Did I Ever Tell You This?

By: Sam Neill

Narrated by: Sam Neill

In this unexpected memoir, written in a creative burst of just a few months in 2022, Sam Neill tells the story of how he became one of the world’s most celebrated actors, who has worked with everyone from Meryl Streep to Isabel Adjani, from Jeff Goldblum to Sean Connery, from Steven Spielberg to Jane Campion.

By his own account, his career has been a series of unpredictable turns of fortune. Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, he emigrated to New Zealand at the age of seven. His family settled in Dunedin on the South Island, but young Sam was sent away to boarding school in Christchurch, where he was hopeless at sports and discovered he enjoyed acting.

But how did you become an actor in New Zealand in the 1960 and 1970s where there was no film industry? After university he made documentary films while also appearing in occasional amateur productions of Shakespeare. In 1977 he took the lead in Sleeping Dogs, the first feature made in New Zealand in more than a decade, a project that led to a major role in Gillian Armstrong’s celebrated My Brilliant Career.

And after that Sam Neill found his way, sometimes by accident, into his own brilliant career. He has worked around the world, an actor who has moved effortlessly from blockbuster to art house to TV, from Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park movies to The Piano and Peaky Blinders.

Did I Ever Tell You This? is a joy to hear, a marvellous and often very funny book, the work of a natural storyteller who is a superb observer of other people, and who writes with love and warmth about his family. It is also his account of his life outside film, especially in Central Otago where he established Two Paddocks, his vineyard famous for its pinot noir.

©2023 Sam Neill (P)2023 W. F. Howes Ltd

A Beautiful Man!

I have genuinely enjoyed this Memoir by Sam Neal. He truly expresses his true nature from a very heartfelt and honest perspective. I love how he paid such great respect to anyone who gave him “a leg up” along the way. Thank you Mr. Neal. May you be well🙏❤️

A very real read

A good long read travel the world with the this author. He made with career

Wonderful voice and stories

I thoroughly enjoyed this reading adventure. I found Sam to be so charming, and his voice was very calming. A gentle, entertaining insight into another’s world. Hope he writes another soon!

Fantastic and very enlightening!

An great journey of a life fully lived!
Thank you SIR Sam !!!
We’ll see you at the movies!

I may be biased but it’s Sam!

I don’t know why I waited so long to listen to. Sam has been a favorite actor of mine since I was 10 years old. The storytelling is impeccably witty and sweet. It has an honest voice. Fan or not I’d recommend this as a good solid story, a little of everything for everyone. Whatever floats your whale. A fellow pig.

Brilliant !

Excellent book with touching and funny stories made even more brilliant by being narrated by the author himself. I’ve never enjoyed an audio book more!!

Breeder was very hilarious

I like Samuel as an actor I always have.I like watching his movies and his book was quite interesting about his his life.He's underrated actor he's my outta.I just like him as an actor and i'm glad he's an author

Charming, funny and emotional

Sam does a great job of telling a rather amazing life story filled with interesting people and places, through times both happy and sad. Peppered with plenty of relatable self deprecating humor (unjustly harsh at times; we are our own worst critics) and funny anecdotes that gave me more than a few good laughs. All written while going through an experience I wouldn’t wish on anybody. Being conveyed via Sam’s particularly wonderful voice certainly doesn’t hurt. I wish him the best.

Wonderfully Done Sam!

A genuine pleasure to have listened to and been part of Mr. Neill’s many delightful and funny experiences. I truly appreciate his approach and overall outlook on life. A very honest and humble account of his many accomplishments. You will not be disappointed. Worth the listen!

Humorous, charming, fabulous reading

Sam Neill’s IG feed somehow came up in my feed, not sure why. But I found reels quietly hilarious. I found out there he had written a book not too long ago and decided he was interesting enough on IG so I bought it. Then I found out he had an Audible version with him reading it. Well that sealed the deal—his voice is amazing. The book was charming, interesting, and he is an excellent story teller. It didn’t hurt that his voice is low, resonant, even dulcet. I was sorry when it came to an end. While I didn’t know a good number of actors/movies mentioned as I’m less familiar with them, I didn’t find it deterred me from the book. I also liked that he kept it professional and humorous—while many of his memories are absolutely hilarious, he kept salacious gossip out of the picture. Nice, a true gentleman.