Old School. Biblically Independent.
By Kayleigh Donaldson | Film | July 13, 2026
Sam Neill, the actor best known for films like Jurassic Park and The Piano, has died at the age of 78. The news was announced in statement on Instagram by his family, who described his passing as “sudden and unexpected.” Neill had fought cancer for several years prior but was reportedly cancer-free at the time of his death.
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It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia. Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care. More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.
New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon paid tribute, describing him as “one of the greats.” And yes, he was. Sam Neill was a reliable hand on screens big and small. He spent over 50 years doing pretty much every genre, role, and idea you could possibly imagine. He was one of the key actors of the Australian New Wave who became a sinfully underrated horror star through films like Possession and Event Horizon. The chances are you know him best for Jurassic Park, where he played Dr. Alan Grant, the hero of the tale who was also kind of an oddball who liked threatening annoying kids with a raptor claw. But wow, when he saw those dinosaurs for the first time, you 100% believed that what we were seeing was real.
We could probably be here for hours listing our favourite Neill performances. I personally love his Bluebeard-esque turn as the cuckolded husband in The Piano, and his descent into lunacy with John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness. I also laughed and cried in equal measure at his work in The Hunt for the Wilderpeople. But I could name so many other examples and still miss a ton. He was so consistent and intriguing, even in not-great projects, and you were never sad to see him on screen.
Neill leaves behind four kids, eight grandkids, and a vineyard overrun by animals he named after his former colleagues. We hope that wherever he is now, there is good wine, lots of great animals, and zero T-Rexes.
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