A True Renaissance Man
Our 2011 Knitters' Hunk, in case you needed reminding:
Sam Neill. Photo: Anthony Johnson
LIAM NEESON tears up when he hears Eva Cassidy sing Danny Boy. Toni Collette's No. 1 album is Neil Young's Harvest, while Neil Finn's favourite tune is Elton John's Your Song.
The actor Sam Neill, who is starring in the US television seriesAlcatraz, has convinced his famous friends to compile Top 10 lists of their favourite songs before publishing them on his website.
The pastime has taken on a life of its own among Neill's celebrity friends, with goofy pictures and passionate compilation lists from stars including Sir Ian McKellen (who lists his No.1 as When I'm Cleaning Windows by George Formby) and Stephen Fry (whose eclectic list is topped by Herb Alpert and his Tijuana Brass'sSpanish Flea) as well as Willem Dafoe and Marianne Faithfull.
''One of the things I do on the website now, when I've got downtime in my trailer, old friends that I've worked with and so on, I get them to do their top 10 records - we're up to 57 [people] now. I think the last one was Fred Schepisi, so there's all sorts of people,'' said Neill.
While it's a dream list for a music magazine, Neill is publishing the responses on the website for his boutique winery, Two Paddocks.
He said it was simply a fun exchange between friends, although some of them happen to be very famous. ''People love doing it, because music matters to them,'' said Neill. ''They don't just pick their top 10 records but they also write about them and it's very interesting because music is such a personal thing to people. Because they write about their songs, you get a really good insight into the people themselves.''
Neill is based in the US for the filming of Alcatraz, but he expects to return to New Zealand and Sydney during a holiday break in three weeks' time.
Despite his foray into television, the actor is also at the centre of speculation he will appear in Jurassic Park IV. Neill said nothing was confirmed, ''but as Sean Connery says, 'never say never'.''
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