The former child stars who starred alongside Sam Neill on the original Jurassic Park movie have paid tribute to the actor following his sudden death on Monday.
Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello each took to social media to pay respects to their beloved co-star, who they have stayed connected with over the decades since filming the blockbuster in 1993.
“Sam – you were more than just a lovely actor to work with – refined, thoughtful, a skill second to none – you were a mentor, protector, and above all, friend,” Richards wrote on Instagram as she shared throwback photos of them on set and while promoting the film.
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“Thank you for making our scenes together feel so real. I will be forever grateful to have been on this journey with you.”
Richards, now 46, was 12 years old when she filmed her iconic role as Lex Murphy in Jurassic Park.
The actress played the granddaughter of the park’s founder John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), who Neill’s character Dr. Alan Grant protects from the escaped dinosaurs when the park’s security systems fail.
Meanwhile, Mazzello was just nine years old when he played Richards’ on-screen brother Tim Murphy, who was dinosaur-obsessed and in awe of Neill’s palaeontologist character.
The former child star, now 42, also shared a candid tribute to the honorary Aussie actor, saying that it felt like a “gut punch” when he woke up to news of Neill’s death aged 78.
“I had been following his cancer diagnosis and his recovery and was so happy and so thankful when I found out that he was cancer free,” Mazzello began in lengthy video shared on Instagram.
“So this just comes, I think, as an extra gut punch because I think we kinda thought we were through it.”
Mazzello said that he and Neill had stayed in occasional contact through the years.
“A couple of months ago I had put up a post about going to a premiere of my movie. I looked at the comments and I saw one from Sam that said, ‘All the best, Joey,’” Mazzello recalled.
“I didn’t even know he was following me. I didn’t know that he even thought about me anymore. But he was rooting for me. He was still rooting for me 33 years later. And that was so special to me to know that.”
In his video, Mazzello also said that although Neill’s character on Jurassic Park initially found Tim and Lex Murphy annoying in the film, off-set Neill was fond of them.
“This was a defining moment in my life, a defining collaboration and partnership,” Mazzello continued. “It’s not easy working with kids and Sam only pretended that he hated us. He was actually an amazing scene partner and it doesn’t feel that long ago that we were climbing down trees and up fences.”
“I always hoped that we would work together again on Jurassic Park or anything, but it wasn’t to be, which happens a lot in life, I guess,” he concluded. “He was the best of us, us actors. Can’t say enough good about him. It’s just still shocking, and I’m going to miss him. Love you, Sam.”
Their fellow Jurassic Park castmate Laura Dern, who played Neill’s on-screen partner Dr. Ellie Sattler, also expressed her heartbreak over his passing on Instagram.
“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend … He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness, and love, always with the driest of wit,” she wrote on Tuesday morning. “He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man.”
“I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
Steven Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park, also paid his respects to the late actor, who he called “exceptionally collaborative”.
“It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children,” Spielberg said in a statement, as per Variety.
“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Neill’s passing on Monday was reportedly sudden and not related to his cancer diagnosis of recent years – he was diagnosed with a rare type of blood cancer in 2022 but announced he was cancer-free just three months ago.
The actor was surrounded by family when he died in Sydney’s St Vincent’s Private Hospital.
“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing,” the family said in a social media post on Monday.
“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 also expressed their “deepest gratitude” to 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,” the statement read.
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‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.news.com.au ’
