‘Jurassic Park’ actor Sam Neill dies at 78

WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Sam Neill, the smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose prolific career moved from art films to blockbusters as he dodged velociraptors in “Jurassic Park” and played Holly Hunter’s husband in “The Piano,” has died. 

He was 78.

In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. 

He died on Monday in Sydney, 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” when he died. 

The cause of death wasn’t specified. 

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” his family wrote.

Tributes were paid by fellow actors: “Condolences and appreciation for the immense joy and mastery Sam Neill brought our industry,” Sharon Lawrence wrote on Instagram. 

Sebastian Roché, who worked with Neill on “Merlin,” said: “Not only was he a brilliant actor, but he was such a wonderful person as well.”

Neill was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s, a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong. 

His range was remarkable, from playing opposite Helena Bonham Carter in the Alan Ayckbourn comedy “Sweet Revenge” to chopping off Hunter’s finger in “The Piano” to poking his own eyes out in the sci-fi horror “Event Horizon.”

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