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<\/div>\n<\/div>\nSam Neill, actor known for ‘Jurassic Park,’ dies at 78<\/p>\n
Actor Sam Neill, best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in “Jurassic Park,” died in Sydney at 78 surrounded by family.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Laura Dern<\/a> is sharing an emotional tribute to her “Jurassic Park” costar Sam Neill<\/a>.<\/p>\n The “Big Little Lies” star honored Neill in a statement shared with USA TODAY on July 13 after the actor’s family confirmed his “sudden and unexpected” death.<\/p>\n “Sam was my beloved lifetime friend \u2026 He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit,” Dern said. “He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”<\/p>\n Neill was best known for playing paleontologist Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s<\/a> 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park,” in which Dern starred as paleobotanist Ellie Sattler and Jeff Goldblum played mathematician Ian Malcolm. He later reprised the role in 2001’s “Jurassic Park III” opposite Dern and in 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion<\/a>.” The latter was the first “Jurassic” since the original to bring Neill, Dern and Goldblum back together on screen.<\/p>\n Spielberg also paid tribute to Neill in a statement shared with Variety<\/a>. “I adored making all the ‘Jurassic’ movies with him,” the filmmaker told the outlet. “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.”<\/p>\n Neill’s family\u00a0announced<\/a>\u00a0his “sudden and unexpected” death in an Instagram post on July 13.<\/p>\n