Sam Neill died on Monday, July 13, in Sydney, Australia, according to a statement posted to his social media accounts. The New Zealand-born actor, best known for playing paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant across the Jurassic Park franchise, was 78.
The family’s statement read: “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.” The family thanked staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney and asked for privacy while they process the loss.
Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill’s legacy in gaming
Neill first played Grant in Steven Spielberg‘s 1993 film Jurassic Park, based on Michael Crichton‘s novel, and reprised the role in Jurassic Park III (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). He also voiced Grant in Frontier Developments‘ park-building games Jurassic World Evolution (2018) and Jurassic World Evolution 2 (2021), alongside Jurassic co-star Laura Dern. Both titles let players design and run their own dinosaur parks. Neill’s voice work carried Grant into a medium the character had never reached in the films. At the time of his death, he had a role lined up in Legendary‘s upcoming Godzilla x Kong: Supernova.
Earlier this year, Neill revealed he was free of the blood cancer he had lived with for several years, crediting an Australian clinical trial for the remission. He was knighted in 2022 as a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit. Born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1947, he moved to New Zealand with his family in 1954. He later settled permanently in Australia.
A career beyond Jurassic Park
His acting career began in New Zealand with Roger Donaldson‘s Sleeping Dogs in 1977. He moved to Australia soon after to chase bigger roles. International recognition followed in 1979, when he starred opposite Judy Davis in Gillian Armstrong‘s My Brilliant Career, a film that carried him to Cannes.
Neill worked steadily across film and television for 45 years. He starred in Dead Calm (1989) opposite Nicole Kidman, The Hunt for Red October (1990), and Jane Campion‘s Palme d’Or-winning The Piano (1993). He played Major Chester Campbell in the first two seasons of Peaky Blinders and voiced Odin in 2022’s Thor: Love and Thunder. Neill auditioned for James Bond in the 1980s, though the role went to Timothy Dalton.
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Neill “earned a special place in Australian hearts” through his roles in “so many beloved Australian stories.” Neill founded the New Zealand vineyard Two Paddocks and wrote the 2021 memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?. He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren from his two marriages.