There's one story that still makes actor Sam Neill chuckle to this day, and it has to do with the time his then 10-year-old son let loose some gas while sitting next to Princess Diana at the London Jurassic Park premiere in 1993. The 76-year-old recalled the hilarious evening on the 3rd Hour of Today. He'd brought his son, Tim Neill, to the premiere of the movie and was surprised that Princess Diana sat right next to them. "There was a royal premiere in London, and it was, it was sort of a fortuitous occasion — you don’t get to sit beside Princess Diana every day," he said.
Evidently, his son didn't get the memo of the significance of the moment. "My son was sitting on the other side [of me] and it was kind of unfortunate, because once it starts getting exciting, about 45 minutes in, he was so carried away with things — he was about 10 years old at this point — he started to fart unreasonably," Sam said.
Though the farts weren't loud, they definitely were pungent. "It wasn’t that audible, but it was very, very [smelly]," he said.
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Sam wasn't worried about his son farting as much as he was worried about who Princess Diana would think the smells were coming from. "There was sort of a draft through the cinema, and it was all drifting in the princess’ direction. And I was there in my suit and bowtie and things, sweating like crazy because I thought, ‘The princess is going to think this is me. And it’s this little boy here.'"
Despite his concerns, Sam didn't rat his son out at the moment. "No, I couldn’t. He hates me telling that story, but it’s absolutely true. He's grown now, but I'm never going to another premiere with him!" he laughed.
People reacted to the story in the comments.
"Hopefully the smell wasn't prehistoric ," one person joked.
Another commenter wrote: "Sorry but who farts next to the exquisite, elegant, iconic Lady Di? Have some decorum."
Others, however, didn't find anything funny about the story.
"Would’ve preferred going through life without needing to know this," one person wrote.
"As a parent, I find it really immature and unethical towards his son to for him to literally 'release' such an sensitive topic in public," another person commented. "Definitely would not want that guy to be my dad."
Sam is currently returning to the screen in a miniseries Apples Never Fall, which will begin streaming on Peacock on March 14, 2024. He stars alongside Annette Bening.
In 2022, the actor revealed he had been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer. In a 2023 interview, he opened up about not being interested in learning much about the condition. "I know I've got it, but I'm not really interested in it," he said. "It's out of my control. If you can't control it, don't get into it."
