Sam Neill obituary: A versatile actor whose roles went far beyond Jurassic Park

Highlights from this pre-Triceratops era of his filmography include 1981’s cult horror Possession and a role opposite Meryl Streep in 1988’s A Cry in the Dark, which earned him the Australian Film Institute award for best lead actor.

One of his main breakthrough roles was filmed in the UK in the early 1980s, when he appeared as Damien Thorn, son of the devil, in the supernatural horror Omen III: The Final Conflict.

He also appeared in Jane Campion’s 1993 period drama The Piano, which received the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival and went on to win three Oscars.

But it was the release of Jurassic Park in the same year that propelled him to an elite level of worldwide fame.

Steven Spielberg’s epic was like nothing audiences had seen before. For the technology available at the time, the dinosaurs looked incredibly realistic and left viewers transfixed.

Jurassic Park went on to gross more than $970m (£720m), becoming the highest grossing film of all time – until it was dethroned by Titanic in 1997.

Speaking to the BBC at the 1993 premiere of Jurassic Park, which co-starred Richard Attenborough and Laura Dern, Neill said the way the film had been received was a “big surprise”.

His character is naturally fascinated by the dinosaur park but soon realises the reptiles are breeding, after discovering broken dinosaur eggshells and baby footprints in the jungle. The consequences are deadly.

Whether he was playing steely but likeable heroes or a chillingly menacing villains, Neill was one of the most versatile stars in the film industry and always commanded attention on screen.

His other Hollywood roles included The Hunt For Red October as Sir Sean Connery’s second in command, and Dead Calm as Nicole Kidman’s husband.

He also appeared in Perfect Strangers, Bicentennial Man, and more recently in director Taika Waititi’s 2016 breakout hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

The collaboration with Waititi led to Neill’s introduction to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the director gave him a small part in 2017’s Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022.

He also appeared alongside Susan Sarandon and Kate Winslet in Blackbird, which sparked conversation about the issue of assisted dying.

Neill returned to his roots when he was cast as a Belfast police chief in the BBC’s Peaky Blinders in 2013.

However, growing up in Northern Ireland sadly didn’t help his accent, which was affectionately mocked by some viewers.

Neill explained that his Northern Ireland accent had been “well beaten out” of him by classmates in New Zealand, and that he needed help from friends and fellow actors James Nesbitt and Liam Neeson to re-learn it for the role.

“For all those people in Northern Ireland, I say blame it on Jimmy and blame it on Liam, it’s their fault,” he joked.