Sam Neill's best TV roles make the perfect weekend binge

Sam Neill built one of the most fearless careers in Hollywood, playing everyone from a real-life spy to a beloved horror hunter to one of television's most chilling villains. And honestly, ranking his best TV work is genuinely impossible to do quickly. Following the actor's passing on July 13th at age 78, it's worth looking back at just how much range this man actually had. Starting at number 5, Riley, Ace of Spies from 1983, cast Neill as the real-life British agent Sidney Riley, a role so iconic it reportedly inspired Ian Fleming's original vision for James Bond. Neill even auditioned to play 007 himself back in 1986, which honestly makes complete sense once you see this performance. Number 4 takes us to The Twelve, where Neill played Australian barrister Brett Colby across all three seasons, delivering his most emotionally layered work in the finale season when the case hit painfully close to home. Number 3 is Apples Never Fall, Peacock's twisty family mystery, where Neill played Stan Delaney, a husband suspected of murdering his own wife, played by Annette Bening. It's one of his most morally complicated roles, keeping audiences genuinely unsure whether to trust him until the very end. Number 2, The Tudors, where Neill played Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, Henry VIII's conflicted right-hand man secretly juggling ambition, loyalty, and a forbidden family. It's a quietly tragic performance that still gets talked about years later. And number 1, easily his most unforgettable television role, Peaky Blinders. Neill played Major Chester Campbell, a genuinely menacing antagonist who proved this actor could disappear completely into pure villainy, a total 180 from the warm, grounded characters fans knew him for in movies like Jurassic Park and Hunt for the Wilder People. From spies to villains to grieving husbands, Sam Neill spent five decades proving he could do absolutely anything on screen, and these five performances are just the beginning of that legacy. Which Sam Neill role means the most to you? Share your favorite memory below.