Sam Neill on his ‘pretty brutal’ chemotherapy treatments and the iconic Australian film role he turned down

By Georgia Hitch for ABC

Legendary actor Sam Neill says he is “so grateful” to be receiving ongoing chemotherapy for blood cancer, but admitted the treatment is “brutal”.

Neill made the comments in a wide-ranging interview on Australian television, also addressing why he changed his mind about his knighthood and the role he turned down in a classic Australian film.

Last year, Neill revealed that he was diagnosed with cancer in early 2022 and although he is in remission, he requires ongoing treatment.

While he made it clear that his diagnosis was something he was “not really concerned about”, he shed more light on the impact of his treatment during ABC’s iView. The Assembly.

The program features autistic journalism students, mentored by Leigh Sales, interviewing famous people, with no off-limits questions.

One student, Evie, asked Neill what motivates him to continue with chemotherapy.

“It’s pretty brutal,” he said.

“I’m in a different place now, so at least I don’t look like… someone’s bald thumb.

“That’s how I stayed for a long time, it was embarrassing.

“I lost my beard and everything. And my dignity went with it.”

Neill shared that with or without hair, he was “very grateful” for the treatment.

“It kept me alive, and living is much better than anything else,” he said.

He was also asked about becoming Sir Sam Neill after being knighted, something he was “a little embarrassed about”.

“I said I didn’t want the title for 10 or 12 years,” Neill said.

“So when I thought I was dying a few years ago, I thought, ‘Oh, shit, I might as well go out with the title,’ so I changed my mind.”

Neill also reiterated that he finds retirement “much scarier” than dying, joking that “a lot of people are forced to play golf… I can’t think of anything less appealing.”

Neill brought to tears

Despite addressing her mortality and cancer diagnosis, it was a question from another student, Abbey, about the best lesson her parents taught her that visibly moved her. Jurassic Park star.

“My parents were from the generation that went through a lot; they went through [Great] Depression, my mother lost her father in the First [World] War,” he said.

“They went through a lot, but they were very stoic people.”

Neill described how in his first year at university he “did nothing” and spent most of his time focusing on acting rather than studying.

“Exam time came and I realized I hadn’t done much,” he recalled.

“I was really anxious. I got home and my mom said, ‘How are you, honey?’ I said, ‘Oh, Mom, I think I’m having a breakdown.’

“She just looked at me and said, ‘Well, you’re going to have to pull yourself together, aren’t you?'”

“I think that was the best lesson I learned from her. Sometimes you just have to pull yourself together.

“It’s a hard lesson, but it’s a good one.”

Abbey said she was shocked that her question affected the actor in that way.

“He must have been thinking about his parents and how much they meant to him,” she said.

“Perhaps they were tears of happiness, for he remembered them fondly.”

Iconic role he turned down

The wide-ranging interview also touched on lighter topics, including many about his acting career.

Another student, Mitch, asked Neill if there was any acting role he wished he had gotten but didn’t.

While it wasn’t exactly something he missed out on, he did reveal that he said no to an iconic Australian film.

“I turned down a role, I was one of the drag queens in Priscilla Queen of the Desert“, Neill shared.

“I would dress in drag without a problem, [it was that] I didn’t understand.

“I didn’t think it was funny. My reading faculties failed me, and I thought, ‘This will never work.’

“I couldn’t have been more wrong. I thought the film was fantastic and I’m glad I wasn’t in it.”

This story was first published by ABC.