When Sam Neill Was James Bond: Remembering Reilly, Ace of Spies
Don't sleep on this underrated 1983 series, which is basically like a historical version of Bond meets Indiana Jones.
The legendary actor, Sam Neill, has sadly passed away at the age of 78. Known to science fiction and fantasy fans as Dr. Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, the horror cult classic Event Horizon, and as the wizard Merlin, Neill’s talent was boundless. And, if you’re looking to take a deep dive into the incredible career of Neill, you could of course, watch any of those famous films or even his lesser-known WWII drama, The Blood of Others. But, among the oeuvre of Sam Neill, the most blood-pumping role of all is his underrated and excellent turn as a historical James Bond-like figure named Sidney Reilly, in the 1983 miniseries Reilly, Ace of Spies. With episodes directed by future James Bond helmer Martin Campbell (GoldenEye, Casino Royale), the historical spy action of Ace of Spies is well-paced, with touches of Indiana Jones blended with a legit spy story.
And if you ever wonder why Sam Neill looked so natural in that hat in Jurassic Park, seeing him rock a fedora in Ace of Spies will make everything clear.
Mild spoilers ahead.
Sam Neill as the eponymous Ace of Spies.
Based on the real life of the Odessa-born man named Sidney Reilly, who became a spy for the U.K. before and during WWI, Ace of Spies plays fast and loose with the real history, but quickly establishes Sidney as the James Bond of the early 1900s. Throughout the 12 episodes of the series, Reilly finds himself in adventures in China, Germany, London, and a great deal of action in the country that will become the USSR in the future.
The cast of the various episodes features a few other familiar faces for genre fans, including John Rhys-Davies in the very first episode, Bill Nighy, future Willow star Joanne Whalley, David Burke, Lindsay Duncan, Alfred Molina, and the original Anakin Skywalker, Sebastian Shaw.
But it’s Neill’s performance that makes the show ridiculously watchable, even when the plots are convoluted or the social mores of the 1980s and the early 1900s collide awkwardly. In nearly every scene, Neill’s demeanor is one of quiet confidence and danger. He’s portrayed initially as a Bond-esque cad, but any sexism to the character is mostly connected to the period of time, rather than a misguided celebration of chauvinism. In short, as Reilly, Neill feels like a more ethical James Bond, which again, will call to mind, in many episodes, what an Indiana Jones TV might have looked like.
Neill’s performance in Ace of Spies was almost certainly a factor in his being among several actors tapped to replace Roger Moore as James Bond just a few years later. Ace of Spies concluded in 1983, and the final Moore Bond film, A View to a Kill, was released in 1985. In 1986, Neill auditioned to play Bond for the film that would become 1987’s The Living Daylights, though eventually the part went to Timothy Dalton. Like many Bond hopefuls, Neill auditioned by performing a version of a scene made famous by Sean Connery in 1963, in which Bond enters his hotel to find Tatiana Romanova in his bed, waiting for him.
Like another future Bond, Pierce Brosnan, Neill is originally from Ireland, having been born in Omagh, County Tyrone, in Northern Ireland in 1947. Though his mother was Irish, Neill’s father was from New Zealand, and he spent much of his early years in that country. In Ace of Spies, Neill’s cosmopolitan and global background in real life certainly adds to the flavor of the character of Reilly, a man who isn’t really from one place and seems to have multiple allegiances.
If you’re looking for an underrated gem from the career of Sam Neill, Ace of Spies will give you everything you could hope for: a great 1980s historical drama with high production values, several complex espionage plots, and Sam Neill looking sauve as hell through all of it.
