Actor Sam Neill, known for ‘Jurassic Park’ dies at 78
Renowned New Zealand actor Sam Neill, celebrated for iconic roles in "Jurassic Park," "My Brilliant Career," and "The Piano," has died at the age of 78 in Sydney
Renowned New Zealand actor Sam Neill, celebrated for iconic roles in "Jurassic Park," "My Brilliant Career," and "The Piano," has died at the age of 78 in Sydney, Australia, as confirmed by his family on Instagram. Despite recently revealing he was cancer-free after a 2022 diagnosis of stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, his passing was sudden and unexpected. Neill, who was knighted in 2022 and expressed a change of heart about accepting the title when facing his illness, began his career in the 1970s and worked with prominent Australian filmmakers and actors, leaving behind a significant legacy that has deeply touched audiences and is mourned by figures like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Renowned New Zealand actor Sam Neill, celebrated for iconic roles in "Jurassic Park," "My Brilliant Career," and "The Piano," has died at the age of 78 in Sydney, Australia, as confirmed by his family on Instagram. Despite recently revealing he was cancer-free after a 2022 diagnosis of stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, his passing was sudden and unexpected. Neill, who was knighted in 2022 and expressed a change of heart about accepting the title when facing his illness, began his career in the 1970s and worked with prominent Australian filmmakers and actors, leaving behind a significant legacy that has deeply touched audiences and is mourned by figures like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
Renowned New Zealand actor Sam Neill, celebrated for iconic roles in "Jurassic Park," "My Brilliant Career," and "The Piano," has died at the age of 78 in Sydney, Australia, as confirmed by his family on Instagram. Despite recently revealing he was cancer-free after a 2022 diagnosis of stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, his passing was sudden and unexpected. Neill, who was knighted in 2022 and expressed a change of heart about accepting the title when facing his illness, began his career in the 1970s and worked with prominent Australian filmmakers and actors, leaving behind a significant legacy that has deeply touched audiences and is mourned by figures like Prime Minister Anthony Albanese.
New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who is known for his roles in Jurassic Park and My Brilliant Career, has died aged 78.
The actor’s death was confirmed on Monday in a statement by his family on Instagram.
“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday, 13th July, in Sydney, Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” the post said.
Neill has recently revealed that he was cancer-free after he was diagnosed with stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, in 2022.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.
“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss,” the post said.
Neill rose to fame after his role in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs. He then starred in My Brilliant Career, Jurrasic park, The Piano, The Dish and Possession among other films.
He has worked with a list of actors and directors from Australia who rose to prominence in the 1970’s, including names like Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.
The actor was also knighted in 2022, becoming Sir Sam Neil.
"I said I didn't want the title for 10 or 12 years," he said in 2023
"Then, when I thought I was dying a couple of years ago, I thought, 'Oh bugger it, I may as well go out with the title,' so I changed my mind,” Australian news agency ABC reported him as saying.
Neill has co-starred twice with Meryl Streep in Australian director Fred Schepisi’s Plenty and A Cry in the Dark.
The role that shot him to fame was Stephen Spielberg’s 1993 film Jurassic Park, in which he played the Palaeontologist Alan Grant alongside co-stars Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum and Richard Attenborough.
He made a comeback for the third episode in 2001 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.
He has starred in more than 150 roles across five decades, with notable ones including Dead Calm, The Jungle Book, In the Mouth of Madness, Event Horizon, Bicentennial Man, The Dish and Peter Rabbit.
He also starred in the hit show Peaky Blinders as Maj Chester Campbell. His most recent work is in the Netflix series Untamed and the TV mini-series The Twelve.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese today said Neill "earned a special place in Australian hearts" and added that he "will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace."
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Neill was "one of the greats." “He started when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years, he took New Zealand stories to the world, and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today – one of our greatest cultural exports,” Luxon wrote in a social media post.