YouspentyourearliestyearsinNorthernIreland,beforemoving
toNewZealand.Whatfooddoyourecallhaving?Northern
Irelandwasn’texactlya gastronomicdestinationinthosedays.
It wasalsoa timeofrations.I rememberthedayrationing
endedandhurtlingofftothesweetshopforasmanyMars
barsaswecouldafford(probablyjusttheone).Mymother,
Godblessher,wasnotmuchofa cook.Theonlyrealmemory
I haveofeatinganythingat allwasbreadanddripping.
Not bad, too, as I remember it. Is that possible?Youstartedactinginhighschool.Whatit waslikebeingon
stageforthefirsttime?I hada prettybadstammerasa child.
I alsohad(andstillhave)anolderbrotherwhowasmuch
brighterthanme,andalwaysarrivedhomewithglowing
reports.Minewereinvariablydismal,butI foundI could
acta bit.Andwhenonstage,I didn’tstammeratall.
I lovedthesensationofbeingabletosaywords
withclarityandconviction.Andfora boywith
littlescholasticorsportingskills,a momentof
attention – however small – was quite a thing.You’veplayeda widerangeofcharacters:
thePope,theAntichrist,a catburglaron
TheSimpsons. InSeptember,you’llappearas
MichellePayne’sfather,Paddy,inRideLikea Girl.
Whichrolewereyoumostthrilledtoget?I’malways
excitedtolanda role,andeverytimeit seemslike
anextraordinaryfluke.Prettymuchthenextday,
I invariablyrealiseI havenoideahowtoplaythepart.
ThenI justgraduallymuddlea wayforwardasbest
I can. In that sense, it’s very much like any otherjob.Andwhatroleareyourchildrenmostimpressedby?Mychildren
areuniformlyunimpressedwithmyjob,justastheyarewithmy
friendswhomightbeinthemovies.It’snormaltothem– it’s
just what people do. And that’s as it should be. No big deal.In1993,youplantedyourfirstgrapesforyourTwoPaddocks
winelabelintheCentralOtagoregion.Whatwasit likeopening
thefirstbottleofyourownwine?A revelation.I hadnogreat
ambitionsinitially.Somethingquaffableandfuntodrinkwith
myfriendswouldhavebeenfine.Butthiswasbetterthanthat.
Andit startedthewholecrazy25-year-sagaofmylifeas a vigneron.
I knew then thatbetter was fine, butbest was what I wanted.You’venamedoneofyourvineyards,TheFusilier,inBannockburn,
afteryourdad.Didhepouryouyourfirstglassofwine?My
dad,whoI stillmissverymuch,wasintheRoyalIrishFusiliers,
andourfourthvineyardis namedforhim.InNewZealand,our
familywereinthewineandspiritsbusiness:Neill&Co,founded
in1861.Dadretiredfromthearmyandtookoverasmanagerof
thefamilyfirm.Winewasverymuchpartofthefamilyfabric- plus the odd gin and tonic. I remember when Dad started
tobringhometablewinemadeinNewZealand.Theearly
tableredswerea tadcoarse,buta start. How things have
changed in the last 40 years or so.Doespinotnoirdeserveitsreputationasthe“heartbreakgrape”?
Yes,it canbethe“heartbreakgrape”– becauseyouhavetogrow
pinotnoirincoolclimatesinthemostmarginalofregions,you
areinevitablyvulnerabletothedepredationsofnature.Frost
is ourgreatenemy.Ina night,monthsofpainstakinghands-on
workcanbedestroyedbya five-degreefreeze. But when you have
a benign year – the immense satisfaction!Youandthecrewgotcaughtina hurricanewhilefilmingJurassic
Park. Is thatthemostterrifyingmomentyou’vehadona job?
I’vehada fewclosecalls,mostlyinvolvinghorses.(I stillsay
yestoanythingwitha horseinit,however;that’sthebest
funimaginable.)Andofcourse,HurricaneInikiwasthefull
deal.ButI don’tthinkwewereeveractuallyscared,assuch.
I mean, StevenSpielbergwastherewithusasweshelteredin
thefunctionroomofthehotel.Spielberg dying
in a hurricane – it’s unthinkable.You’vefilmedinmorethan 60 countries.Where
haveyourmostmemorablemealsbeen?I started
workingabroadjustas theworldwaswakingupto
goodcooking.SomeofmyfirstjobswereinFrance,
whenFrenchfoodwasgreat.I don’trecommend
it anymore.I thinktourismhasbuggeredit – and
thebrasseriesthatI oncelovedarelazyshadowsof
whattheyoncewere.WhenI livedinLondonin
theearly’80s,youwerehard-pressed to find a decent meal.
Now it’s the city to eat in.What’sthefoodlikeonset?Thebeston-setfoodis foundin
Australia.Freshandinventive.Myadvicetoproducers:thevery
lastthingtoeconomiseinyourbudgetis food.A well-fedcrewis
a happy crew. You never ever want to work with an unhappy crew.Yourfarmanimalsarenamedafterfriendsofyours,suchas
AnjelicaHuston,TaikaWaititiandMerylStreep.Why?It means
thatnoonewillservethemfordinner.I mean,whocould
possibly want to eat Taika Waititi? He’s a national treasure.What’sbeenyourgreatestachievementasa winemaker?
Thatis thehardestquestionofall.Butlet’ssayTwoPaddocks
2016 TheFirstPaddockPinotNoir,whichI loved,andthen
WineSpectatorintheUSAgaveit 95points.Soafterplanting
thosefirstvinesinGibbston,thatmaddecisiontogrowwine
there continues to be have been the right idea after all.Andwhatyouhaveyoubeenmostproud of as an actor? Staying
inwork.Still.Afteralltheseyears.●Sam Neill runs Two Paddocks, twopaddocks.comWhocould
possiblywant
to eatTaika
Waititi? He’s
a national
treasure.GOURMET TRAVELLER 29INTERVIEW LEE TRAN LAM.
How I eat