Hollywood actor talks pinot and his desire to play drag

Irish-born actor Sam Neill may have left Ireland almost 60 years ago, but he still treasures his Irish passport.

The star of The Piano and Jurassic Park says he admires Irish culture and literature but shuns the shamrock and shenanigans portrayal of Ireland.

Born in Omagh to army parents, Neill moved to New Zealand in 1954.

“I’m very quietly proud of my Irish connections, without wearing a silly green hat and being sentimental,” says Neill, 65, who touched down in Cork and Tipperary to launch his New Zealand boutique wines, Two Paddocks.

“There are so many things that are substantial and authentic and valuable about Ireland that I don’t like to see it caricatured, when it’s a country of such genuine profundity.”

Neill produces about 6,000 cases of wine in his vineyard in Central Otago, New Zealand, and is passionate about Pinot Noir, a notoriously difficult grape to cultivate.

“There are very few little pockets in the world where you can grow Pinot Noir successfully, and Central Otago is one of those,” he says. “To grow Pinot Noir successfully, you have to grow it in a cool climate. And the downside to that is that anything could happen.

“Last week we got a late frost and we lost 20% of our wines. Pinot Noir grapes are called the ‘heartbreak grape’ and there’s a living example.”

The Two Paddocks blog shows Neill shovelling cow manure, posing with his pot-bellied pig Angelica, and listening to obscure Beach Boys albums. But how much of the dirty work does Neill actually do?

“I go home to relax,” he says. “For me, working around the vineyard and doing wine things is relaxation. Of course, I get my hands stained. There are certainly things I pretend I need to be busy in the office for, like pruning, which is worse than golf.”

Eschewing celebrity, Neill is relieved he has avoided the paparazzi-grappling levels of attention enjoyed by some of his actor friends.

Neill is currently working with Irish actor Cillian Murphy in Liverpool and Leeds on the BBC 2 drama The Peaky Blinders and is looking forward to the re-release of Jurassic Park 3D next year.

“The only film I regret having turned down is Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” he says. “I was offered to play one of the drag queens. I didn’t think the script was funny. I got that wrong, because I loved it when I saw it. I don’t know what I would’ve looked like in a skirt, but if anyone’s writing any drag queen films, don’t pass me by.”

* Two Paddocks wines are available from Curious Wines Ltd and Red Nose Wine. Prices range from €22-€32 per bottle. www.curiouswines.ie

www.rednosewine.com