Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill’s cause of death has been revealed.
News of the star’s death was confirmed by his family on social media earlier this week (July 13). No cause of death was given at the time, but Neill recently revealed he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with blood cancer in 2022.
His family said his “loss was sudden and unexpected” but “blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free”.
Philip Grenz, who represented the New Zealand actor for 19 years, has now confirmed that Neill died from pneumonia.
Grenz said he was issuing the clarification after speaking with the actor’s family because of “inaccuracies and outright falsehoods” in media reports about the circumstances of his death.
“As Sam Neill’s longtime rep, I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans,” Grenz said in a statement to The Independent. “Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
Grenz went on to say Neill had remained professionally active in the months before his death.
“In addition to running his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks, Sam had filmed four projects back-to-back during the past year, all of which will be released within the coming months,” he said.
He continued: “As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honour him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still undetermined later date.”
Grenz thanked those closest to Neill for respecting the family’s privacy during what he described as “this immeasurably difficult time”. He said the actor’s family had asked people wishing to honour Neill’s memory to donate to causes he cared deeply about in lieu of sending flowers.
These included the Dunstan Hospital Foundation in Central Otago, the Snowdome Foundation, which campaigns to improve access to blood cancer treatments including CAR-T therapy in Australia and New Zealand, and charities working to protect New Zealand’s environment and native wildlife.
Since Neill’s passing, Steven Spielberg and Laura Dern have both paid tribute to their Jurassic Park collaborator. Neill was known for a number of films and TV series throughout his career, including horror classic Event Horizon, Oscar-winning drama The Piano, and hit series Peaky Blinders. His most famous role, however, was that of Dr. Alan Grant in 1993’s Jurassic Park. He would reprise the role twice more, in 2001’s Jurassic Park III and 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.
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