Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill dies ‘unexpectedly’ aged 78 just months after scans revealed he was cancer free

Actor Sam Neill has died aged 78, his family has announced.

The beloved New Zealand star, known for his roles in Jurassic Park, The Piano and Peaky Blinders, died in Sydney on Monday, surrounded by his family who announced his death on social media.

“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.

“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 actor announced on April 29 that he was cancer-free after undergoing a new treatment when chemotherapy stopped working on his stage-three blood cancer.

Neill first revealed that he was being treated for stage-three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma in his 2023 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?

When the book was published, the actor was taking a new chemotherapy drug every month to keep the cancer at bay.

“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.” Neill told The Guardian in 2023.

“I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy, [which is] pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive,” Neill told 7News.

Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the actor.

“Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts. Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance. He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace,” he wrote on social media.

Neill was born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1947 to an English mother and a New Zealand father serving in the British Army. His family emigrated to New Zealand in 1954, where he spent his childhood.

After landing a string of small television roles, Neill’s breakthrough came in the 1977 thriller Sleeping Dogs, the first New Zealand film to receive a theatrical release in the United States.

Neill rose to international fame in 1993 with starring roles in The Piano and Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park, where he played palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant, a role he reprised in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World Dominion.

In 2016, Neill starred in Taika Waititi’s hit Hunt for the Wilderpeople, later making cameo appearances in Thor: Ragnarok and Thor: Love and Thunder.

Neill also found success on television, with roles in Peaky Blinders, The Twelve and The Tudors, voice appearances in The Simpsons and Rick and Morty, and a Golden Globe nomination for the 1983 miniseries Reilly, Ace of Spies.

In 1991, he was appointed as an Officer of the Order of the British Empire for his services to acting. He also received honours in New Zealand, as a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, and he accepted redesignation as a Knight Companion in 2022.

Neill is survived by his four children – Andrew, Tim, Elena and Maiko – and six grandchildren. Andrew, who was placed for adoption when Neill was in his early twenties, reunited with his father in 1994.

“I’ve got a slightly unusual family; it’s more extended than most. My first son, Andrew, was given up for adoption when he was very small. I was quite small, too — in my early twenties. I didn’t see him for 25 years, and then we went looking for each other. These reunions are portrayed as sentimental and grisly, but there is nothing sentimental about it. No one sobs in anyone’s arms; it’s much more grown-up,” Neill told The Times.

Tim was his son with actor Lisa Harrow, while Elena and adopted daughter Maiko were from his relationship with makeup artist Noriko Watanabe.