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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.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam – 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,\u201d Richards wrote on Instagram<\/a> as she shared throwback photos of them on set and while promoting the film. <\/p>\n MORE: <\/b>Massive fortune Sam Neill left behind<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cThank you for making our scenes together feel so real. I will be forever grateful to have been on this journey with you.\u201d<\/p>\n Richards, now 46, was 12 years old when she filmed her iconic role as Lex Murphy in Jurassic Park<\/i>. <\/p>\n The actress played the granddaughter of the park\u2019s founder John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), who Neill\u2019s character Dr. Alan Grant protects from the escaped dinosaurs when the park\u2019s security systems fail. <\/p>\n Meanwhile, Mazzello was just nine years old when he played Richards\u2019 on-screen brother Tim Murphy, who was dinosaur-obsessed and in awe of Neill\u2019s palaeontologist character. <\/p>\n The former child star, now 42, also shared a candid tribute to the honorary Aussie actor, saying that it felt like a \u201cgut punch\u201d when he woke up to news of Neill\u2019s death aged 78. <\/p>\n \u201cI 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,\u201d Mazzello began in lengthy video shared on Instagram<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cSo this just comes, I think, as an extra gut punch because I think we kinda thought we were through it.\u201d <\/p>\n Mazzello said that he and Neill had stayed in occasional contact through the years. <\/p>\n \u201cA 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, \u2018All the best, Joey,\u2019\u201d Mazzello recalled. <\/p>\n \u201cI didn\u2019t even know he was following me. I didn\u2019t 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.\u201d<\/p>\n In his video, Mazzello also said that although Neill\u2019s character on Jurassic Park<\/i> initially found Tim and Lex Murphy annoying in the film, off-set Neill was fond of them. <\/p>\n \u201cThis was a defining moment in my life, a defining collaboration and partnership,\u201d Mazzello continued. \u201cIt\u2019s not easy working with kids and Sam only pretended that he hated us. He was actually an amazing scene partner and it doesn\u2019t feel that long ago that we were climbing down trees and up fences.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI always hoped that we would work together again on Jurassic Park<\/i> or anything, but it wasn\u2019t to be, which happens a lot in life, I guess,\u201d he concluded. \u201cHe was the best of us, us actors. Can\u2019t say enough good about him. It\u2019s just still shocking, and I\u2019m going to miss him. Love you, Sam.\u201d<\/p>\n Their fellow Jurassic Park<\/i> castmate Laura Dern, who played Neill\u2019s on-screen partner Dr. Ellie Sattler, also expressed her heartbreak over his passing on Instagram<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSam was my beloved lifetime friend \u2026 He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness, and love, always with the driest of wit,\u201d she wrote on Tuesday morning. \u201cHe was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.\u201d<\/p>\n Steven Spielberg, who directed Jurassic Park<\/i>, also paid his respects to the late actor, who he called \u201cexceptionally collaborative\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt 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,\u201d Spielberg said in a statement, as per Variety<\/a>. <\/p>\n \u201cI 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.\u201d<\/p>\n