Sam Neill, star of the 1993 blockbuster hit “Jurassic Park,” died Monday at the age of 78, his family announced.
“It is with great sadness that the whānau (family) of Sam Neill share the news that he passed away in Sydney, Australia on Monday 13th July,” they said on Instagram.
“Sam passed away surrounded by his family and with the dignity that characterized his life.
“Although his death was sudden and unexpected, the fact that Sam did not have cancer was a blessing.
“They would like to express their deep gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their excellent care.
“We will provide more details in due course, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect our privacy as we work through this unfathomable loss.”
The actor’s death comes just two months after he announced he was cancer-free after a battle with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“I’ve been living with a certain type of lymphoma for about five years, undergoing chemotherapy and working a pretty miserable job, but it’s kept me alive,” he told Australia’s 7 News in April.
Born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in 1947, Neil was forced to look for alternative treatments after doctors told him chemotherapy was no longer working.
“I was at a loss and looked like I was heading for the exit, which obviously wasn’t ideal,” he said.
He then participated in a CAR T-cell therapy trial. CAR T cell therapy is a type of immunotherapy that trains T cells to destroy cancer cells.
“I just had a test and there was no cancer in my body, which is amazing,” he said, reflecting on the trial’s success.
“I’m very, very excited that this is happening. Now it’s time to make another movie.”
Neil previously said he was “not at all afraid” of dying during his battle with cancer.
“I know I know about it, but I’m not really interested in it,” he said.
Neil, who moved to New Zealand in 1954, is best known for playing paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, a role he reprized in 2001’s Jurassic Park III and 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion.
He appeared in John Carpenter’s The Invisible Man, playing the role of shady CIA operative David Jenkins, a role for which he was nominated for the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films’ Saturn Award in 1993.
Neil also appeared in the BAFTA-winning series Peaky Blinders, playing Inspector Chester Campbell for 12 episodes from 2013 to 2014.
More recently, Neil appeared in miniseries such as “Apples Never Fall,” “Untamed,” and “The Twelve.”
He is credited as an actor in the upcoming 2027 film Godzilla X Kong: Supernova, but his character is still being kept a secret.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Mr Neil would be “mourned and long remembered”.
“Sam Neill has starred in many of Australia’s beloved stories and has earned a special place in the hearts of Australians,” he wrote in X.
“Acerbic, dry, thoughtful and concise, Sam fought his illness with the same dignity, humor and conviction that gave strength to all his performances.
“He will be greatly missed and long remembered. May he rest in peace.”
