Sam Neill’s Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern and director Steven Spielberg break silence on star’s shock death at 78

Iconic Jurassic Park star Laura Dern and director Steven Spielberg have paid tribute to star Sam Neill following his shock death, aged 78.

Neill, best known for his role as Dr Alan Grant in the Dinosaur series, passed away just a few months after declaring himself ‘cancer-free’ following a long battle with the disease.

The New Zealand actor died in hospital in Sydney on Monday.

His family described his death as ‘sudden and unexpected’ in a statement published on his Instagram page. The actor was previously diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.

Neill’s on-screen love interest, Dr. Dern, who plays Ellie Sattler, said in a statement: ‘Sam was my lifelong friend… He always showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love with the driest wit.

‘He was a true and noble gentleman, disguised as the leading man of my dreams. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.

Spielberg stated that he was ‘saddened’ by the news of Neill’s death, and said in a statement to The Daily Mail: ‘I would like to thank Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce, who brought Sam Neill to my attention and played Dr. Jurassic Park. I owe a debt of gratitude to the wonderful roles that led to him playing Alan Grant.

‘Sam was extremely cooperative. It was challenging for him to play a character who acted as if the children were messy and stinky because it was the exact opposite of the loving father he showed towards his children.

‘I loved filming all the Jurassic movies with him. Our Jurassic family with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum will always exist, and Sam will never be forgotten by us and his millions of fans around the world.’

Spielberg said he was ‘saddened’ by the news of Neill’s death and in a statement to Variety said, ‘I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gilliam Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill.’ In the photo, the stars were on set in 1993.

Neill’s family said at the memorial service: ‘It is with great sadness that Sam Neill’s whānau (family) share the news of his passing in Sydney Australia on Monday 13 July. “Sam was surrounded by his family and passed with the dignity that characterized his entire life,” they said.

‘The loss was sudden and unexpected, but fortunately Sam remained cancer-free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff of St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.

‘More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they cope with this immeasurable loss.’

In April, Neill, known for his role as Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park series, announced that tests determined that he did not have cancer.

In an interview with Channel Seven, Neill described how close he came to death after the chemotherapy started working. An expensive, cutting-edge treatment extended his life.

Neill said: ‘I’ve been living with a certain type of lymphoma for about five years and I was having chemotherapy and doing a pretty miserable job but it was keeping me alive.

Spielberg said: ‘I loved doing all the Jurassic movies with him. ‘We’ll always have our Jurassic family with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum’ – photo taken in 1993 with Neill, Goldblum, Princess Diana, Ariana Richards, Kate Capshaw and Richard Attenborough

In April, Neill, known for his role as Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park series, announced that tests determined that he did not have cancer.

‘Then the chemotherapy stopped working. ‘I was beside myself and it looked like I was heading for the exit, which was definitely not ideal.’

Neill underwent a special treatment called CAR T-cell therapy, which genetically modifies the patient’s own T cells to recognize and destroy cancer cells. Private treatment costs around AUD 540,000.

‘I’ve just had a scan and there is no cancer in my body, which is extraordinary. “I’m very, very excited that this could happen,” he said at the time.

The treatment is currently in clinical trials to treat another blood cancer, myeloma.

Neill also said he plans to return to acting.

‘It’s time for me to make another movie,’ he said.

Neill first publicly revealed his cancer diagnosis in 2023, after initially experiencing swollen glands after being diagnosed with cancer the previous year.

He learned about stage three blood cancer while promoting Jurassic World Dominion in 2022.

In this film, he reprized his role as Grant, alongside his original co-stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, as well as Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard.

He told Australian Story at the time: ‘I’m not afraid of dying in any way. This doesn’t worry me. It never worried me to begin with, but I would get angry.

‘I would get angry because there were still things I wanted to do. Very annoying and lethal. But I’m not afraid of it.’

Neill, who was born in Northern Ireland to a British mother and a New Zealand father, first revealed the news of his illness in the first chapter of his memoir, Did I Tell You That?, in which he wrote that he was ‘probably dying’.

Evaluating the life of that period, the experienced actor once again said that he was not afraid of death and said, ‘I am not afraid of dying. But it would bother me. Because I’d really like another ten or twenty years, you know?’

‘We’ve built all these beautiful terraces, we’ve got olive trees and cypresses and I want to be around to see them all mature. And I have cute little grandchildren. I want to see them grow.

‘But as for dying? I couldn’t care less.’

Neill has a 40-year-old son, Tim, from New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow, to whom he was married between 1980 and 1989.

The star was married to Japanese make-up artist Noriko Watanabe between 1989 and 2017, and they had a daughter named Elena, 35. He also adopted Noriko’s daughter from his first marriage, Maiko.

Neill first publicly announced his cancer diagnosis in 2023, after initially experiencing swollen glands after being diagnosed with cancer the previous year (pictured in 2025)

Neill was born Nigel John Dermot Neill in Ireland and his family moved to New Zealand in 1954.

He used the pseudonym Sam and dropped Nigel after deciding Sam was ‘less weird’.

‘I found that I moved through the world more easily as a Sam. Nigel is an odd fit in most situations. ‘Imagine you are a film actor called Nigel Neill,’ he said in 2014.

Neill has appeared in three Jurassic Park films, including the original in 1993, 2001’s Jurassic Park III, and 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.

He became a household name after playing paleontologist Grant in the 1993 film Jurassic Park, alongside Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.

He would reprise the role in 2001’s Jurassic Park III and four years earlier in Jurassic World Dominion.

He recently worked on Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort; both will be released posthumously in 2027.

On the small screen, Neill has appeared in episodes of The Simpsons, Peaky Blinders, The Tudors and The Twelve.