Sam Neill, the New Zealand-born actor, starred in Jurassic Parkand Peaky Blinders He has died at the age of 78.
Neill’s family, while sharing the news in an Instagram post on Monday, July 13, wrote: “It is with immense sadness that Sam Neill’s whanau share the news of his passing on Monday, July 13 in Sydney, Australia.”
However, the family did not provide a cause of death and the news comes just after Neill revealed he was in remission.
The family asked for privacy at this difficult time, stating, “More details will be shared at a later date, but for now, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
Neill was widely recognized for playing paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park series.
He was battling stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma cancer, after his diagnosis in 2022.
Who was Sam Neill?
Neill was born in 1947 in Omagh, a county town in the north of Ireland.
His mother was an English woman, while his father, a native of New Zealand, who also served in the British army, named him Nigel John Dermot Neill.
Neill’s family moved to New Zealand in 1954.
He first rose to fame with My Brilliant Career before appearing in films such as Omen III: The Final Conflict, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October and the Oscar-winning drama directed by Jane Campion, The Piano.
Neill received global stardom after playing Dr. Alan Grant in the Steven Spielberg film. Jurassic Park in 1993, returning to the role in Jurasic park iii (2001) and Jurassic World Domain (2022).
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the late actor in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
He wrote: “Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and earned a special place in Australian hearts.
“Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought the disease with the same dignity, humor and conviction that gave strength to each of his performances. He will be greatly mourned and remembered for a long time. May he rest in peace.”
