Sam Neill’s comments on death from three years ago resurface, wasn’t ‘frightened of dying’

Sam Neill wasn’t afraid of dying; rather, he would be annoyed by the notion of it.

His resurfaced comments about death came three years before he suddenly and unexpectedly died on Monday at the age of 78, surrounded by his family in Sydney.

The Jurassic Park star was diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic lymphoma in 2022, which he revealed publicly in 2023.

After he was told he had blood cancer, Neill knew he was in “the fight for his life”, but he was “not afraid” of dying; rather, he “would be annoyed” because he had more things he wanted to achieve in life.

“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.