The actor, who has died aged 78, was refreshingly candid about Hollywood, filmmaking, his cancer treatment – and why he preferred life on his New Zealand farm to the movie business

Sam Neill spoke to Kurt Bayer during wine harvest at his Central Otago vineyards in 2024.

Handsome, talented and with an easy, gracious manner, the Northern Ireland-born actor was a consummate professional with a stellar career spanning six decades.