SAM NEILL (1947 - 2026)

New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who gained international fame as Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, has died at the age of 78. Neill had only recently revealed that he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer in 2022.

Neill’s breakthrough role came in the 1977 New Zealand film Sleeping Dogs. He went on to play the son of the Devil in Omen III: The Final Conflict (1981), starred in Andrzej Żuławski’s cult horror film Possession (1981), appeared opposite Meryl Streep in A Cry in the Dark (1988), and featured in the acclaimed thriller The Hunt for Red October (1990).

In 1993, he starred in Jane Campion’s Academy Award-winning The Piano before cementing his status as a global star as Dr. Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s blockbuster Jurassic Park. He later reprised the beloved role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022).

In 2023, Neill published his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, in which he reflected on his life, career, and battle with cancer.

His screen presence will be sorely missed. 

A selection of Neill's past works:

JURASSIC WORLD: DOMINION (2022)

PETER RABBIT (2018)

HUNT FOR THE WILDERPEOPLE (2016)

ESCAPE PLAN (2013)

THE VOW (2012)

DAYBREAKERS (2010)

JURASSIC PARK 3D (2013)

LITTLE FISH (2005)