Sam Neill cause of death revealed after Jurassic Park star dies aged 78

The cause of death of beloved actor Sam Neill has been confirmed as pneumonia, following speculation and misinformation circulating in the wake of his passing.

Neill, 78, died earlier this week, just three months after revealing he was cancer-free following a battle with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of blood cancer diagnosed in 2022.

His longtime representative, Philip Grenz, said the decision to publicly confirm the cause of death was made in consultation with Neill’s family, citing “inaccuracies and outright falsehoods” in media reporting, according to USA Today.

“Sam passed away from pneumonia,” Grenz said in a statement. “Prior to becoming sick, he had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”

Despite his health battle, Neill had remained active in the past year, filming four projects back-to-back, all of which are set to be released in the coming months. He also continued to run his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks, in New Zealand.

“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date. I’d like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for considering his privacy with the respect he earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this immeasurably difficult time,” Grenz said.

Those wishing to honour Neill’s memory are being encouraged to donate to causes close to his heart instead of sending flowers.

These include the Dunstan Hospital Foundation in Central Otago, the Snowdome Foundation, which supports access to blood cancer treatments such as CAR-T therapy in Australia and New Zealand, and environmental charities across New Zealand.

Resurfaced comments by the Jurrasic Park star reveal he wouldn’t be afraid of dying, but he would be annoyed by it.

“I am not in any way frightened of dying,” he told Australian Story in 2023.

“That doesn’t worry... 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. But I’m not afraid of it.”

In another interview that same year, he detailed his hopes and plans, including watching his Central Otago vineyard thrive and seeing his eight grandchildren grow up.

“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,” he told The Guardian.

“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.”

Neill also told Australian Story that seeing his diagnosis all over the news and the cancer headlines became “slightly tiresome”.

“I was in a fight for my life, and everything was a new world, a rather alarming world, I’d have to say,” he said at the time.

The beloved New Zealander’s death comes after he announced in April that a recent scan had shown he was cancer-free.

Just last month, he made public appearances at the Sydney Film Festival to promote one of his upcoming films, The Fox.

Neill’s family announced his tragic death on Monday afternoon on the actor’s Instagram page.

“It is with immense sadness that the whanau (extended family) of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July in Sydney, Australia,” the post read.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.

“The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”

Neill was born in Omagh in Northern Ireland in 1947 as Nigel Neill. His father was from New Zealand and the family returned there in 1954, settling in Christchurch.

Aside from the Jurassic Park films, Neill was also known for the Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Rams — shot in WA’s Great Southern region — and The Twelve.

He still has two other unreleased projects upcoming — Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort.