😢 Just weeks after joyfully announcing that his body was cancer-free and saying it was finally “time to make another movie,” the Jurassic Park star has unexpectedly passed away at the age of 78, leaving fans around the world heartbroken.

ā€˜Jurassic Park’ star Sam Neill dead at 78

Sam Neill, the star of the 1993 blockbuster ā€˜Jurassic Park’ died at 78 Monday, his family announced.

ā€œIt is with immense sadness that the whānau [family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia,ā€ theyĀ said on Instagram.

Jurassic Park
Actor Sam Neill as Dr. Alan Grant, with Ariana Richards (left) and Joseph Mazzello (right) as Lex and Tim, in a scene from the film ā€˜Jurassic Park’, 1993.Getty Images

ā€œSam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.

ā€œThe loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.

ā€œThey would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.

ā€œMore 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.ā€

The actor’s death comes just two months after he announced he was cancer-free following his battle with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma – a rare and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

ā€œI’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,ā€ heĀ told Australia’s 7NewsĀ in April.

Richard Attenborough, Laura Dern, and Sam Neill in a scene from "Jurassic Park."
Neill with Richard Attenborough and Laura Dern in a scene of ā€˜Jurassic Park’Getty Images

Neill, who was born in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland in 1947, was forced to seek an alternative when doctors told him chemotherapy stopped working.

ā€œI was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal obviously,ā€ he said.

He then took part in a trial for CAR T-cell therapy – a form of immunotherapy that trains T-cells to destroy cancer cells.

ā€œI’ve just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that’s an extraordinary thing,ā€ he said, reflecting on the success of his trial.

Sam Neill as Captain Vasili Borodin in The Hunt for Red October.
Sam Neill as Captain Vasili Borodin in ā€˜The Hunt for Red October.’Corbis via Getty Images

ā€œI’m very, very excited that this can happen. It’s time I did another movie.ā€

Neill previouslyĀ said he was ā€œnot remotely afraidā€ of dyingĀ as he battled cancer.

ā€œI know I’ve got it, but I’m not really interested in it,ā€ he said.

Neill, who moved to New Zealand in 1954, was best known for playing the paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in ā€œJurassic Park,ā€ a role he would reprise in ā€œJurassic Park IIIā€ in 2001, and ā€œJurassic World: Dominionā€ in 2022.

He starred in John Carpenter’s ā€œMemoirs of an Invisible Man,ā€ playing shady CIA operative David Jenkins – a role that earned him a Saturn Award nomination in 1993 from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films.

Neill also starred in the BAFTA-winning series ā€œPeaky Blinders,ā€ playing Inspector Chester Campbell in 12 episodes between 2013 and 2014.

Actors Sam Neill and Judy Davis on set of the film "My Brilliant Career."
Actors Sam Neill and Judy Davis on set of the film ā€˜My Brilliant Career’ in 1979.Getty Images

More recently, Neill appeared in miniseries such as ā€œApples Never Fall,ā€ ā€œUntamedā€ and ā€œThe Twelve.ā€

He has acting credits for the upcoming 2027 movie ā€œGodzilla X Kong: Supernovaā€ but his character remains under wraps.

Australia Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Neill will be ā€œmourned and long remembered.ā€

ā€œSam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts,ā€ heĀ wrote on X.

ā€œWry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance.

ā€œHe will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace.ā€