Sam Neill, 75, shocks fans as he reveals his real name

Sam Neill has revealed his real name after changing it when he was young lad in school.  

In his new memoir Did I Ever Tell You This, the Jurassic Park star, 75, says he was born Nigel John Dermot Neill.

The acclaimed actor, who was born in Northern Ireland but grew up in New Zealand, admits he ‘resents’ his parents for the name choice. 

‘The one thing I resent about my parents, the only thing, is that they called me Nigel,’ Sam writes in the tome.

‘Changing my name to Sam at the age of 11 was probably the best decision I made in my life.’

Neill had previously said his name was ‘a little effete for… a New Zealand playground.’

The beloved actor shocked his fans earlier this month when he revealed he was batting stage-three blood cancer in the book. 

In an interview with The Guardian, he said: ‘The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying.’

In his new memoir Did I Ever Tell You This, the Jurassic Park star, 75, says he was born Nigel John Dermot Neill 

‘Changing my name to Sam at the age of 11 was probably the best decision I made in my life,’ he said. Pictured as a child

Neill also told the BBC he has had ‘a ferocious type of aggressive’ non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

He began writing his memoir as a distraction and to ‘give me a reason to get through the day’.

Neill said he sought medical treatment after noticing that he had lumpy glands on his neck while doing a publicity tour last year for the film Jurassic World Dominion.

The Piano star stayed calm when doctors told him of his diagnosis, and he immediately began plotting to write a book of his life.

Neill shocked his fans earlier this month when he revealed he was batting stage-three blood cancer in the book

‘I thought I need to do something, and I thought, ‘Shall I start writing?’ he told the BBC.

‘I didn’t think I had a book in me, I just thought I’d write some stories. And I found it increasingly engrossing.

‘A year later, not only have I written the book – I didn’t have a ghostwriter – but it’s come out in record time,’ he said proudly.

Sam’s specific ailment was diagnosed as angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.

He is now in remission but will be on chemotherapy medication for the rest of his life.

Reflecting on life, the seasoned actor admitted, ‘I’m not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know?

‘We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.

‘But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.’

He began writing his memoir as a distraction and to ‘give me a reason to get through the day’. He is now in remission but will be on chemotherapy medication for the rest of his life