Showbiz

Sam Neills Cause of Death Confirmed at 78

Actor Sam Neill died at the age of 78 from pneumonia, it has been confirmed.Neill’s manager, Philip Grenz, told TMZ that the Jurassic Park star had succumbed to...

Sam Neills Cause of Death Confirmed at 78
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Bintano News

July 16, 2026

Actor died at the age of 78 from , it has been confirmed.

Neill’s manager, Philip Grenz, told TMZ that the Jurassic Park star had succumbed to the disease.

Neill had previously battled lymphoma with success after undergoing CAR-T therapy, a new treatment, Neill’s manager told the outlet.

In 2023, Neill disclosed that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. He died on Monday in , according to a statement posted to the actor's social media page.

His death was 'sudden and unexpected,' the statement said, adding that he 'remained cancer-free' at the time of his death. A cause of death wasn't specified at the time. 'Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,' his family wrote.

Actor Sam Neill died at the age of 78 from the disease pneumonia, his manager said. Pictured 2017 in Venice, Italy 

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Neill's manager Philip Grenz confirmed the Jurassic Park actor's cause of death to TMZ following his passing on Monday in Sydney. Pictured 2025 in Auckland, New Zealand

Neill had worked on four consecutive projects in the past year, his manager told the outlet, noting that they are expected to be released in the next few months.

Neill played paleontologist Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park film franchise 

Following announcement of Neill's passing, tributes were paid by fellow actors and directors. Pictured 2019 

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He earned an Emmy nomination for his performance in the title role of the 1998 miniseries Merlin and another as narrator of 2017's Wild New Zealand. 

Richard E. Grant, a longtime friend who co-starred with Neill in 2019's Palm Beach,  described him in a post on Instagram as 'an officer and a gentleman in the truest sense.' 

Grant said Neill had 'guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my life.'

Perhaps Neill achieved his highest level of fame in Jurassic Park, playing paleontologist Alan Grant, who is summoned to an island off Costa Rica where a theme park has been built to house herds of cloned dinosaurs.

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His character was thoughtful and reasonable, a scientist who warned the mastermind of the theme park before the chaos: 'Dinosaurs and man, two species separated by 65 million years of evolution have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together. How can we possibly have the slightest idea what to expect?'

Grant survived the harrowing events when the creatures get loose, but didn't return for The Lost World: Jurassic Park II in 1997. He came back for the third episode in 2001 and Jurassic World: Dominion in 2022.

'It's probably a little late to learn these things,' he told the New York Daily News in 2001, 'but I finally feel I've worked out how to be an action hero. I'm happier with Grant this time. He's gnarly and grizzled, but he looks like he knows what he's doing.'