Sam Neill wasn’t always known as “Sam Neill.”
On Tuesday’s episode,kelly clarkson show”, the “Jurassic Park” star told the host and audience that he first decided to go by a different name when he was 10 years old to avoid childhood bullying.
When Clarkson said Sam wasn’t his real name, Neil responded, “It’s embarrassing to know that.” The actor said his parents named him Nigel Kneale, which “gave me a disadvantage from the start.”
Sam Neill assures fans he’s ‘alive’ and in remission after cancer news
Sam Neill has revealed that his real name is Nigel Neill. (Manuel Romano/Nulfoto)
Mr Neil explained that being given the name Nigel was a perfect opportunity for children to be given embarrassing and cruel nicknames such as ‘Nigel No Friends’.
“When I was 10 years old, my best friend was called Nigel Nutt, which is even worse. Nigel Nutt and Nigel Neill,” he explained. “But we liked westerns, so we thought, ‘Instead of just calling ourselves Nigel, let’s give ourselves nicknames.’ So I was called Sam and he was called Bill.” And it was the best decision I ever made.”
The New Zealand actor went on to say, “There is no movie actor named Nigel Kneale. That will never happen.”
Sam’s full name is Sir Nigel John Dermot “Sam” Neil KNZM Master.
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Neil rocked the headlines last year when he revealed he had been diagnosed with stage 3. blood cancer At the time, he called the disease “horrible” and admitted in an October interview that while he didn’t know exactly how much time he had left, he wasn’t afraid of dying.
Sam Neill played Dr. Alan Grant in the movie Jurassic Park. (Photo courtesy of Murray Close)
Specifically, the actor said he is “not afraid of death in the slightest” and even finds the idea of dying “troubling” because there are still things he wants to do.
Mr Neil detailed his angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma diagnosis on Australian Story, saying he was in the “fight for his life”. He underwent months of “brutal” chemotherapy, which he said robbed him of “any kind of dignity.”
His doctor, Ollie Lavie, appeared on the show and explained that before the initial chemotherapy was finished, the cancer was found to be resistant to treatment and became more aggressive. She said many patients choose to stop treatment altogether when this happens, but Neal is “very keen” to continue the fight.
Sam Neill announced last year that he had been diagnosed with cancer in March 2022. (Jeff Vespa/Wire Image)
She prescribed a “new” drug as the next step in treatment, and he said he was “surprised” when it actually worked.
“That was a year ago,” Neal said of the new drug. “Since then, I’ve been in remission and I’m so grateful for that. This isn’t the end. I’m going to keep going.”The rest of my life is like getting hit again every two weeks. But it’s what keeps me alive, and I’d much rather be alive than anything else. ”
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Due to the successful treatment, the actor said at the time that he was able to do his “first real job in over a year.”
From left to right, Jake Lacey, Annette Bening, and Sam Neill star in the recently released series Apples Never Fall. (Photo by Jon Kopaloff/GA/The Hollywood Reporter, Getty Images)
Neil’s latest project, Apples Never Fall, was released by Peacock on March 14th. The miniseries is an adaptation of the thriller of the same name by Big Little Lies author Liane Moriarty.
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The show also stars Annette Bening, Jake Lacey, Alison Brie, and Essie Randles.
Fox News Digital’s Emily Trainham contributed to this report.
