Jurassic Park star Sam Neill dies at 78

SYDNEY,— Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor famous for his role as paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in “Jurassic Park,” has died at age 78. His career spanned more than 50 films, Reuters reported.

Neill’s family said in a social media post that his death in Sydney “was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”

In April, he had announced he was free of cancer after a long fight with a blood cancer diagnosis.

Critics often called Neill “versatile” and “reliably excellent.” He took on lead roles across many types of films, from a submarine officer in the 1990 thriller “The Hunt for Red October” to the antichrist in 1981’s “Omen III.”

He also played many troubled husbands on screen, including alongside Holly Hunter in the Oscar-winning film “The Piano” (1993) and alongside Meryl Streep in 1988’s “Evil Angels,” also released under the title “A Cry in the Dark.”

Neill was born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, a town in Northern Ireland. He moved to New Zealand at age seven after his father, a New Zealander, retired from the army and chose to return home.

At age 11, Neill changed his first name.

In his 2023 memoir, “Did I Ever Tell You This?” he wrote that landing in a primary school with “a plum in the voice and Nigel for a name was asking for trouble.”

Sir Nigel John Dermot “Sam” Neill was a New Zealand actor and entrepreneur, 2022. Photo: Creative Commons/wikimedia.

He said the name Sam was “easy to say, sounds friendly, sounds a bit blokey and has a touch of Labrador about it.”

Neill described himself as a nerdy, unsporty boy with a stutter, but said school plays gave him his first taste of acting, including a small role as a bridesmaid in “The Pirates of Penzance.” He wrote that he liked making people laugh.

His breakout role came in the low-budget New Zealand film “Sleeping Dogs” (1977), which led to offers for bigger films in Australia.

Even as he became more famous, Neill kept returning to work in New Zealand. Many fans there loved his role as the grumpy Hector in the low-budget 2016 film “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” directed by Taika Waititi.

In the mid-1980s, Neill tested for the role of James Bond but did not get the part. He later said his heart was not in the audition and that he felt uneasy during the process.

He once told an Australian morning show that no actor wants to be “the Bond that no one likes.”

Neill received three Golden Globe nominations and two Primetime Emmy nominations. He won three Australian television awards, most recently in 2025 for “The Twelve.”

In 2022, Neill accepted a knighthood recognizing his contribution to film, after turning down the honor for years. He said he accepted it to help ensure the arts received recognition.

He once said that when acting looks easy, it means the actor is doing something very difficult, very well.

Neill, who was married and divorced twice, spent much of his later life in Australia and at his vineyard in New Zealand’s Central Otago region.

He launched his Pinot Noir label, “Two Paddocks,” on his Central Otago land in 1997, calling the winemaking process both exciting and demanding.

He often shared photos of animals from his farm on social media, some named after celebrity friends, including a hen named Laura Dern and a bull named Graham Norton. He had recently spoken out against plans for a new mine in the area.

Neill is survived by two sons and two daughters.

(With files from Reuters)