Laura Dern has paid a touching tribute to her Jurassic Park and Jurassic World Dominion co-star Sam Neill, saying: “I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
On Monday, news broke that Neil had passed away at the age of 78. Neil was diagnosed with a type of blood cancer in 2022, but it was revealed earlier this year that he did not have cancer.
In a statement to Variety, Dern said, “Sam was my dearest lifelong friend…He always taught me loyalty, protection, and the depth of love with the greatest of wits. He was a true noble gentleman and surrounded me with someone who led my dreams. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
Dern played paleobotanist Ellie Sattler in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 dinosaur blockbuster, taking on the warm and optimistic role of Neil’s grumpy paleontologist Dr. Grant. The pair reprized their roles in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion, co-starring the new series’ stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Director Steven Spielberg also praised Neal in a statement he shared on Monday. “I’m grateful to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Philip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in such a great role, which brought him to the spotlight and led him to play Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park,” he said. “Sam was very supportive. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as if the children were dirty and stinky, because Sam was the opposite of a loving father to his children.”
Director Spielberg concluded, “I loved making every Jurassic movie with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have a Jurassic family, and Sam will never be forgotten by us or by his millions of fans around the world.”
