“Jurassic Park” star Sam Neill has passed away at the age of 78.
According to a statement posted on his official Instagram account, the beloved New Zealand actor was surrounded by his dear ones during his final moments. He breathed his last in Australia.
Neill’s sudden and unexpected passing comes just months after he joyfully announced that he was completely cancer-free following an aggressive, multi-year battle with stage-three blood cancer.
"It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July 2026 in Sydney, Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free. The family would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent's Private Hospital for their incredible care," read a part of the statement.
The family, while requesting privacy to navigate through the immeasurable loss, added that more details will be shared in the future.
Tributes have been pouring across social media platforms, as people came forward to mourn the actor's sudden passing.
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese remembered Sam Neill's performance in "many Australian stories" and wrote, "Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts. Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance. He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace." Celebrities also paid their tributes in the comment section, mourning the actor's demise.
Actor-filmmaker Alan Cumming wrote, "Ahhh Sam, what a glorious beautiful man. You are missed. Sorry to the family for your immense loss."
French actor Sebastian Roche added, "Such sad news. I worked with Sam on Merlin and not only was he a brilliant actor but he was such a wonderful person as well. Thank you for kindness and humour fabulous Sam."
Earlier this year, Sam Neill, in a previous interview, shared, "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. 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."
From his early appearance as Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg's 1993 film, the late actor also appeared in “Jurassic Park III” and 2022's “Jurassic World Dominion”.
Among his other works are the Australian period drama “My Brilliant Career” opposite Judy Davis, the third “Omen” film, “The Final Conflict”, “Dead Calm”, and “The Piano”. Neill also worked on television, portraying a real-life spy on the 1983 ITV series “Reilly: Ace of Spies”, “The Tudors”, and even as corrupt inspector Chester Campbell in “Peaky Blinders”.
Married twice, the late actor is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
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