Richardson appeared as a surprise guest at Jason Mraz's "Music, Magic, and Makepeace Tour". He sang a duet with Mraz called "Geek in the Pink". On March 20, 2009, Richardson was the opening act for Josh Hoge in New York City at the Canal Room, performing a couple of songs (including his iTunes single, "All Alone").

In May 2009, he appeared on the red carpet for the American Idol finale, as well as a "Relay for Life" charity event at Currituck County High School. He also sang in the Season 9 finale of American Idol in 2010 with other seasons' finalists in a tribute to Simon Cowell's last show.

In 2011, Richardson collaborated with Tyga on the single "Far Away". The single was released on May 17, 2011 and reached number 86 in Billboard Hot 100.

In 2012, Richardson signed a record deal with YMCMB.^[7]

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

• "Chris Richardson - EP" Released June 12, 2007

Singles[link]

• "All Alone" Released March 12, 2008
• "Floating Off the Ground" Released November 1, 2009
• "In The Name of Love" Released January 12, 2012

Featured singles[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Chris Richardson on FaceBook
• Chris Richardson's on Twitter
• Chris Richardson at American Idol
• Chris Richardson (Official Music Page) on Myspace
• Chris Richardson at the Internet Movie Database
• Chris Richardson Interview
• Chris Richardson Interview on Fox News Radio

Tom Richardson

Richardson in the act of delivery
Personal information
Batting style	Right-handed batsman (RHB)
Bowling style	Right arm fast (RF)
International information
National side	English
Career statistics
Competition	Tests	First-class
Matches	14	358
Runs scored	177	3,424
Batting average	11.06	9.64
100s/50s	0/0	0/2
Top score	25*	69
Balls bowled	4,498	78,992
Wickets	88	2104
Bowling average	25.22	18.43
5 wickets in innings	11	200
10 wickets in match	4	72
Best bowling	8/94	10/45
Catches/stumpings	5/0	126/0
Source: CricInfo,

Tom Richardson (11 August 1870, Byfleet, Surrey – 2 July 1912, Chambéry, France) was an English cricketer. A fast bowler, Richardson relied to a great extent on the break-back (a fast ball moving from off to leg), a relatively long run-up and high arm which allowed him to gain sharp lift on fast pitches even from the full, straight length he always bowled. He played 358 first-class cricket matches and 14 Tests, taking a total of 2,104 wickets. In the four consecutive seasons from 1894 to 1897 he took 1,005 wickets, a figure surpassed over such a period only by the slow bowler A.P. Freeman. He took 290 wickets in 1905, again a figure only exceeded by Freeman (twice).^[1] In 1963 Neville Cardus selected him as one of his "Six Giants of the Wisden Century".

Early career[link]

Richardson first played for Surrey, his native county, in 1892, and showed promise with some strong performances in minor matches, notably fifteen wickets against Essex^[2]. However his first-class record that season was only moderate.

However, with Surrey's bowling mainstay for the previous decade George Lohmann declining rapidly in health, Richardson made a totally unexpected advance to be the second-highest wicket-taker in the country in 1893. Performances of 11 for 95 for Surrey against the touring Australians and 10 for 156 in the third Test,^[3] and especially the speed and stamina showed in them, already marked Richardson as one of the game's top bowlers.^[4] Although early in the year it was thought by many that his delivery constituted a throw, Richardson worked on straightening his arm and adverse comments were rarely heard again^[5]. In 1894, Richardson cemented his reputation with consistent performances: he would have reached 200 wickets but for a thigh strain in June and his average of 10.32 has never been equalled since^[6], whilst his astonishing strike rate of 23 balls per wicket has never been approached subsequently. It was his performances in Australia during the 1894/1895 tour - maintaining speed under hot weather - that attracted attention. In the first Test at the SCG, he bowled 55 overs without losing his speed, and in the last his energetic bowling without help from the pitch directly won England the match.

The following year saw Richardson go from strength to strength both in dry weather and when the pitches became treacherous after mid-July. Despite having to bowl 8,491 balls at a great pace, he never showed any sign of losing his form and set a new record in taking 290 wickets (bettered only by Tich Freeman, a slow bowler, in 1928 and 1933). In 1896, Richardson's bowling at Lord's dismissed Australia for 53 and won England the match. During the following Test at Old Trafford, which England lost by three wickets, while bowling 390 balls in the first innings in perfect batting conditions (taking seven for 168), Richardson, was, when Australia were set 125 to win on a pitch showing no sign of wear, able to bowl 178 balls without a rest, take six for 76 and almost win England a seemingly lost game. It is said that he did not bowl one bad ball during this spell of three hours and J.T. Hearne dropped a catch off his bowling when Australia were at 7 for 99.

Neville Cardus recorded the scene when Australia crept home by three wickets: "His body still shook from the violent motion. He stood there like some fine animal baffled at the uselessness of great strength and effort in this world...A companion led him to the pavilion, and there he fell wearily to a seat." David Frith suggests the truth was somewhat more prosaic. Richardson was the first off the field and had sunk two pints before anyone else had their boots off.

Though he was not required on a wet wicket in the last Test (and nearly withdrew over a pay dispute), Richardson was named a Cricketer of the Year and in 1897 took 273 wickets at the same cost as in 1895. In the four consecutive seasons 1894 to 1897 he took 1,005 wickets, a figure unapproached by any fast bowler before or since.^[7]

Decline[link]

Richardson was chosen to tour Australia in 1897/1898, but this was where his successful years ended. Richardson was always a heavy drinker and around this time the habit got out of hand and his weight began increasing, thus reducing his speed and stamina. He produced one great performance on the disappointing 1897/1898 tour with eight wickets for 94 in the first innings of the fifth Test, but as soon as he returned to England his decline was plain for all to see. Indeed, in the first two months of the season Richardson accomplished almost no performance of note, and even when he improved from the beginning of July onwards, Surrey could no longer rely on him to bowl over after over after over on the extremely true Oval pitches: his body could no longer carry the workload of previous years. In a few games late in the season at the Oval, against Yorkshire (when Surrey inflicted that county's biggest defeat) and Warwickshire (when he took a career-best 15 for 83 on a pitch offering no help), he appeared as potent as the bowler of 1897. Nevertheless, his haul of wickets in the County Championship fell from 237 to 126 and their cost from about 14 to over 21.

Later career[link]

Prevented from playing the first few games by injury and unable to contain his excessive drinking and increasing weight, Richardson declined still more sharply in 1899. Though after returning to the Surrey eleven he produced some impressive performances (notably against Kent at the Oval), Richardson failed to take 100 wickets for the season. As a result he was out of the running for Test selection, and the benefit Surrey gave him for his service between 1893 and 1897 was much less lucrative than everybody had hoped despite Surrey winning the Championship.^{[citation needed]}

However, Richardson showed some improvement in 1900, increasing his haul of wickets from 98 to 122 and taking 14 wickets for 185 runs at Leyton, whilst in 1901 on the best of wickets almost throughout the year he took 159 wickets including impressive performances against the South Africans (11 for 125) and Yorkshire (7 for 105 in one innings). The following two summers were all against fast bowlers, and Richardson naturally suffered. He still remained a strenuous worker, and when helped by the pitch (as at Sheffield in 1903) Richardson could still show glimpses of the great mid-1890s bowler. Nonetheless, it was clear to all who observed him that his weight would catch up with him soon, and in 1904 Richardson bowled so ineffectively that he was dropped at the end of May and not re-engaged by Surrey at the end of the year.

At the time he lived in Bath, and played once for Somerset in 1905, but it was clear from his failure then that he could no longer play serious cricket. His weight gain, combined with a congenital heart abnormality, resulted in a fatal heart attack at the age of 41, whilst on a summer walking holiday in France. According to a number of sources (including Herbert Strudwick), he had been in good health and spirits before leaving England. A widespread rumour that he had committed suicide was disproved by research carried out by Ralph Barker.^[8]

Honoured by Wisden[link]

In the 1963 edition of Wisden Cricketers' Almanack, Richardson was selected by Neville Cardus as one the Six Giants of the Wisden Century.^[9] This was a special commemorative selection requested by Wisden for its 100th edition. The other five players chosen were Sydney Barnes, Don Bradman, W G Grace, Jack Hobbs, and Victor Trumper

References[link]

External links[link]

• Player profile: Tom Richardson from ESPNcricinfo
• Wisden Cricketer of the Year article
• Tom Richardson at Find a Grave

Kelly Richardson (born August 2, 1972 in Burlington, Ontario, Canada) is an artist whose media-based practice focuses on the idea of mixed realities; part 'real', part fantasy.

Early life and education[link]

Richardson was born in Burlington, Ontario and at the age of 6 was relocated to Guelph, Ontario where she grew up, later attending high school at the Guelph Collegiate Vocational Institute. From 1994–1997, she studied at the Ontario College of Art & Design in Toronto, Canada where she continued to reside practicing and exhibiting both nationally and internationally at various venues including Hallwalls, Mercer Union, Art Gallery of Ontario and Centre Georges Pompidou. In 2002, she relocated to Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada for her Master of Fine Arts in Media Studies at the Nova Scotia College of Art and Design University. In 2003, she moved to the United Kingdom taking up residence in the northeast where she also completed her masters at Newcastle University.

Career[link]

Kelly Richardson's practice centres around video and photography which often employs a high standard of special effect, mixing real footage with digitally constructed elements. Her work "adopts the use of cinematic language to investigate notions of constructed environments and the blurring of the real versus the unreal. She creates contemplative spaces which offer visual metaphors for the sensations associated with the hugely complicated world we have created for ourselves, magnificent and equally dreadful."^[1] As David Jager noted in Canadian Art magazine,^[2]

Richardson deploys a formidable range of techniques and a broad palette of approaches in her creation of a new aesthetic, one that elicits a euphoric suspension of disbelief, allowing viewers to delve into the increasingly ambiguous and complex juncture between the real and the represented. She has transformed video, once a self-consciously minimal, anti-cinematic, bare-bones practice, into something much richer, and much stranger.

She has exhibited widely throughout the world including the Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden for The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image, the Sundance Film Festival (in 2009 and again in 2011) and she has represented Canada in the Gwangju Biennale, Busan Biennale and the first Beijing 798 Biennale.

In 2011, she was long listed for the British Northern Art Prize. She was also long listed for the Sobey Art Award two years running in 2008 and 2009.^[3] Also in 2009, she was selected as the featured artist for the Americans for the Arts National Art Awards where she was honoured alongside Ed Ruscha, Robert Redford and Salman Rushdie.^[4] Kelly Richardson was featured in the fall 09 issue of Canadian Art magazine as one of "10 artists setting the pace of contemporary art".^[5]

Biography[link]

Selected exhibitions[link]

• Albright-Knox, "Videosphere: A New Generation", Buffalo, New York (2011)
• Artpace, "Leviathan", San Antonio, Texas (2011)
• Art Gallery of Ontario, "Sculpture as Time: Major works. New Acquisitions", Toronto, Canada (2010)
• Sundance Film Festival, New Frontier on Main, Park City, Utah, USA (2009)
• Beijing 798 Biennale, The Man Who Fell to Earth, Beijing, China (2009)
• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, The Cinema Effect: Illusion, Reality and the Moving Image, Washington, DC, USA (2008)
• Busan Biennale, Expenditure, Busan, South Korea (2008)
• HALLWALLS, The Edge of Everything, Buffalo, New York, USA (2008)
• Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal, Exiles of the Shattered Star, Montreal, Quebec, Canada (2007)
• Gwangju Biennale, A grain of dust, a drop of water, Busan, South Korea (2004)

Public collections[link]

• Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, USA
• Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, USA
• Musée d'art contemporain de Montréal, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
• Art Gallery of Ontario, Toronto, Ontario, Canada

Videos and video installations[link]

• 1997, Jell-o (single-channel video, loop, 4:3)
• 1998, Glow (single-channel video, loop, 4:3)
• 2001, Camp (single-channel video, 2 minute loop, 4:3)
• 2001, There's a lot There (single-channel video, 2 minute loop, 4:3)
• 2001, A car stopped at a stopsign, in the middle of nowhere, in front of a landscape (single-channel video, 30 minute loop, 4:3)
• 2002, howthedevil (single-channel video, seamless loop, 4:3)
• 2004, The Sequel (single-channel video, 1 minute loop, 4:3)
• 2005, Ferman Drive (single-channel video, 1 minute 20 second loop, 4:3)
• 2006, Exiles of the Shattered Star (single-channel high definition video, 30 minute loop, 16:9)
• 2007, The Great Destroyer (multi-channel high definition video, 15 minute loop)
• 2007, Wagons Roll (originally produced in 2003 and remade in 2007, single-channel video, 24 minute loop, 16:9)
• 2007, Forest Park (dual-channel high definition video, 18 minute loop, 16:9)
• 2008, Twilight Avenger (single-channel high definition video, 5 minute 40 second loop, 16:9)
• 2010, The Erudition (single/triple-channel high definition video, 20 minute loop, 16:9)
• 2011, Leviathan (single/triple-channel high definition video, 20 minute loop, 16:9)

External links[link]

• Official website
• Birch Libralato, gallery representation in Toronto

Further reading[link]

• Exhibition essay for Mercer Union, May-June 2000
• Description for Art Gallery of Ontario exhibition, Nov. 2002-March 2003
• Gwangju Biennale documentation, 2004
• Curatorial essay for Northern Gallery for Contemporary Art, Feb.-May 2005
• Le Mois de la Photo a Montreal exhibition documentation, Sept. 6 - Oct. 21 2007
• Now Magazine review, 'Nature's Calling: Kelly Richardson questions what's real', August 6-13, 2008
• ARTFORUM, 'Kelly Richardson: Birch Libralato', November issue, 2008
• Now Magazine review, 'Year in Review: Top 10 Art Shows', December 22-29, 2008
• Screening Video exhibition text, 'Kelly Richardson', March 6-April 26, 2009
• Canadian Art Magazine feature, 'Kelly Richardson: The Radiant Real', Fall issue, 2009
• Akimblog press release, 2010
• Toronto Star review, 'Whyte: The world rendered as an alien landscape', December 22, 2010
• Akimblog review, "The Last Frontier", January 10, 2011
• Canadian Art Magazine review, 'The Last Frontier: Natural Histories', January 13, 2011
• Plaza de Armas review, 'Landscape, catfight, and another musical', March 25, 2011
• Glasstire review, 'Artpace 11.1: It's in the water', April 12, 2011
• ...might be good review, 'International Artist-in-Residence, New Works: 11.1', April 15, 2011

References[link]

1. ^ *Pace Digital Gallery
2. ^ *Jager, David. "Kelly Richardson: The Radiant Real". Canadian Art Magazine. http://www.canadianart.ca/art/features/2009/09/01/kelly-richardson/. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 
3. ^ *Sobey Art Award
4. ^ *Americans for the Arts National Arts Awards
5. ^ *Jager, David. "Kelly Richardson: The Radiant Real". Canadian Art Magazine. http://www.canadianart.ca/art/features/2009/09/01/kelly-richardson/. Retrieved 2009-11-12. 

Sam Neill
Neill at the 2008 Toronto International Film Festival
Born	Nigel John Dermot Neill (1947-09-14) 14 September 1947 (age 64) Omagh, Northern Ireland, UK
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1975–present
Spouse	Lisa Harrow (unknown – c. 1989; 1 child) Noriko Watanabe (September 1989 – present; 1 child)

Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill, DCNZM, OBE (born 14 September 1947) is a New Zealand actor.^[1] He is well known for his starring role as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and Jurassic Park III.

He has also had a number of high-profile roles including the lead in Reilly, Ace of Spies, the adult Damien in Omen III: The Final Conflict, Merlin in the miniseries Merlin, Captain Vasily Borodin in The Hunt for Red October, Colonel Geoffrey Brydon in Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book, and Alistair Stewart in The Piano. In 2007 he played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey in Showtime's The Tudors, and in 2012 began a starring role on the FOX drama Alcatraz.

Early life[link]

Neill was born in Omagh, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, the second son of Dermot Neill, a Harrow- and Sandhurst-educated army officer and third-generation New Zealander, and his English wife Priscilla (née Ingham).^[2] At the time of Neill's birth, his father was stationed in Northern Ireland, serving with the Irish Guards.^[3] The Neills owned Neill and Co., the largest liquor retailers in New Zealand.

In 1954, Neill returned with his family to New Zealand, where he attended the Anglican boys' boarding school Christ's College in Christchurch. He then went on to study English literature at the University of Canterbury where he had his first exposure to acting. While at university he lived at College House^[4] where he held the position of "Chief Castigator and Crime Crusher" (CCACC). He then moved to Wellington to continue his tertiary education at Victoria University from which he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English literature.

In 2004, on Australian talk show Enough Rope, interviewer Andrew Denton briefly touched on the issue of Neill's "very bad" stuttering. It affected most of his childhood and as a result he was "hoping that people wouldn't talk to [him]" so he would not have to answer back. He has mostly outgrown it, however he claims it can still be detected to this day.^[5]

He first took to calling himself "Sam" at school in New Zealand where there were other Nigels and the name Nigel was "a little effete for ... a New Zealand playground".^[5][6][7]

Acting career[link]

Sam Neill at the première of Daybreakers during the Toronto International Film Festival, 2009

After working at the New Zealand National Film Unit as a director and actor Neill was cast as the lead in the New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs. Following this he appeared in the Australian classic, My Brilliant Career (1979), opposite Judy Davis. In the late 1970s, his mentor was James Mason.

This appearance led to his being selected to play Damien Thorn in Omen III: The Final Conflict in 1981. Later, Neill was also one of the leading candidates to succeed Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, but he lost out to Timothy Dalton.

An important dramatic role was in Evil Angels (1988), released outside of Australia as A Cry In The Dark, about the case of Azaria Chamberlain.

Neill has played heroes and villains in a succession of film and television dramas and comedies. In the UK he became well-known in the early 1980s starring in dramas such as Ivanhoe (1982) and notably in the title role of Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983). Neill is known for his leading and co-starring roles in major films including Dead Calm (1989), La Révolution française (1989) playing the famous Marquis de Lafayette, The Hunt for Red October (1990), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), The Piano (1993), Jurassic Park (1993), Sirens (1994), Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book (1994), In the Mouth of Madness (1995), Event Horizon (1997), Bicentennial Man (1999), The Dish (2000) and Jurassic Park III (2001).

The film Cinema of Unease: A Personal Journey by Sam Neill (1995) was written and directed by Sam Neill and Judy Rymer. In it Neill narrated his personal recollection of New Zealand film history.

In 1993, Neill co-starred with Anne Archer in Question of Faith, an independent drama based on a true story about one woman's fight to beat cancer and have a baby.

In 2002 he hosted and narrated a series of documentaries for the BBC entitled Space (Hyperspace in the United States).

In 2006, Neill recorded a series of radio advertisements for Fifth Third Bank in the midwestern United States.

Neill also appeared in Merlin (1998), a miniseries based on the legends of King Arthur, portraying the legendary wizard. He also reprised his role as Merlin in the sequel, Merlin's Apprentice (2006), in which Merlin learns he fathered a son with the Lady of the Lake.

Neill starred in the historical drama The Tudors on the Showtime Network playing Cardinal Thomas Wolsey. "I have to say I really enjoyed making The Tudors", Neill said,^[8] “It was six months with a character that I found immensely intriguing, with a cast that I liked very much and with a story I found very compelling. It has elements that are hard to beat: revenge and betrayal, lust and treason, all the things that make for good stories."^[8] Neill starred as Mr. Jones in Under the Mountain and as Charles Bromley in Daybreakers.^[9]

He also starred in an ABC TV production called Happy Town (2010), in which he played Merritt Grieves, a mysterious film memorabilia shop proprietor. He has also been cast in the Fox TV series Alcatraz as Emerson Hauser.

Personal life[link]

Neill lives in Queenstown, New Zealand and also has homes in Wellington, New Zealand and Sydney, Australia. He has one son, Tim (born in 1983), by New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, and one daughter, Elena (born in 1991),^[10] by makeup artist Noriko Watanabe, whom he married in 1989. He also has a stepdaughter, Maiko Spencer, (born 1982) who is from Noriko Watanabe's first marriage. He is a supporter of the Australian Speak Easy Association and the British Stammering Association (BSA). He also supports the Australian Labor Party, and the New Zealand Labour Party.^[11] He is a patron of the National Performance Conference and donated a pair of jeans to the Jeans for Genes auction; they were painted by artist Merv Moriarty and auctioned in August 1998.

Neill's hobby is running a winery called Two Paddocks in Central Otago on New Zealand's South Island.^[8] "I’d like the vineyard to support me but I’m afraid it is the other way round. It is not a very economic business", said Neill,^[8] "It is a ridiculously time and money-consuming business. I would not do it if it was not so satisfying and fun: and it gets me pissed once in a while."^[8]

Neill is friends with New Zealand musicians Neil Finn and Tim Finn, of Crowded House and Split Enz, and with Australian musician Jimmy Barnes.^{[citation needed]}

Neill has been appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM). When knighthoods were returned to the New Zealand Honours System in 2009, those with DCNZM or higher honours were given the option of converting them into knighthoods. Neill chose not to do this, saying the title of Sir was "just far too grand, by far".^[12]

Filmography[link]

Theatrical/direct-to-video films[link]

Television[link]

• Ivanhoe (1982)
• Reilly, Ace of Spies (1983)
• Kane and Abel (1985)
• Amerika (1987)
• The Simpsons episode 1F09: "Homer the Vigilante" as Molloy the Cat Burglar (1994)
• Forgotten Silver as Himself (1995)
• In Cold Blood (1996)
• Merlin (1998)
• The Games Season 1, Episode 13 as Transport Consultant (1998)
• Space (a.k.a. Hyperspace) (2001)
• Doctor Zhivago (2002)
• Framed (2002)
• Stiff (2004)
• Jessica (2004)
• The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant (2005)
• To the Ends of the Earth (2005)
• The Triangle (2005)
• Merlin's Apprentice (2006)
• Two Twisted (2006)
• The Tudors (2007) as Cardinal Thomas Wolsey.
• Crusoe (2008)
• Bro'Town (2009)
• Happy Town (2010)
• Ice (2011)^[13]
• Alcatraz (2012)
• Deep Space Marvels (2011)^[14]

Award nominations[link]

Emmy Awards

• Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie for: "Merlin" (1998)

Golden Globe Awards

• Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for: "Merlin" (1998)
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for: "One Against the Wind"
• Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV for: "Reilly: Ace of Spies" (1983)

Personal quotes[link]

Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Sam Neill

"Of all the characters I've played, I think I have more in common with that guy than with Reilly: Ace of Spies referring to Carl Fitzgerald in Death in Brunswick.^[15]

Referring to The Simpsons: "I'm playing a cat burglar. I've made it. This is the high point of my career. I'm really chuffed."^[16]

"I got an Irish passport the other day. I love it. It's the best thing in my pocket."^[17]

See also[link]

• List of celebrities who own wineries and vineyards

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Sam Neill

• Sam Neill at the Internet Movie Database
• Two Paddocks official website