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Did I Ever Tell You This?
Did I Ever Tell You This? | Sam Neill
10 posts | 9 read | 6 to read
Get to know the star of some of the world's favourite film and TV classics in this fascinating and remarkably honest memoir from Sam Neill 'Hilarious, wicked, wonderful, kind, thoughtful, engaging and wise' STEPHEN FRY 'Just wonderful, so funny and charming and sharp. Sam Neill's lively, lovely book made me laugh out loud' MERYL STREEP 'Really, really, really funny. There are some cracking stories. I read it in one sitting!' LORRAINE KELLY 'I love this book, it's like spending time with you. A real treat. Fantastic' GRAHAM NORTON __________ For over forty years, Sam Neill's name has been a reassuring mark of quality. With starring roles in hit movies like Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, The Piano and Jurassic Park, Sam's work has taken him from arthouse to blockbuster, and from cult classics to TV hits like Peaky Blinders. Few actors have proved as versatile, nor so well-loved. Born in 1947 in Northern Ireland, Sam emigrated to New Zealand with his close-knit family at the age of seven. At school in Christchurch he discovered he was hopeless at sport, but loved acting. Following a breakthrough role in Gillian Armstrong's My Brilliant Career in 1979, Sam found his way, sometimes by accident, to his own brilliant career and Hollywood's A-list, working alongside a stellar list of actors, writers and directors. In Did I Ever Tell You This? he invites you in, sharing stories from an extraordinary life with charm, honesty, good humour, and a wry appreciation of the absurd. Moving and often laugh-out-loud funny, this is the inspirational story of a man who, when life knocks him down, stands up again.
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Teresereading
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#AboutaBook
#Lighthearted
@Eggs @Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks
A great audio-read. I wonder if he ad-libbed sometimes? He seemed to enjoy his reading of it, and sometimes got the giggles!

Alwaysbeenaloverofbooks 💙💙💙 3mo
Eggs Great choice 👌🏼 3mo
18 likes2 comments
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AvidReader25
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Pickpick

I‘ve loved Sam Neill‘s work since seeing him in the Merlin miniseries in the ‘90s. This memoir is an upbeat scattershot approach to storytelling. He jumps around in time and topic, sharing anecdotes and random memories. It‘s enjoyable, but certainly not deep. I like his New Zealand sense of humor and his ability to find joy in all circumstances instead of complaining. Definitely listen to the audio, narrated by Neill, if you can.

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thegirlwiththelibrarybag
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Pickpick

I was a bit sad to reach the end of this - listening to Sam‘s anecdotes was actually really lovely, jam packed with references to people I‘d never heard of 😂 but that‘s ok - he speaks with such affection for his friends that I wasn‘t always sure if they were *famous* or a life long mate from school. I was kind of blown away by how prolific his career has been and I loved hearing about the wine & NZ too.

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Jeg
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Pickpick

I love Sam Neill and I loved this book. I've decided in the future I will listen to memoirs especially if read by the author. At some point I will get this as an audio book. I love listening to his voice. I was surprised to find he is the same age as me. I smiled a lot and it made me want to watch his movies again.

Teresereading I agree re listening to memoirs 12mo
15 likes1 comment
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Eva_B
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Pickpick

This was wonderful! I loved it.I was lucky enough to hear him talk about this book in person recently. I‘d only just started reading it, at that point. I wanted to race home afterwards to finish it! The way he deals with what he is facing health wise, at the moment, is inspiring. And the way this influences his reflections in the book are very moving. His sense of clarity shines through. And his wicked sense of humour made me laugh out loud!

CarolynM Lucky you, getting to that event! It sold out so fast! 1y
Eva_B @CarolynM I was just lucky my friend spotted the announcement of the 2nd show. We thought we had missed out too! He was fabulous! 😊 1y
14 likes2 comments
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CarolynM
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#BookReport
Apart from the Persephone, April was a month of light and easy reading, most of it extremely enjoyable. I plan on trying some more literary titles in May.

LeahBergen You had a great month! 2y
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Lizpixie
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Bk4 from my #BookHaul is the new autobiography from one of my favourite New Zealanders(though we aussies claim him too!). I‘ve heard great things about this, I‘m old enough to catch most of the references he makes & also from the same part of the world which helps. From his childhood on the South Island of NZ to his breakout role in My Brilliant Career to Jurassic Park & The Piano then to Rick & Morty, he‘s become a treasured Australasian.

CarolynM Can‘t wait to see what you think🙂 2y
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Rissreads
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Pickpick

Top bloke, I thoroughly enjoyed this!

LeeRHarry Have this on audio - I listened to the sample and thought yep I could listen to Sam Neill talk about his life for hours 😊 2y
Rissreads @LeeRHarry I actually listened to it. Very easy listening! 2y
CarolynM You‘re making me wish I‘d done the audio… 2y
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CarolynM
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Pickpick

Well, that was such an entertaining read! I laughed a lot. Rather than a straightforward autobiography, it is more a series of anecdotes, told in roughly sequential order, from the life of a warm, witty, self deprecating and very charming man. He is upfront about his views on politics (unapologetically left wing) & on the people he has met (mostly positive) & while he shares stories about his famous friends he never gossips. 👇

CarolynM 👆New Zealanders and Australians (especially those who remember the 70‘s & 80‘s) will know most of the names that appear, but others should prepare themselves for mention of a lot of actors, directors, artists and musicians they‘ve never heard of. 2y
ChaoticMissAdventures I always get confused with Kiwi and Oz politics. I feel like your left is others right? Or your labor is our conservative?? LoL I do love a good southern hemisphere TV and movie though. 2y
CarolynM @ChaoticMissAdventures No, in Australia our left is left and Labour is (somewhat) left. I think the confusion comes because our conservatives call themselves Liberals🙄😵‍💫 2y
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LeeRHarry I do love a good memoir so stacking this one 😊 and I agree re the confusion re Conservatives being Liberal, have had to explain this to many a Brit before 😊 2y
CarolynM @LeeRHarry One of my favourite things about Paul Keating was the way he used to point across the Chamber and call them Tories. They hated it. 2y
LeeRHarry @CarolynM didn‘t know that! 🤣🤣🤣 2y
squirrelbrain Sounds like a great read, stacking! 2y
Lizpixie I loved Paul Keating! “He is simply a shiver looking for a spine to run up” will always be one of my all time favourite political quotes. 👏👏👏 2y
Lizpixie And I love Sam Neill #stacking 2y
Jeg This is on my list to get . I‘ve always loved his acting and in interviews he comes across as so genuine. Love that he is so left. 2y
Rissreads I‘ve just read this review. So much better than mine. I was being lazy! 🤣 2y
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CarolynM
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And this is why I love both Sam Neill and Judy Davis 🤣

Loving this memoir too.

squirrelbrain 🤣🤣🤣 2y
CarolynM @squirrelbrain On the next page there‘s a cute anecdote about Peter O‘Toole shaking his head about it too😆 2y
Cathythoughts Very funny 😆 2y
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EKonrad Love her!! Such an amazing actress! 2y
CarolynM @Cathythoughts He tells his stories very well, I have been giggling away all afternoon😄 2y
CarolynM @EKonrad Yes, she‘s wonderful. Unfortunately, based on a later anecdote, it seems she‘s not very fond of Sam☹️ 2y
batsy My love for Judy just increased lol 2y
Centique I looked at this the other week and wondered if it would be good. I‘m sold now! 2y
CarolynM @Centique It‘s really enjoyable. And I think it might be extra interesting for New Zealanders in a historical/nostalgic way. 2y
erzascarletbookgasm Hi Carolyn👋. I have sent you an email, the old email address that I have in my records..I hope you‘re still using that? 2y
CarolynM @erzascarletbookgasm Hi Jessi👋 Yes, still using that address, but it‘s playing up at the moment and I‘m not receiving anything at all ☹️ Hopefully it will sort itself out soon (it‘s happened before). 2y
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