The Jurassic Park star’s family confirmed the actor suddenly passed away on Monday, July 13
Sam Neill has died, aged 78(Image: Getty Images for AFI)
Sam Neill previously made a heartbreaking death admission that he would be “annoyed” when he dies as he still had so much he wanted to do in his life.
The actor, best known for his role of palaeontologist Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, died on Monday, July 13, at 78-years-old. His family have said it is a “sudden and unexpected” loss.
The Peaky Blinders star previously revealed in his 2023 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, that he had been diagnosed with a rare blood cancer called angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, which he recovered from after receiving treatment. His family have confirmed the star was cancer-free when he died.
Speaking about death after his diagnosis, Neill told ABC’s Australian Story in October 2023 that it would be simply “irritating” if he died because he had so much more to do in life.
Speaking in a social media video at the time he said: “I’m not in any way frightened of dying. 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. Don’t worry, I’ll be boring you all to death with lots more work.”
Details of the New Zealand actor’s death are not public at this time but his family have released a statement.
The statement read: “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 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.”
Neill’s career spanned across more than half a century, establishing him as one of New Zealand’s most famous actors. He achieved worldwide recognition playing palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 smash hit Jurassic Park, going on to reprise the character in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World Dominion.
Aside from the iconic dinosaur series, he featured in numerous celebrated films and TV programmes, such as The Hunt for Red October, The Piano, Event Horizon, Peaky Blinders and The Tudors.
Neill leaves behind his four children who were all raised out of the limelight.
His first son Andrew was put up for adoption when Neill was in his early 20s but the pair rekindled later in life.
Meanwhile, he welcomed his second son Tim with his first wife Lisa Harrow and his daughter Elena with his second wife Noriko Wantanabe. The actor also adopted Wantanabe’s daughter from her first marriage, Maiko before the pair separated in 2017.
