Sam Neill has died aged 78, only months after sharing that he was “cancer-free” following a prolonged fight with a form of blood cancer.
The New Zealand-born actor, celebrated for major films including Jurassic Park and The Piano, was admitted to hospital in Sydney on Monday.
In a message posted on his Instagram page, his family said his death had been “sudden and unexpected.”
The statement said Neill’s whānau, or family, were sharing the news with profound sadness, confirming he died on Monday, July 13, in Sydney, Australia, while surrounded by loved ones and with the dignity they said had defined his life.
His family said the loss came without warning, but noted they took comfort in the fact that he had remained cancer-free. They also offered heartfelt thanks to the team at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for the care they provided.
They added that further information would be released in due course and asked for privacy as they come to terms with what they described as an immeasurable loss.
Sam Neill has died at 78, months after saying he was cancer-free following a long battle with the illness.
In April, Neill, best known worldwide for his role as Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park films, said medical tests had shown no signs of cancer.
In an interview with Channel Seven, Neill detailed how close he came to death after chemotherapy stopped working. A costly, cutting-edge treatment prolonged his life.
Neill said: ‘I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive.
‘Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously.’
Neill underwent a special treatment called CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically modifies a patient’s own T-cells to recognise and destroy cancer cells. Private treatment costs around $AUD540,000.
‘I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing. I’m very, very excited that this can happen,’ he said at the time.
The treatment is currently in clinical trials to treat another blood cancer, myeloma.
Neill also said he was planning to make a return to acting.
‘It’s time I did another movie,’ he said.
Neill first went public with his cancer diagnosis in 2023 after being diagnosed with cancer the previous year, after initially experiencing swollen glands.
He found out about as his stage-three blood cancer while he promoted Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.
In that film he reprised his role as Grant alongside original co-stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum alongside Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
He told Australian Story at the time: ‘I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed.
‘I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying. But I’m not afraid of it.’
Neill, who was born in Northern Ireland to an English mother and a New Zealander father, first disclosed the news of his illness in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This, where he writes in the first chapter that he is ‘possibly dying’.
Reflecting on life at the time, the seasoned actor once again said that he did not fear death, admitting, ‘I’m not afraid to die. But it would annoy me. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know?’
‘We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big.
‘But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.’
News of the celebrated actor’s death was inundated with tributes.
‘This hits hard. Thanks for the memories, Sam. You’ve left behind an incredible body of work. Love to your family,’ wrote Australian radio host Ben Fordham.
‘This is shocking news. What a legend. Gentle genius. Vale Sam Neill,’ commented comedian Dave Hughes.
‘Sam! May you be resting peacefully,’ wrote Australian of the Year Grace Tame.
Meanwhile, former ABC journalist Virginia Trioli shared her disbelief with a simple, ‘Oh no.’
Neill shares a son, Tim, 40, with New Zealand actress, Lisa Harrow, to whom he was married between 1980 and 1989.
The star was married to Japanese makeup artist Noriko Watanabe from 1989-2017 and they share a daughter, Elena, 35. He also adopted Noriko’s daughter from her first marriage, Maiko.
Neill starred in three Jurassic Park films including the original in 1993, Jurassic Park III in 2001, and Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.
He became a household name after playing palaeontologist Grant in 1993’s Jurassic Park alongside Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.
He would reprise the role in Jurassic Park III in 2001, and again in Jurassic World Dominion just four years ago.
He has recently worked on Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort, both of which are now set to be released posthumously in 2027.
On the small screen, Neill appeared in episodes of The Simpsons, Peaky Blinders, The Tudors and The Twelve.
