Hollywood star visits Custom House restaurant
SAM'S IN TOWN!. . . Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill, who was on a flying visit to Derry on Friday afternoon, pictured in the Custom House Restaurant with, from left, Paul Logue, Bar Manager, Michael Rooney, Floor Manager and Catherine McMonagle, Restaurant Manager. The Holywood actor, who hails from Omagh, was in town to promote his new wine, Two Paddocks. 2110JM44
What do you get if you mix Derry with a Hollywood movie star with a passion for wine? The answer is Omagh-born Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill.
Mr. Neill was in Derry on Friday to promote his own wine, Two Paddocks, that he is supplying to Custom House restaurant.
“My other life outside of acting is that I produce top end wines. My first vintage was in 1997 but we have never distributed to Northern Ireland before.
“I made contact with the Robb Brothers Wine Merchants of Armagh and they have helped to bring the wine to Derry.
“I am working on a project in England with Cillian Murphy for the BBC and got a few days off and thought I would come here to promote the wine.”
Mr. Neill, who is best known for his acting roles as Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park and as Dr. William Weir in Event Horizon, was born in Omagh in County Tyrone in 1947 before his parents emigrated to New Zealand six years later.
Mr. Neill said that whilst he loves living in the hills of Central Otago in the south island of New Zealand, he still feels at home when he visits the North.
“My great-grandfather, P.C. Neill and his father before him, James Neill, were wine and spirit merchants from Belfast many years ago so I definitely think that my affinity for good-tasting alcohol is in the blood,” he said laughing.
“I have distant cousins still living here and I wish I could get back here more. I always enjoy myself here and always feel at home here.
“I have fond memories of playing on Tyrella beach in County Down
“More importantly, everyone is so friendly, agreeable and pleasant.”
Mr. Neill, who also voiced a character in one episode of The Simpsons, said that he’d heard of Derry’s City of Culture win and said that he thought it a great opportunity for the city to shine.
“Far be it for me to pontificate about anything in Derry but I think that art enriches us in so many profound ways.
“Without the arts we are ,just commercial beings.
“I read about Derry winning the UK City of Culture for 2013 and I think it’s a phenomenal opportunity and it’s very exciting.”
Mr. Neill is currently filming Peaky Blinders, a BBC television series also starring Cillian Murphy. It will be released next year.
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Weather for Derry
Tuesday 21 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 8 C to 14 C
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