Sam Neill on getting fired, lotto tickets, and why you should stop worrying

Sam Neill on the project he leaves off his CV, buying lotto tickets, who he hopes will be the next US president, and why you should stop worrying.

Sam Neill discusses the project he leaves off his CV, buying lotto tickets and why you should stop worrying in the latest Confessional. Picture: Yianni Aspradakis

Not on my CV is the time … This is excruciating but many years ago I did get fired off a film after a first morning of mucking up my lines. I was very jet-lagged and exhausted from a job I’d finished two days before. I was doing the job as a favour for a fraction of my usual fee. So I thought it was a bit harsh, to be honest. It’s hard to forgive the executioner, and I won’t tell you who he is. He’s not worth it.

My first big break was … Every time I get an acting job it’s a big break for me and I’m always full of gratitude, as well as disbelief that someone has more faith in me than I necessarily have in myself. I would say being cast in (1979 film) My Brilliant Career was a big break for me. Not just because it was a great acting calling card for the future, but it also took me to Australia, a place I’ve loved ever since.

On my bookshelf you’ll find … Thousands of books, literally thousands. I love books, and I love living with books. If I walk into someone else’s house and there are no books to be seen, I wonder what’s wrong with these people? It’s always possible that the architect has said “books are clutter”, and the aesthetics of my building demand no clutter. Then again, it’s possible they just watch TV and that’s all they do. I am the first to admit, however, that perhaps a third of my books remain unread. I need another 50 years, please.

On my bedside table is … My phone. I do my best not to look at it, but then again I have family and friends all over the world and you never know who might be wanting to talk. There is a nice Cartier Santos watch, which Cartier were kind enough to give me, with a cool leather strap. There is a book by Ian Rankin, Exit Music. Bryan Brown is always trying to get me to read crime books, which he loves. But I am finding it heavy going — I think I need something more cheerful. On the plus side, it gets me to sleep.

Here’s praying that … if I prayed at all, it would be for Ukraine. And that someone decent gets elected US President in 2024. Joe Biden is a decent man, if somewhat elderly. The alternatives at the moment are not attractive. Narcissistic fools or neo-fascists — uncomfortable when that country is your closest, and most powerful ally.

The weirdest thing in my shopping trolley is … Lotto tickets. I don’t know why I persist with this, given the extremely remote odds. It’s not as if I haven’t had enough luck in my life already. And apparently winning lotteries is the least lucky thing that can happen to you. A big win can really stuff up your life in any manner of ways. And my life just now is pretty good. So why do I buy these things? I can’t answer that.

‘I spend a lot of time making sure I don’t waste time.’

On my mind at 3am …Do I know my lines for tomorrow? I really, really need more sleep. And, like any man of my age, the question is, do I need to go to the bathroom again?

Life at 25 was … Limitless. I had all the time in the world, so I spent a lot of time wasting time. It was a great deal of fun.

Life at 75 is … precious. I spend a lot of time making sure I don’t waste time. It’s a lot of fun. I came pretty close to dying last year, I suppose, and that tends to underline how important the time you have left is. You’d like to tell your younger self about that. Then again, when you’re 25 you shouldn’t be worrying about those things. You shouldn’t have a care in the world. Most of me still doesn’t have a care in the world when I’m thinking right. Worry is a completely fruitless exercise.

Sam Neill is appearing at Melbourne Writer’s Festival on May 6 and 7; and at Sydney Writer’s Festival on May 27. His new memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, is published by Text