New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who passed away in a Sydney hospital on Monday, died of pneumonia, his agent has confirmed.
The 78-year-old’s family, best known for his roles in Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders, described his death earlier this week as “sudden and unexpected”.
Neal’s longtime agent, Philip Grenz, issued a statement Thursday about the cause of death after speaking with the actor’s family and said what he had said in the press was “inaccurate and blatantly false.”
In April of this year, Neil announced that he was in remission after being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a type of blood cancer, several years ago. His family said he was “cancer free” when he died.
“As Sam Neill’s longtime representative, I have spoken with his family and would like to clarify a few details for his fans,” Grenz said.
“Sam passed away from pneumonia. Before he got sick, he bravely battled lymphoma with a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
Grenz said that over the past year, Neill has “filmed four projects back to back… all of which are scheduled to be released in the next few months.”
Neil, who was born in Northern Ireland and raised in New Zealand, was “an extremely private person who didn’t like fuss,” Grenz said.
He added that Neil’s family “will honor him with a private family memorial service at his farm in New Zealand at a later date at a yet to be determined date.”
“I would like to thank those truly close to Sam for the respect he has earned during this incredibly difficult time and for considering his privacy with the respect his loved ones need and deserve,” Grenz said.
Tributes poured in from fellow actors, politicians and fans following the news of Neil’s death, with Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern describing him as “the dear friend of my life”.
Australian actor Toni Collette called him a “hero”, “legend” and “lover”, while New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon called him “one of the greats”.
Neill played Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park and has also appeared in films including The Piano, The Hunt for Red October, Dead Calm, Event Horizon and the BBC TV drama Peaky Blinders.
Over a career spanning more than 50 years, Neill has amassed more than 150 screen credits.
His last film appearance was in The Fox (2025) and his last TV appearance was in the Netflix series Untamed (2025). He is scheduled to posthumously appear in ‘Godzilla x Kong: Supernova’ and ‘Last Resort’ in 2027.
In his 2023 memoir, ‘Have I Ever Told You This?’, he revealed details about his cancer diagnosis and treatment.
“I’m not afraid of dying,” he told the BBC at the time. “What I don’t want to do is stop living, because I really enjoy living.”
He added, “I thought of it as an adventure, a pretty dark adventure, but an adventure nonetheless.”
Neill is survived by four children and eight grandchildren.
