JURASSIC Park and Peaky Blinders star Sam Neill has died aged 78, just months after announcing he was cancer-free.
His family confirmed his death in a statement, writing: “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 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.”
The Kiwi actor was diagnosed with stage three blood cancer in 2022 while promoting Jurassic World Dominion, but underwent pioneering treatment.
He said that he had been “on the way out” when his chemotherapy stopped working.
“I was at a loss, and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously,” he explained.
But after Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, the cost of which, on average, is £280,000 per patient in the UK, he announced there was no longer any trace of the disease in his body.
Sam told 7 News in his native Australia: “I’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing. I’m very, very excited that this can happen.”
He first revealed he was having the immunotherapy in September 2023 and had been in remission for 12 months.
The treatment is personalised to the patient and genetically modifies their own T-cells to fight and destroy cancer cells.
Stoic Sam previously said he wasn’t afraid of dying after being diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma — a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“I’m not in any way frightened of dying,” he told Australian Story. “That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning, but I would be annoyed.”
Sam announced his cancer battle in the first chapter of his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?
He wrote: “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying.”
The acting stalwart, who was born in Northern Ireland but grew up in New Zealand, is best known for playing Dr Alan Grant in the dinosaur franchise, beginning in 1993.
His successful movie and television career spans five decades and includes varied roles from The Piano, to The Zookeeper and even Peaky Blinders.
He has two biological children — Tim and Elena — from his marriage to makeup artist Noriko Watanabe.
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