Sam Neill, the New Zealand-born actor, starred in Jurassic Park, and Peaky Blinders has passed away at age 78.
Neill’s family while sharing the news in an Instagram post on Monday, July 13, wrote, “It is with immense sadness that the Whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia.”
However, the family didn’t provide the cause of his 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 later, but for now, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
Neill was widely recognized for starring as paleontologist Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park series.
He was battling stage three cancer of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, after his diagnosis in 2022.
Who was Sam Neill?
Neill was born in 1947 in Omagh, a county town in northern Ireland.
His mother was an English woman, while his father, hailing from New Zealand, who also served in the British Army, gave him the name of Nigel John Dermot Neill.
Neill’s family relocated to New Zealand in 1954
He first rose to prominence with My Brilliant Career before featuring in films including 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 starring as Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Jurassic Park in 1993, returning to the role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).
The Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese paid tribute to the late actor in a post on X (formerly called Twitter).
He wrote, “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.”
2026-07-13 12:17:00
