Prolific and respected actor Sam Neill is back on our screens in new US drama Apples Never Fall. Based on the novel by Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers author Liane Moriarty, Sam Neill's Stan is looking forward to his retirement alongside his wife Joy Delaney (Annette Bening). But their world is turned upside down ready to enjoy their retirement but are disturbed by the sudden arrival of a wounded young woman and Joy goes missing.
Stan and his four children are forced to re-examine their parents' so-called perfect marriage as their darkest secrets begin to surface. The seven-part drama kicks off on BBC One at 9.25pm on Saturday, September 21.
Sam Neill has enjoyed a lengthy career after he left New Zealand to become an international star thanks to his role as Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise. Now aged 77, he is embracing life, enjoys making wine and spending time with family while he undergoes monthly chemotherapy for his blood cancer. But what do we know about his life beyond the camera? Early life of Sam Neill and his real name Nigel John Dermot Neill was born on September 17, 1947 in Omagh Northern Ireland to English mother Priscilla Beatrice Ingham and second-generation New Zealander and army officer Dermot Neill.
The family left Belfast and moved to Christchurch in New Zealand in 1954 and he got settled into life. However, due to the vast number of Nigels at school, Sam soon got his nickname and later his stage name. He said: "I encouraged the nickn.