Sam Neill, the actor who brought Dr Alan Grant to life in Jurassic Park and amassed more than 150 screen credits across a career spanning over five decades, has died at the age of 78.
His family confirmed that the actor passed away in Sydney, Australia, describing his death as "sudden and unexpected." A statement said Neill died "surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life."
The family thanked hospital staff and asked for privacy, saying: "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."
A Cancer Journey Marked by Resilience
In March 2023, Sir Sam revealed he had been undergoing chemotherapy after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, a form of blood cancer. He later shared that the disease was in remission but that he would need monthly chemotherapy treatments for the remainder of his life.
By April 2026, Neill reported that a scan showed no cancer in his body. His family's statement confirmed he "remained cancer free" at the time of his death.
In his 2023 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, Neill opened up about his diagnosis and treatment. Speaking to the BBC at the time, he said: "I'm not afraid of dying. What I don't want to do is to stop living, because I really enjoy living." He described the experience as "an adventure, quite a dark adventure, but an adventure nevertheless."
From Northern Ireland to New Zealand Cinema
Born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1947, he moved to Christchurch, New Zealand, with his family as a child. He adopted the name Sam at the age of 12 because there were several other Nigels at his school.
Neill began acting while studying at the University of Canterbury and made his film debut in 1971's The City of No. He gained wider recognition with the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs, one of New Zealand's first films to achieve international distribution. He later moved to Australia, where he starred in My Brilliant Career (1979), a project that helped establish him as a leading actor.
Global fame arrived in 1993 through two landmark performances: his role in Jane Campion's Oscar-winning The Piano and as palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park. He reprised the Grant role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022), and also voiced the character in three video games based on the franchise.
On television, Neill reached new audiences as the sadistic, corrupt police officer Major Chester Campbell in the first two series of the BBC's Peaky Blinders.
His last film appearance was in The Fox (2025), and his final television role came in the Netflix series Untamed (2025). He is expected to make posthumous appearances in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort, both slated for 2027.