Sam Neill, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ actor, d!es at 78

Sam Neill, ‘Jurassic Park’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’ actor, dies at 78

Sam Neill, the acclaimed New Zealand actor known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the ‘Jurassic Park’ franchise, died Monday in Sydney, Australia. He was 78.

His family announced his death in a statement on his Instagram page, describing it as sudden and unexpected.

Neill, who had been diagnosed with a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, was cancer-free at the time of his death, the family said.

“It is with immense sadness that the whānau 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 statement reads.

The family thanked the staff of St. Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney for their care and requested privacy as they mourned.

Neill first revealed his diagnosis with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma in 2023 and later said treatment had put the disease into remission.

Born in Northern Ireland and raised in New Zealand in 1947, Neill rose to global fame in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster ‘Jurassic Park’. He reprised the role in ‘Jurassic Park III’ and ‘Jurassic World Dominion’.

His versatile career spanned more than five decades, with notable film credits including ‘The Piano,’ ‘The Hunt for Red October,’ ‘Dead Calm,’ ‘Event Horizon,’ and ‘Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople’.

On television, he played Chief Inspector Chester Campbell in the hit crime drama ‘Peaky Blinders’ and appeared in the historical series ‘The Tudors’.

He was among actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s. The list includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.

In his tribute, New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon praised the actor as “one of the greats”.

“He started out when there was ⁠barely a film ⁠industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took ‌New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make ‌our ‌film industry into what it is today – one of our greatest cultural exports,” Luxon wrote in a social media post.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese also paid tribute to Neill.

“Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam ‌fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance. He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest ⁠in peace,” he wrote on social media.