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Late Hollywood actor Sam Neill died from pneumonia, his agent confirmed on Thursday, adding that the late actor will be honoured with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand.
Neill’s family had earlier announced that the celebrated actor, best known for his roles in Jurassic Park, The Piano and several other films, died on Monday in Sydney.
Philip Grenz, Neill’s agent, said he released the additional details after consulting the actor’s family and to address media reports that he said contained “inaccuracies and outright falsehoods.”
“Sam passed away from pneumonia,” Grenz said. “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
Grenz also revealed that Neill had completed work on four film projects over the past year, all of which are expected to be released in the coming months.
“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date,” Grenz said.
Neill revealed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Earlier this year, in April, he announced that he was cancer-free after undergoing CAR-T therapy, an immunotherapy treatment used for several blood cancers.
The confirmation of his cause of death came as tributes continued to pour in from colleagues across the film industry, many of whom remembered him as a warm, witty and deeply respected actor.
“You are so loved and will be sorely missed by us all,” director Taika Waititi, who worked with Neill on the 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, wrote on Instagram on Wednesday.
“Love you and see you soon, sweet Nigel,” Waititi added, referring to Neill’s birth name. The actor had previously explained that he adopted the name Sam while at school because there were too many students named Nigel in his class.
Director Steven Spielberg, who cast Neill as palaeontologist Alan Grant in the original Jurassic Park, also paid tribute to the actor.
“Sam was exceptionally collaborative,” Spielberg said.
“I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him,” Spielberg said in a statement. “Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
Neill was among a generation of actors and filmmakers who rose to international prominence during the Australian film industry’s resurgence in the late 1970s. In New Zealand, he was widely admired for his humility, his support for local causes and his active involvement in community projects near his home.
Away from the screen, Neill was also a winemaker. Through his Two Paddocks label, he produced pinot noir and riesling wines at his vineyard in Central Otago on New Zealand’s South Island.
He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
