STACK NZ Sep #77

FEATURE DVD & BD

Best known for his straight roles, Sam Neill is not cast in nearly enough comedies: here’s four of his best comic performance. Death in Brunswick (1990) Cast against type, Neill was terrific as the loveable but dim-witted loser who gets mixed up in murder in this wonderful black comedy set in Melbourne. His scenes with fellow Kiwi John Clarke (aka Fred Dagg) were a delight. Sirens (1993) Although the (often unclad) ladies gained most of the attention – Elle Macpherson and Portia De Rossi made their debuts here – Neill delivered a dry, wry and very droll performance as the artist Norman Lindsay. The Simpsons (1994)

and games. The comedian points out that the film was shot deep in the New Zealand bush and both the terrain and the weather proved to be pretty rough. “There was a lot of muck and it snowed at one point,” he says. “It was a real adventure for everyone.” And it was an adventure that certainly struck a chord with audiences. As well as rave reviews overseas, Hunt For The Wilderpeople is now the highest grossing New Zealand film of all-time, with the comedy taking over the top spot fromWaititi’s 2010 smash Boy . So what does Darby think is the Kiwi

fleshed out considerably more, according to Darby. And as with their previous collaboration, the director was happy for him to improvise. “It was fun,” he says. “We experimented with saying things here and there, and the whole thing was fairly loose for my part of it. It wasn’t just me: Taika also, and Julian gave us some ideas for it – I think he came up with the idea of the trapdoor. “We liked to get a bit loose on it and see what we could think of on the day. Depending on how much fun we had improvising, we would use that stuff instead of the actual script. But there was always the lines there that you could use.”

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In one of the best episodes from season 5, Homer The Vigilante , the Kiwi icon provided the suave voice of gentleman cat burglar Molloy, whose wave of crime provokes panic in Springfield. Dean Spanley (2008) Neill was at his mischievous best in this whimsical London- set period tale from Toa Fraser, about a vicar who might just be the reincarnation of the beloved

filmmaker’s key to success? “He has a great sense of humour and he speaks to everyone,” he replies. “It’s that total relatability. Also he’s a great filmmaker. So it’s the

Darby is full of praise for Wilderpeople ’s two leads, Neill and Dennison. “You’ve got the new guy and the old boy,” he enthuses. “They couldn’t come together any more perfectly than they did. Sam is really the key for me because he still has that childlike sense of wonder about him. He was excited about being in a Taika film, and being in the bush in the heart of New Zealand. “Julian had a done a couple of things but this was a lead role, so he was kind of excited. He’s just a real confident, cheeky, funny, wonderful little guy, who I think has a big future.” Given the array of comic talent involved – the impressive ensemble also includes the likes of Rima Te Wiata and Oscar Kightley – and Waititi’s love of improvisation, you can imagine it was a very fun shoot to be on. Darby agrees, but says it wasn’t all fun

coming together of all those right nuggets.”

childhood pooch of a grumpy aristocrat (acting legend Peter O’Toole).

• Hunt For The Wilderpeople is out on September 14

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