Kiwi actor Sir Sam Neill reveals he ‘really didn’t like’ living in Los Angeles

Sir Sam Neill “really didn’t like” living in Los Angeles.

The Jurassic Park actor - who has son Tim, 41, with Lisa Harrow, and Elena, 33, with ex-wife Noriko Watanabe - briefly stayed in California in the early days of his career but found it “boring” as people only wanted to talk about their work in the entertainment industry and he didn’t think it was a good place to raise his family.

Explaining why he didn’t want to live in Hollywood, Neill - whose home is in New Zealand, where he was raised - told The Guardian newspaper: “A number of reasons. One was, I didn’t want to bring up my children in LA. I didn’t think that would be good for them.

“And I didn’t love LA. I really didn’t like living there. We went there for a year and a half and I wasn’t happy. There was nothing but show business. No other conversations, no other interests. It bores the s*** out of me.

“That’s why my life now is half performance and half rural. I farm, I grow wine, and that keeps me sane. If I was only doing one, I’d go absolutely nuts.”

Despite his lengthy career, the 76-year-old star doesn’t see himself as a “celebrity” because he is able to go about his everyday life unrecognised.

He said: “Being a celebrity and being an actor are two separate jobs.

“I would rate myself as a reasonably successful film and television actor. I don’t rate myself as a film star.

“I can go to Starbucks, no one bugs me. I tell them my name! They don’t know me.

“I’ve got friends who are really famous and I wouldn’t have their lives for anything.”

But while he is content with life in New Zealand now, Neill admitted he didn’t think he had much chance of realising his dreams when he was younger because the island only had around five actors making a living and most of that was in radio plays.

He said: “The idea of having a career in film at all was completely unrealistic. And it was film that interested me.”

- Bang! Showbiz and republished with permission