Actor Sam Neill, famous for playing paleontologist Alan Grant in the cult film Jurassic Park, died Monday July 13 in Australia at the age of 78, according to a statement from his family who described his death as “sudden and unexpected”. “Sam was surrounded by his family and passed away with the dignity that characterized his entire life,” the statement said.
The New Zealander revealed in his memoirs published in 2023 that he was “perhaps dying” of stage 3 non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
Sam Neill told Australian Channel Seven News last April that he had been living with blood cancer for about five years, but his chemotherapy had finally stopped working.
“Still in remission”
He then indicated the remission of his cancer thanks to gene therapy which modified his immune system.
The family’s statement announcing his death said Sam Neill “was still in remission.” He was being treated at the private St Vincent Hospital in Sydney at the time of the incident, those close to him said.
His long film career began in the 1970s, leading to more recent roles such as in the hit series Peaky Blinders or the final part of Jurassic Park, entitled Jurassic World: The World After, released in 2022.
Off-screen, Sam Neill farmed vineyards in the picturesque Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.
