Sam Neill, “Jurassic Park” Star, Dies at 78

The New Zealand actor also appeared in ‘The Piano’ and ‘Peaky Blinders’

Sam Neill has died at the age of 78. Neill was best known for his role in 1993’s Jurassic Park as Alan Grant, the film’s hero. He also had starring roles in The Hunt For Red October and The Piano and appeared in TV shows like The Tudors and Peaky Blinders.

In a statement, his family said that the actor deaths was “sudden and unexpected.”

“It is with immense sadness that the whānau [extended family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia,” the statement read, per the BBC.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,” the statement continued. “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.”

Neill was born Nigel Neill in Northern Ireland in 1947. His family moved to New Zealand, where his father was from, when he was 7 years old. “I’ve often thought that was the genesis of me becoming an actor,” he told The Irish Times in 2022 about adapting to a new country. “I think I had to learn how to act and sound like a New Zealander to avoid getting bullied at school.”

Neill did not like his birth name. “I was christened Nigel Neill — that’s like my parents giving me a disadvantage from the start,” he told Kelly Clarkson in 2024. When Clarkson said she liked it, he said, “No, no, you never want to be called Nigel. It’s also called ‘Nigel No Mates,’ you know, ‘Nigel No Friends.’ “ He had a best friend also named Nigel, and when they started watching westerns together, they picked new names. He became Sam at age 11. 

He began acting during his college years and graduated from Wellington’s Victoria University with a degree in English. His earliest professional roles came in New Zealand productions. 

In 1977, he had his breakthrough in Sleeping Dogs. The film was not only seminal for him, but for the entire New Zealand film industry, as it was the first local production to receive international attention. 

He also began acting in Australian films; 1979’s My Brilliant Career, from director Gillian Armstrong, also found international success. In 1981, he had his biggest role yet, in Omen III: The Final Conflict. He also starred in Possession, which became a cult classic; in a 2024 interview with Decider, he called it “the most intense thing I’ve ever done.” Other film and TV roles included 1982’s Ivanhoe, 1987’s Amerika, 1988’s A Cry in the Dark (with Meryl Streep) 1989’s Dead Calm (with Nicole Kidman) and 1983’s Reilly, Ace of Spies, which earned him a Golden Globe nomination. In 1990, he appeared in The Hunt for Red October.

But his biggest role came in Jurassic Park. The lead part in Steven Spielberg’s dinosaur epic was hotly contested; he beat out Harrison Ford for the part. “I like playing villains and bad guys, characters with moral ambiguity, because, in a way, they are easier to play,” he told the Los Angeles Times when the film was released in 1993. But he was ready to step into the spotlight as the good guy, telling the outlet, “I see a bit of a place for myself here now.”

Along with Jeff Goldblum and Laura Dern, Neill helped make Jurassic Park a major success. He eventually returned to the franchise for 2001’s Jurassic Park III and 2022’s Jurassic World: Dominion.

Neill also continued to act in New Zealand films, including 1993’s The Piano, 2003’s Perfect Strangers and 2009’s Under the Mountain. In 2016, he appeared in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, and the director would also give him roles in some of the Thor films.

Related: Sam Neill Says 20-Year Age Difference with 'Jurassic Park' Costar Laura Dern 'Never Occurred' to Him

Neill also began to appear more often on television. He starred in the miniseries Merlin and shows like The Tudors and Alcatraz. He starred in Peaky Blinders with Cillian Murphy as the Chief Inspector Chester Campbell. Murphy praised him in a 2013 interview with The Huffington Post, explaining, “Chester Campbell is such a bastard in the series, but Sam Neill has got such a lovable quality, you can’t help but root for the character.” In 2024, Neill starred in the Peacock drama Apples Never Fall. 

Neill reunited with his son Andrew, who he fathered when he was in his 20s but did not have a relationship with, in 2014. He shared another son, Tim, with his Omen III costar Lisa Harrow. 

In 1989, he married Noriko Watanabe, a makeup artist. He adopted her daughter Maiko and they also shared daughter Elena. The couple separated in 2017. 

In 1993, Neill opened a vineyard, Two Paddocks that has continued to be successful; he often shared scenes from the vineyard and his farm on his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) accounts. He was passionate about the environment and a trustee of New Zealand’s National Parks and Conservation Foundation.

“It doesn’t matter how popular an actor you are, nobody will remember you forever,” he told Esquire UK in 2016. “Acting is ephemeral so it’s nice if you can leave something behind, like a great wine or a beautiful house that has a legacy.

In 2007, Neill was appointed a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. In 2022, he was redesignated as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, giving him the title “Sir.” In 2020 he received the Arts Foundation of New Zealand Icon Award; honorees are limited to 20 living people at a time.

Neill was diagnosed with a rare blood cancer in 2022. In 2023, he shared that he was in remission, but would likely have to receive chemo for the rest of his life. But he tried not to be phased. “I know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it,” he told Australian Story at the time. “It’s out of my control. If you can’t control it, don’t get into it.”

Neill was grateful that despite his acting career, he could have a relatively private life. “I have a number of friends who are real celebrities, you’d know who they are, and I wouldn’t swap my life for theirs for a moment, even though they’re immensely rich and, you know, immensely famous,” he told The Guardian in 2023.

“There’s a complete lack of privacy for one thing, and privacy is very, very, very important, I can walk down the street in Surry Hills and get my coffee, and nobody bothers me, you know? And there’s no paparazzi. My life is my own.”

Neill is survived by his children.

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