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Latest comment: 12 days ago4 comments4 people in discussion
The text says "He transferred from Canterbury to Victoria University of Wellington to complete his Bachelor of Arts, adding a philosophy unit, and passed the "logic" paper with last-minute coaching from John Clarke."
But when he received an honorary degree from the University of Canterbury in 2002 they confirm that he got his degree from UC.
(2) how to add after 'Having relocated to Wellington, he transferred to Victoria University of Wellington for a year to complete his Bachelor of Arts.[20][21' the statement, "and he graduated with his BA from the University of Canterbury in 1971 [Christchurch Press, 30 June 1971, p 19, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19710630.2.141]".
Latest comment: 12 days ago10 comments5 people in discussion
The article says, paraphrasing: ~“He was born in Northern Ireland to an English mother and a father from New Zealand, so he got three citizenships: British, Irish, and New Zealand.”
Sounds weird. Why would he become a citizen of (the Republic of) Ireland by being born in Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK (aka Britain)? -- CRConrad (talk) 23:04, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Thanks for pointing that out. I have changed the mentions of Irish citizenship to Northern Irish, I don't believe we need a citation to prove this however in his interview with Peter FitzSimons for The Sydney Morning Herald, he said "I've got three citizenships: Irish, British and New Zealand" so I can understand where the confusion has come from. Qwerty123M (talk) 23:10, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
actually he didnt when born in Northern ireland the british nationality act is what takes precedent, when born in northern ireland you are automatically british but at a later stage you can apply for dual nationality it is not automatic so unless it can be proven he applied for an irish passport he is not an irish citizen ~2026-23890-70 (talk) 23:22, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The sources say he had Irish citizenship so I think that is good enough to include, I don't think we need to discuss this further. Qwerty123M (talk) 23:25, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
that's an oversimplification of the situation, especially given that it changed in the 90s, well after Neill was born. And we do not and have never required proof of passports to state nationalities - it would be a gross invasion of privacy. Morwen (talk) 23:27, 13 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
What changed in the 90's was that people in northern ireland could apply for dual nationality, this was tested in law and in court it was reiterated that the gfa did not supersede the british nationality act meaning anyone born in northern ireland is born british not irish they can apply for a irish passport although this does not make them a full irish citizen as people in northern ireland have no right to vote in local elections ,referendums or presidential elections in the republic of ireland , as a side note you can't relinquish your british citizenship if you reside in northern ireland either its been tried in court and thrown out , so unless he had applied for an irish passport he did not automatically get irish citizenship as some may think including himself . So at the moment this isnt a proven fact or assertion. ~2026-23890-70 (talk) 04:32, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Ah, thanks @Morwen! That explains it. Cool idea — kind of like the American birthright citizenship, but extended even beyond their own territory... Though I think I can see why most nations don't do that. CRConrad (talk) 19:09, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 1 day ago60 comments29 people in discussion
The following discussion is an archived record of a request for comment. Please do not modify it. No further edits should be made to this discussion.A summary of the conclusions reached follows.
support: to judge from what has been reported about him (news media and personal contacts) and in his autobiography, this captures the essence of the man, humility and a decent sense of self-worth ~2026-39836-38 (talk) 07:21, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support - a recent photo for notable event and good appearance in the shot. A shot from an award such as his investiture or other awards has a bit of 'official' and 'honorarium' tone to it, which seems reasonably common for such as Category:Actors awarded knighthoods. I could see an iconic image if one is available from one of the Jurassic Park movies -- but just a random picture such as from a 2010 wine festival doesn't appeal. Cheers Markbassett (talk) 04:00, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support. When someone is already deceased, I prefer an infobox image of them from their prime, rather than one of them when they are old and in ill health. (The other image can perhaps be placed in the appropriate chronological placement in the body text, or in the Personal life section.) Softlavender (talk) 00:19, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support. I now added bold text for this to qualify and as stated I absolutely support the change to the 2022 image to the 2010 image. Krossaunt (talk) 00:42, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support per Softlavender. He is instantly recognisable in the 2010 image, but not as much in the 2022 one. Support the 2022 image still being used elsewhere in the article. The only issue I have with the 2010 image is that his head is tilted, unlike the 2022 one, but that's only a minor nit. In solidarity, nilnz01:02, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support. I agree with Softlavender and add that this would be a nice way to respect a fine actor who has sadly passed away by using an image when he was younger. I also agree with Softlavender that the image should be used in a different section considering that it is freely available on Commons, there are also some other pictures there available for use if necessary. Qwerty123M (talk) 01:51, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support closer in time and appearance to Jurassic Park, which dominates obituary coverage. 2022 image shows him visibly older than his recognised years, and likely in the midst of serious illness. Unknown Temptation (talk) 10:51, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support Unless there's a high quality color portrait of him from the 90s or 2000s, this one will work perfectly CY223 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 03:44, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
We should not do that. Neill was not exclusively known for playing one character, different people may have memories of him playing a non-Jurassic Park character, it would also disrespect the fact that actors are human so they have lives outside of their acting jobs. It is high-quality image, but that is because this screenshot was taken from a film where high-quality cameras are very frequently used. Qwerty123M (talk) 04:17, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support It's a shame that there isn't a better option for brown-haired Neill, but for now it's the best fit for an article depicting him posthumously where the aim of the photo is to be instantly recognisable. Dudsud (talk) 03:27, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support This is what he looked like in his movies and, actually, even shortly before he died. Beards make all old guys look the same (signed, An Old Guy). Emmentalist (talk) 22:38, 16 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Weak Support - Would say this "look" is his most recognizable, if that is what infobox picture policy mandates then this has my vote, however I do think the "Knight investiture" pic is close enough to be inline with his "look" and more recent, so I would give that a second vote. MaximusEditor (talk) 15:42, 21 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Support After a person dies, I think its appropriate to use a photo that reflects their most prototypical appearance. This one fits the bill. Deckocard21 (talk) 23:48, 21 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
This consensus is expected to close on Friday July 24 as this is currently running for over 5 days.
Votes as of now, 83% has voted for the 2010 photo which I voted for as well in the beginning of this discussion. 4 has voted for the knight one, and nobody voted for Option A.
Krossaunt, to particpate in the RFC, please leave a bolded vote in the section of your choice. Your bolded vote should simply be "Support" or "Yes" or similar. You can include a rationale or comment, but please only use one bullet and one line for your entire entry there. Softlavender (talk) 00:39, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Please see WP:VOTE. We work on consensus, not votes. People do not need to use bolded text to show support for a consensus decision. Krossaunt's original message is unambiguous and did not need to be reformatted or restated. David Palmer//cloventt(talk)04:15, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Oppose. Upon looking at the image on a higher-quality screen, I don't think the edited image looks good at all, the warmth of the image is making his shirt look weird, his skin is not similar at all compared to how it looked originally and it is not as natural a pose as the original copy of this image. Qwerty123M (talk) 06:41, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Oppose rotated image. Now the background cabinets are tilted 30 degrees, which is very disorienting. The image looks seasick to me, and doesn't make sense. Softlavender (talk) 06:25, 14 July 2026
Oppose the rotation of the background is disorientating. Some people do naturally put their head to the side for a posed photo, it's not a deal-breaker like closed eyes, puzzled expression or looking down. Unknown Temptation (talk) 10:55, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Courtesy notice to editors who have already voted: Krossaunt, Nil NZ, Qwerty123M, cloventt, SilviaASH, Gertrude206: A third photo option (2022 knight investiture photo) has now been added to the choices in this RFC, by request. If you change your mind about your previous choice, please undo that by, for instance, striking and unbolding your old vote when or prior to voting for another option. Softlavender (talk) 07:01, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Comment: If we use the 2010 photo, I think it could be improved by cropping at the bottom of his blue collar points. This would also reduce some of the tilting pose which is slightly distracting. An art director once told me that a person's nose should be at the vertical center of a head shot, so a crop of that bottom portion would achieve that. Note that I do not think the photo should be rotated. (Two of the current photo options have tilted poses: 2010 photo and knight investiture photo -- they are simply tilted in opposite directions.) Softlavender (talk) 07:17, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Wow, here's a version cropped to just above where his shirt's first done up button meets, makes a big difference to me. Removes a lot of the current strangeness about the photo. Since the 2010 photo is currently ahead (19 to 3), there could be a second discussion about cropping? Dudsud (talk) 06:25, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Dudsud: If you can use the "upload a new version of this file" (on Commons: ), it will automatically replace the uncropped version. I don't think it requires discussing. Others made unrequested color changes without discussion. Softlavender (talk) 21:14, 18 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
It's such a minor change that I doubt anyone will notice and most will be inclined not to think anything of the change, the minor modification is easy to support for this reason. Qwerty123M (talk) 06:54, 20 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
The discussion above is closed. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made on the appropriate discussion page. No further edits should be made to this discussion.
Neutral. Out of the two presented above, I prefer the 2010 one for the relative youth it contains and the fact that Neill is indoors, which looks a bit like a performance setting. I think this picture is just as good as the 2010 proposal in the above request for comment. I like that this shows him with an award in a formal setting and in a pleasant lighting background. Along with both images from the above request for comment being displayed in the article, this one would be a worthy choice to display somewhere as well if it is not to be used as the main infobox image. It would be ideal to include this image in the above Request for Comment to gauge a broader variety of opinions on this image alongside the two others but it appears that cannot happen per Wikipedia:Requests for comment#Changing the RfC question. Qwerty123M (talk) 06:11, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Comment: I have now added this photo to the RFC since Qwerty123M's suggestion. I don't think this is a violation of the rules, since the RFC question is not a divisive one, only one of an image choice, and people can always change their choice. If we need to alert those who have already voted, then we can. And if it violates the RFC rules, then WP:IAR should apply. The RFC has only been open for six hours, and I see RFC questions getting refined all the time. Softlavender (talk) 06:47, 14 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
"Sam Neill" Semi-protected edit request on 15 July 2026
Latest comment: 12 days ago9 comments5 people in discussion
This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
I dont know how
(1) to change the box reference to his BA, or
(2) how to add after 'Having relocated to Wellington, he transferred to Victoria University of Wellington for a year to complete his Bachelor of Arts.[20][21' the statement, "and he graduated with his BA from the University of Canterbury in 1971 [Christchurch Press, 30 June 1971, p 19, https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19710630.2.141]".
We've got the major Australian RS and the major international RS saying one thing, and the pre-announcement (although Neill was no longer living there) of UC degrees to be conferred five days hence saying another thing. Can you find the list of graduates for UV for 1970? I mean SMH and NYC do their research thoroughly, and even list what the degree was in (English literature). Neither the subject (Eng. Lit) nor the date is in his memoir, so to me SMH and NYT are very credible. I requested a graduation-day report, not an announcement 5 days before graduation. Softlavender (talk) 06:42, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
(1) change the box reference which states [I abbreviate] 'Education UC (attended) VUW (BA)' to something like "education UUC VUW (BA UC 1970)"
(2) add the statement I've offered in double quotes. Is not the Christchurch Press newspaper not considered as reliable a source as NYT and SMH; it corroborates what has been stated publicly (and to me) by UC?
Most news media seem to have lifted their information from the existing Wikipedia text. In fact, he would have maintained his UC enrolment and had the units completed in his year at VUW credited to the UC BA, an unusual procedure then or now ~2026-39836-38 (talk) 07:33, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
NYT and SMH (both published on the date of his death) definitely did not copy from Wikipedia, which did not contain graduation year, subject of BA (English literature), or even precisely specify which university conferred the BA . -- Softlavender (talk) 07:56, 15 July 2026 (UTC)Reply
Latest comment: 11 days ago2 comments2 people in discussion
This edit request has been answered. Set the |answered= parameter to no to reactivate your request.
Sam Neill graduated BA University of Canterbury on 5 July 1971 (after credits for a final year of study at Victoria University). He was awarded an honorary doctorate by his alma mater in 2002
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2022 photo
2022 knight investiture
2010 photo.jpg)
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Not done: it's not clear what changes you want made. Please detail the specific changes in a "change X to Y" format and provide a reliable source if appropriate. The honorary doctorate is already accounted for in the "Personal life" section. Reliable sources such as obituaries have said that Neill was awarded his Bachelor of Arts from the Victoria University Of Wellington, not Canterbury. Qwerty123M (talk) 03:45, 15 July 2026 (UTC)
Not done Both The Sydney Morning Herald and The New York Times state that his BA was from Victoria University. UC is a non-independent source about its own claims, although if they can show the 1970 report on the graduation ceremony of 1970 and it says "Nigel Neill", they might have some credibility. Softlavender (talk) 06:03, 15 July 2026 (UTC)