Late Australian star Sam Neill passed away earlier today at the age of 78. The Jurassic Park star is best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece and, more recently, in Peaky Blinders. Tributes have started pouring in for the actor from across the globe for his incredible performances.
While his live-action roles take the spotlight, there is one voice role that goes under the radar: his cameo in Rick and Morty. Neill voices the character, The High Intern, the king of the alien species Monogatron. It is an endearing performance that adds more quirk to the otherwise pretty serious actor.
| Show Name | Rick and Morty |
| Created By | Justin Roiland, Dan Harmon |
| Main Cast | Ian Cardoni, Harry Belden, Chris Parnell, Sarah Chalke, Spencer Grammer |
| Network | Adult Swim |
| Rotten Tomatoes – Tomatometer | Popcornmeter (as of July 13, 2026) | 91% | 82% |
Sam Neill Played a Star Wars-inspired Alien in Rick and Morty
In the season 4 episode 2, ‘The Old Man and the Seat’, Sam Neill voiced the Monogatron Leader, a grey-skinned, four-eyed alien with a long mustache and black claws, who rules his species alongside a wife voiced by Kathleen Turner. They are the masterminds behind the dating app, Lovefinderrz, which distracts humans while the Monogatrons drain their water supply.
The High Intern is characterized as a ruthless leader while also being extremely caring towards his wife, the Monogatron Queen, in true Rick and Morty-style irony. The character’s appearance, with four eyes and a round face, was apparently based on Darth Sidious from the Star Wars franchise.
The role came about through a New Zealand connection. Neill’s fellow Kiwi Taika Waititi voiced Glootie, Rick’s put-upon alien intern and a member of the same species, and the two had already worked together on Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
Rick and Morty co-creator and former voice actor Justin Roiland spoke about Neill’s work in the episode (via EW). When asked if Sam Neill would be parodying his Jurassic Park or Event Horizon characters, Roiland said,
Neither. He’s from the same species as Taika’s character, and we wanted a Kiwi flavor to their species.
Neill has barely worked in animation, but his Rick and Morty episode showed a different edge to the late star, who is known for his otherwise serious roles.
The Late Jurassic Park Star Has Done Less But Compelling Work in Animation
As mentioned before, Sam Neill’s work in animation is few and far between. The actor is not a stranger to voice acting and has made either cameos or supporting roles in animated shows and movies. In 2010, he voiced the villainous Allomere in the animated adventure Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga’Hoole.
And in 2018’s Peter Rabbit, Neill did double duty, playing the live-action Old Mr. McGregor on screen while also voicing Tommy Brock, the good-natured, not-especially-sharp badger, a role he reprised in the 2021 sequel. None of this animation work ever rivaled Neill’s landmark performances in film and prestige television, and he’d likely have been the first to say so.
But it points to an actor who was game for anything, including a four-eyed alien, a bumbling badger, or a mustached villain, purely because the work sounded like fun. The actor also tweeted after voicing on Rick and Morty that he had fun while working on it. He has also made a voice cameo in The Simpsons.
Rick and Morty is available to stream on Hulu.
