SAM NEILL, THE New Zealand actor best known for his starring roles in the Jurassic Park film series, has died.

He was 78 years old. The news was confirmed in a statement on his social media accounts this morning. 

“It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney, Australia,” the 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 statement added.

The actor had revealed in a 2023 memoir he was “possibly dying” with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma – though in April this year, Neill confirmed that he was cancer-free after five years of living with the disease.

Born in Northern Ireland to an English mother and a New Zealand father, Neill moved to Christchurch with his family in 1954.

After some small roles on local television, his breakout role was in the 1977 film Sleeping Dogs.

He went on to star in Possession, The Hunt For Red October, The Piano, and Event Horizon.

He came to international prominence as Dr Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, a role he reprised in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World Dominion.

He later starred in Taika Waititi’s breakout hit, The Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Neill also worked in television, playing the corrupt Major Chester Campbell in Peaky Blinders opposite Cillian Murphy.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to the actor, writing that 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,” Albanese wrote.