Sudden and unexpected”: Family reveals the heartbreaking truth as Jurassic Park legend Sam Neill dies at 78
“Sudden and unexpected!”: Jurassic Park legend Sam Neill’s devastated family leaves the entire world breaking down in floods of heartbreaking tears after revealing the shattering, untold truth behind the iconic Hollywood superstar’s tragic passing at 78
Neill only recently revealed he was living cancer free with his family saying the loss was ‘sudden and unexpected’.
Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his leading role in the blockbuster Jurassic Park franchise, has died at the age of 78.
A spokesperson for Neill’s family confirmed he passed away on Monday surrounded by his family.
It followed the actor’s recent revelation he was living cancer-free after being diagnosed with blood cancer in March 2022.
“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” a statement on his Instagram said.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.
“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”
Neill’s fight for all to access his revolutionary treatment
“I’ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive,” Neill said.
“Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously.”
There was only one option left for the Hollywood star — CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically modifies patients’ blood cells. The treatment is currently in clinical trials to treat another blood cancer, myeloma.
“[We] turbocharge those cells to then be able to now recognise the myeloma, which was not visible to the immune system before and then jump on it and kill it,” haematologist Professor Miles Prince said.
“I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing,” added Neill.
Neill was fighting for state and federal governments to fund the treatment for blood cancer patients with the help of medical foundation Snowdome.
It was hoped the therapy would be formally approved and available to patients in 2026.
“I’m very, very excited that this can happen,” Neill said.
To begin it will be offered in Victoria and NSW before being rolled out across the country.
“It’s science at its best,” Neill said.
A career full of highlights
Born Nigel John Dermot Neill in the Northern Ireland town of Omagh in 1947, Neill arrived in Christchurch with his family at seven years of age.
During his time at school, the prevalence of other students named Nigel inspired Neill to assume the first name “Sam”.
He went on to study English literature at the University of Canterbury, where he had his first flirtation with acting.
Neill acted in a number of television films and shorts for New Zealand television throughout the ‘70s before landing his breakthrough lead role in the locally produced 1977 action thriller Sleeping Dogs, which was screened internationally to critical acclaim.
He soon moved to Australia, landing another internationally lauded role with 1979’s My Brilliant Career.
However, it wasn’t until 1981 that he arrived on the international film stage as Damien Thorn in the occult blockbuster Omen III: The Final Conflict.
He went on to star in a number of films of varying success for the following four-and-a-half decades, including Dead Calm, The Hunt for Red October, the first three Jurassic Park movies, The Piano and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
He has also worked in a number of TV series and miniseries, including Merlin, Peaky Blinders and The Tudors.
Neill has received a number of honours for his extensive film career and in June 2022 was granted the title Sir when he was appointed a Knight companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.
Health issues
Neill made the revelation, through his memoir in March 2023, that he had been diagnosed in March the previous year with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a blood cancer which forced him to have chemotherapy for the rest of his life.
His diagnosis followed the publicity campaign for the last Jurassic Park film, Jurassic World Dominion, when his swollen glands were pointed out to him.
“The thing is, I’m crook,” he wrote in his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This.
“Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up.”
He added that he subsequently went into remission after undergoing a trial with a new chemotherapy drug, which he kept taking until his final days.
Personal life
Neill is survived by four children: a son from his Omen III co-star Lisa Harrow and a daughter from a subsequent marriage with make-up artist Noriko Watanabe. He has adopted Watanabe’s daughter from her previous marriage as well.
He also fathered a son in his early 20s who was put up for adoption. Neill was reunited with him in 1994.
He is also survived by eight grandchildren.
After separating from Watanabe in 2017, Neill formed a relationship with veteran Australian journalist Laura Tingle. It is understood the pair broke up in early 2021.
When not working, Neill split most of his latter years between his home in Sydney’s Surry Hills and his farm in New Zealand, where he kept a number of rescue animals and produced wine from his vineyard.