{"id":2499985,"date":"2026-07-13T11:29:19","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:29:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2499985"},"modified":"2026-07-13T11:29:19","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T11:29:19","slug":"sam-neill-dead-the-jurassic-park-actor-was-78","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/sam-neill-dead-the-jurassic-park-actor-was-78\/","title":{"rendered":"Sam Neill Dead: The Jurassic Park Actor was 78"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Jurassic Park<\/em><\/a> and Peaky Blinders<\/em><\/a> star Sam Neill<\/strong> died at age 78, his family confirmed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is with immense sadness that the wh\u0101nau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia,\u201d a statement shared via his Instagram page<\/a> on Monday, July 13 read.<\/p>\n

The social media post featured the word wh\u0101nau, which translates to family in M\u0101ori, a language traditionally spoken in New Zealand.<\/p>\n

\u201cSam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,\u201d the statement continued. \u201cThe loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.\u201d<\/p>\n

The family added, \u201cThey would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent\u2019s Private Hospital for their incredible care.\u201d<\/p>\n

As the statement concluded, Niell\u2019s family shared that \u201cmore details will be shared later.\u201d However, they asked for privacy to \u201cnavigate this immeasurable loss.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n Related: <\/span>Celebrity Deaths of 2026<\/span><\/a>
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\n\t\t\tHollywood mourned the deaths of some of its most legendary stars in 2026. The year started off with Broadway performer and influencer Bret Hanna-Shuford\u2019s death at age 46. At the end of the month, comedy acting icon Catherine O\u2019Hara died at age 71. In February, Dawson\u2019s Creek actor James Van Der Beek died at age [\u2026]\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Neill was known for his role as Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park<\/em> film series, a role he originated in 1993. He appeared in two other Jurassic Park films \u2014 2001\u2019s Jurassic Park III<\/em> and 2022\u2019s Jurassic World Dominion<\/em> \u2014 and reprised the role.<\/p>\n

The actor revealed in his 2023 memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?<\/em>, that he had been diagnosed with stage-three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma<\/a>, a rare form of cancer that affects the lymphatic system and white blood cells. Neill first experienced symptoms, including swollen glands, while promoting Jurassic World Dominion<\/em> in March 2022.<\/p>\n

After discovering his condition, Neill began receiving chemotherapy, but the process failed after three months, so he tried an anti-cancer drug, which required him to get infusions every two weeks indefinitely. The treatment led to his cancer going into remission, but his doctors informed him that at some stage in his illness, the drug would stop working.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m prepared for that,\u201d he told Australian Story in October 2023, acknowledging that it would be \u201cannoying\u201d to die because he still felt he had more to accomplish but insisting that he was \u201cnot remotely afraid\u201d of death<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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\n Sam Neill in \u201cJurassic Park\u201d<\/span> Universal Pictures<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the meantime, Neill noted that he was not focused on his diagnosis. \u201cI know I\u2019ve got it, but I\u2019m not really interested in it,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s out of my control. If you can\u2019t control it, don\u2019t get into it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, Neill confessed in March 2023 that the ordeal had a lasting impact on his life. \u201cI can\u2019t pretend that the last year hasn\u2019t had its dark moments,\u201d he told The Guardian<\/em><\/a> at the time. \u201cBut those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive.\u201d<\/p>\n

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