00:00Sam Neill, known for his work in such films as Jurassic Park, The Piano, Dead Calm, and In the Mouth
00:07of Madness, has died.
00:08He was 78.
00:10The news was shared in a post on Neill's official Instagram account.
00:14It read, in part,
00:16Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life.
00:21The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free.
00:26Neill revealed in March of 2023 that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma a year earlier.
00:34Early in his career, the boundary-breaking actor, who grew up in New Zealand, starred in 1977's Sleeping Dogs,
00:40one of the first New Zealand films to play internationally,
00:43in the 1979 Australian period drama My Brilliant Career,
00:47and in the third Omen film, The Final Conflict, in 1981.
00:51After starring alongside Nicole Kidman in the psychological thriller Dead Calm in 1989,
00:57Neill had quite the year in 1993 with the films The Piano and Jurassic Park.
01:03This thing's got what, a 25, 27-foot neck?
01:05We're actually sore at 30.
01:10Neill went on to play Dr. Alan Grant in 2001's Jurassic Park 3,
01:15and he reprised the role in 2022's Jurassic World Dominion.
01:19Steven Spielberg paid tribute to Neill on Monday.
01:22He told The Hollywood Reporter in a statement, in part,
01:25Sam was exceptionally collaborative.
01:27It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly,
01:32because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.
01:36I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him.
01:39Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family,
01:43and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.
01:48Neill's film resume also included 1981's Possession,
01:521990's The Hunt for Red October,
01:551992's Memoirs of an Invisible Man,
01:581994's In the Mouth of Madness,
02:001994's Country Life,
02:021995's Restoration,
02:051997's Event Horizon,
02:071997's Snow White, A Tale of Terror,
02:101998's The Horse Whisperer,
02:121999's Bicentennial Man,
02:142000's The Dish,
02:162001's The Zookeeper,
02:192003's Perfect Strangers,
02:212008's Skin,
02:232009's Daybreakers,
02:252011's The Hunter,
02:27and 2016's Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
02:29His television work included The Tudors in 2007,
02:33Peaky Blinders from 2013 to 2014,
02:35and 2024's Apples Never Fall.
02:38For much more on the life and career of Sam Neill and more tributes,
02:42go to THR.com.
02:44This is The Hollywood Reporter News.
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