Sam Neill, star of the 1993 film “Jurassic Park,” has died at the age of 78, his family announced.
“It is with great sadness that the whānau [family] From Sam Neill sharing the news of his death on Monday, July 13, in Sydney, Australia he said on Instagram.
“Sam was surrounded by his family and died with the dignity that defined his entire life.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected, but we are blessed by the fact that Sam remains cancer-free.
“They would like to express their deep gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their wonderful care.
“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they deal with this devastating loss.”
The actor’s death comes just two months after he announced he was cancer-free following his battle with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma – a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
“I had been living with a certain type of lymphoma for about five years and had chemotherapy and a very miserable job but it was keeping me alive.” He told Australia’s 7News In April.
Neil, who was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in 1947, was forced to look for an alternative when doctors told him his chemotherapy had stopped working.
“I was confused and looked like I was on my way out, which was obviously not ideal,” he said.
He then participated in a trial of CAR T-cell therapy, a form of immunotherapy that trains T cells to destroy cancer cells.
Thinking about the success of his experiment, he said: “I just had a scan and there was no cancer in my body, which is unusual.”
“I’m so excited that this could happen. It’s time to do another movie.”
Neil previously He said he was “not afraid at all” of death While he was fighting cancer.
“I know I got it, but I’m not really into it,” he said.
Neil, who moved to New Zealand in 1954, is best known for playing paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in the movie “Jurassic Park,” a role he will reprise in “Jurassic Park III” in 2001 and “Jurassic World: Dominion” in 2022.
He starred in John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man, playing suspicious CIA agent David Jenkins – a role that earned him a Saturn Award nomination in 1993 from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.
Neil also starred in the BAFTA award-winning series Peaky Blinders, playing Inspector Chester Campbell in 12 episodes between 2013 and 2014.
More recently, Neil appeared in miniseries such as “Apples Never Fall,” “Untamed,” and “The Twelve.”
He has acting credits for the upcoming 2027 film “Godzilla X Kong: Supernova” but his character is still being kept under wraps.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Neil “will be mourned and remembered for a long time.”
“Sam Neill has starred in many beloved Australian stories and has earned a special place in Australian hearts.” Written on X.
“In a sarcastic, dry, thoughtful and concise way, Sam battled illness with the same dignity, humor and conviction that gave strength to every performance he gave.
“He will be greatly saddened and long remembered. May he rest in peace.”