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Jurassic Park Films Actor Sam Neill Dies at 78
posted on by Joanna Cayanan
The official Instagram account of actor Sam Neill announced that the actor died on Monday in Sydney, Australia. He was 78.
The announcement stated that Neill's death was sudden and unexpected, but that he had remained cancer free. The announcement added that more details will be shared at a later date.
Neill revealed in his Did I Ever Tell You About This? memoir in 2023 that he had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a type of blood cancer. He recently announced in April that he was cancer free, after participating in a clinical trial for a new type of therapy called CAR-T therapy, aimed at his particular lymphoma. Before the clinical trial, Neill had been on chemotherapy for years, and at some point, the chemotherapy stopped working.
Neill was born on September 14, 1947 in Northern Ireland, and moved to New Zealand with his family in 1954. He got his breakout role in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs, which was the first New Zealand film to open in the U.S. This was followed with lead roles in films such as My Brilliant Career, Omen III: The Final Conflict, Possession, Evil Angels, Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, The Piano, In The Mouth of Madness, and Event Horizon. He gained international popularity with his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the 1993 Jurassic Park film, a role he reprised in the 2001 Jurassic Park III, and 2022 Jurassic World Dominion films.
He also had roles in television series such as Peaky Blinders and Reilly, Ace of Spies.
In April 2025, it was reported that Neill had joined the cast of Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, the planned sequel to Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, the newest part of Warner Bros. and Legendary Entertainment's "Monsterverse" franchise. Godzilla x Kong: Supernova is scheduled for release on March 26, 2027.
Sources: Sam Neill's Instagram account, The Guardian (Sian Cain)
