Sam Neill Borja B. Hojas/Getty Images Tributes have been pouring in since the death of Sam Neill, beloved star of Jurassic Park, The Piano, and Peaky Blinders, and more. The actor’s family shared the news on his official Instagram page early Monday morning.
“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia,” the family wrote in a statement. “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free.”
Laura Dern, who played the hopeful paleobotanist Ellie Sattler opposite Neill’s skeptical paleontologist Dr. Grant in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, paid a touching tribute to her close friend and co-star.
“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit,” she wrote on Monday in a statement to Variety. “He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.” The pair reprised their roles in 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion, which featured new franchise stars Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.
Spielberg also honored Neill, noting his collaborative nature. “I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park,” Spielberg said in a statement. “Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children.”
The director added: “I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
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Colin Trevorrow, who directed Neill in Jurassic World Dominion, shared on Instagram, “Sam Neill was a deeply soulful and beautiful man. He was a friend and collaborator at a challenging time, and his strength gave us all strength. I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters. It’s not every lifetime you get to befriend a legend. Forever grateful.”
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Nicole Kidman, who appeared alongside Neill in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm, told the Sydney Morning Herald she was “immensely saddened” by the actor’s death. She called Neill “one of the greats” and “a joy to be around,” adding, “We met when I was just 18 and he took me under his wing and we stayed friends for life. He was charming, kind, funny and intelligent. He will be greatly missed, and my heart goes out to his family.”
Australian director Phillip Noyce, who directed Neill in Dead Calm alongside Kidman, told The Guardian, “Sam was perhaps the most gentlemanly actor I ever encountered. Level-headed and sincere in a show business world of crazy egos. His word was his contract. In a strange way Sam was responsible for my long career in Hollywood. When there were rumors that George Miller might have secretly directed Dead Calm, Sam assured the American producer, Mace Neufeld, that I was indeed the director – and Mace then signed me to direct Harrison Ford in Patriot Games.”
Neill, whose father was from New Zealand, grew up in Christchurch and launched his acting career on the stage while at University of Canterbury. “Sir Sam Neill was one of the greats,” New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wrote on X. “He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today — one of our greatest cultural exports. His work will be watched and loved long after all of us.”
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Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added, “Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts. Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance. He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace.”
Actor Richard E. Grant shared on Instagram that he knew Neill for three decades and “finally worked with him on Palm Beach in 2018.” “An officer and a gentleman in the truest sense,” Grant wrote. “Guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my life.”
