Sam Neill, best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in ‘Jurassic Park,’ died suddenly at 78 after beating the rare cancer he was diagnosed with in 2023

Actor Sam Neill, known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and for his work in Peaky Blinders, has died in Sydney, Australia at the age of 78. His family shared the news in a statement posted to his Instagram page, describing the death as sudden and unexpected. The family has requested privacy and said more details will be shared later.

Neill had previously been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare and aggressive form of blood cancer, which he publicly revealed in April 2023. He underwent chemotherapy and, during his treatment in 2022, wrote his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This? According to his family’s statement, he was cancer free at the time of his death, according to CNN.

The family’s statement said he was surrounded by loved ones and passed with the dignity that defined his life. They also expressed gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for the care they provided. Fellow New Zealand actor Karl Urban paid tribute to Neill, calling him a beautiful man and a national treasure who gave so much to New Zealand and the world.

Sam Neill’s five-decade career, knighthood, and life beyond the screen

Born in Northern Ireland, Neill moved to the South Island of New Zealand at the age of seven. His career spanned five decades and included significant roles in films such as The Piano, alongside his most recognized role in Jurassic Park. He was named an Officer of the Order of the British Empire in 1991 and received a knighthood from New Zealand in 2022.

At the 2025 New Zealand Screen Awards, Neill accepted the Screen Legend Award with characteristic modesty. He said, “If you stick around long enough, you probably, you know, qualify, and I’ve been just sort of sticking around.” Similar public displays of survival have resonated with others, like a husband who wrote about his wife beating cancer on his car.

Outside of acting, Neill was known for his life on his farm in New Zealand, where he had a well-known habit of naming his animals after Hollywood friends. He once remarked, “I love to name as many of my animals as possible after my friends. It doesn’t always end well. Meryl Streep was killed by a ferret recently. I found her as a pile of feathers one day.”

Neill was also a committed environmental activist. In early 2026, he released a short documentary opposing an industrial goldmine project in the Central Otago region. He had also spent years building his organic winery, Two Paddocks, which he started in 1993, and once joked about it, saying, “Frankly, my friends will pretty much drink anything, so this didn’t seem too hard.” 

In a 2024 interview with the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, Neill spoke openly about how he thought about death. He stated, “I’m not in any way frightened of dying. I’d be annoyed because there are things I still want to do. Very irritating, dying, but I’m not afraid of it.” 

He is survived by his four children, Tim, Elena, Maiko, and Andrew, as well as several grandchildren. Other cancer patients have faced severe insurance delays, like a West Virginia man whose insurer denied treatment for months.