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Sam Neill Explains Why He Doesn't Use His 'Embarrassing' Birth Name: 'Best Decision I Ever Made'

During Sam Neill's April 30 appearance on 'The Kelly Clarkson Show,' the actor shared why he decided to start using the nickname Sam over his birth name, Nigel, at a young age. "You never want to be called Nigel. It's also called 'Nigel No Mates,' " he said.

When the Jurassic Park star appeared on The Kelly Clarkson Show on April 30 to promote his Peacock miniseries Apples Never Fall, host Kelly Clarkson quickly noted that she just learned his real name is not Sam. Changing my name to Sam at the age of 11 was probably the best decision I made in my life," he wrote in that book, per The New Zealand Herald. Back in 2009, Neill told another New Zealand outlet, the Otago Daily Times, that he stuck with the nickname as a kid because there were three more children named Nigel at school and he wanted to avoid being bullied.

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