Sam Neill died from pneumonia, his agent has confirmed, as he moved to correct what he called “inaccurate and outright falsehoods” swirling around the Jurassic Park star’s sudden death. The 78-year-old passed away on Monday at a Sydney hospital, with his family describing it as “sudden and unexpected”.
Philip Grenz, who represented Neill for 19 years, said he spoke with the actor’s family before issuing the clarification. “Sam passed away from pneumonia,” Grenz said in a statement. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
“Sam Neill died from pneumonia, his agent confirmed, correcting 'inaccuracies and outright falsehoods' about the Jurassic Park star's death.”
Neill had been treated for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in recent years but announced in April that he was in remission. His family said he remained “cancer free” when he died. However, journalist Laura Tingle, previously in a relationship with Neill, told radio show Sydney Mornings that the cancer had “taken a toll” on his body, leaving his immune system “pretty compromised”.
Despite his illness, Grenz said Neill had “filmed four projects back-to-back during the past year, all of which will be released within the coming months”. His last film appearance came in The Fox (2025) and his last TV role in Netflix series Untamed (2025); he is expected to appear posthumously in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort in 2027.
Neill, who was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in New Zealand, accumulated more than 150 screen credits over five decades. He was best known for playing Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and also appeared in The Piano, The Hunt for Red October, Dead Calm, Event Horizon and Peaky Blinders. In 2023 he published a memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, revealing details of his cancer diagnosis.
Tributes flowed from fellow actors and politicians. Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern called him “my beloved lifetime friend”. Australian actor Toni Collette described him as a “hero”, “legend” and “sweetheart”. New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said he was “one of the greats”.
Grenz said Neill, “an intensely private man who loathed a fuss”, will be honoured with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date. The family has asked that in lieu of flowers, donations be made to the Dunstan Hospital Foundation, the Snowdome Foundation, and charities protecting New Zealand’s environment and native wildlife.