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Jurassic Park star Sam Neill dies months after revealing he was cancer-free
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Jurassic Park star Sam Neill dies months after revealing he was cancer-free Sam Neill, star of Jurassic Park, has died at the age of 78 his family has revealed in an emotional statement shared on the actor's social media account Jurassic Park star Sam Neill has died at the age of 78. His death comes months after he revealed he was cancer-free. Sam was best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise.
Jurassic Park star Sam Neill dies months after revealing he was cancer-free
Sam Neill, star of Jurassic Park, has died at the age of 78 his family has revealed in an emotional statement shared on the actor's social media account
Jurassic Park star Sam Neill has died at the age of 78. His death comes months after he revealed he was cancer-free.
Sam was best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise. The New Zealand actor's career began in the 1970s and is comprised of over 150 roles from My Brilliant Career to The Piano to Jurassic Park to Peaky Blinders.
His family released a statement confirming the sad news on his Instagram. It read: "It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia.
“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. 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.”
In 2022, the actor had been diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, which is a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. It meant he took a short break from acting.
However, earlier this year he had announced he was cancer-free after undergoing a new treatment after chemotherapy had stopped working.
Following the sad news, comments of condolence poured in. One user wrote: "Such a good human, I shall put my dinosaurs out for him and open a nice wine. Thanks for being you Sam."
Another added: "This is devastating. I really wish this was not true. Love to family."
And a third paid tribute to his Jurassic Park role, saying: "I‘m completely shocked right now. He was one of my biggest childhood heroes and the reason I wanted to become a paleontologist. I don’t even know what to say. R.I.P. Legend."
In the months before his death, Sam had revealed his chemotherapy treatment had stopped. Instead, he was given a cutting-edge treatment called CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically modifies blood cells, and this ended up saving his life at the time.
He said in April: "I've been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business, but it was keeping me alive."
Speaking to Australian network 7 News, he continued: "Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously."
Sam went on: "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."
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