Jurassic Park star Sam Neill has died at the age of 78.
The New Zealand actor’s family announced his passing in a statement on his Instagram page, saying that he was surrounded by loved ones.
“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia,” the statement said, using the Māori word for extended family.
“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. 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 first disclosed a blood cancer diagnosis in his 2023 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This? At the time, he was being treated for stage-three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
“The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up,” he wrote in his book.
“I’m not afraid to die, but it would annoy me,” he told The Guardian.
Just months ago, Neill was advocating for a new cancer therapy after announcing he was cancer-free. Neill told 7 News Australia that he had been living with a “particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy... And pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive.”
A cause of death has not been released.
This is a breaking news story and will be updated.
