Kiwi actor announced in April he was cancer-free after undergoing treatment for stage-three blood cancer
New Zealand actor Sam Neill died suddenly on Monday aged 78 after recovering from cancer, his family said in a statement on Monday.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free,” a statement posted on Neill’s Instagram page said.
“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family said in a statement, quoted by AFP.
Neill died in Sydney, with the family paying tribute to a private hospital in the city for their care.
The New Zealander, who starred as Dr Alan Grant in the 1993 blockbuster “Jurassic Park”, revealed in a 2023 memoir he was “possibly dying” with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
The Jurassic Park actor announced in April he was cancer-free after undergoing treatment for stage-three blood cancer.
“Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance,” Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said in a social media post.
“He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace.”
Neill’s acting career began in the 1970s and spanned dozens of roles in TV and film, including “Peaky Blinders”, “The Hunt for Red October” and “The Piano”.
When he was not acting, Neill also ran vineyards in the picturesque Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.
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