'Jurassic Park' actor Sam Neill died from pneumonia, agent says
[July 16, 2026]
By CHARLOTTE GRAHAM-McLAY
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) — Actor Sam Neill died from pneumonia and
will be honored at a private family memorial at his New Zealand farm
later, his agent told The Associated Press on Thursday.
Neill's family had earlier announced the actor known for “Jurassic
Park,” “The Piano” and other films died Monday in Sydney.
His agent Philip Grenz said he was providing more information after
speaking with Neill's family and following news reports “which contain
inaccuracies and outright falsehoods,” he said.
"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.”
He added that Neill had filmed four projects “back-to-back” during the
past year that are due 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.
The New Zealand actor disclosed in 2023 that he had been diagnosed with
angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma,
and said in April this year that he was cancer-free. CAR-T therapy is a
form of immunotherapy based on an individual's T cells and is used for
several types of blood cancer.
His agent's statement followed days of tributes to Neill from film
industry colleagues who remembered him as a kind, witty and curious man.
“You are so loved and will be sorely missed by us all,” director Taika
Waititi, who directed Neill in 2016's “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” — one
of Neill's best-loved films in New Zealand — wrote on Instagram on
Wednesday.
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Actor Sam Neill poses at the premiere of "Hunt for the Wilderpeople"
during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival on Jan. 22, 2016, in Park
City, Utah. (Photo by Danny Moloshok/Invision/AP, File)
 “Love you and see you soon, sweet
Nigel," Waititi wrote, referring to Neill's birth name, which he
told interviewers he had changed to Sam at school because there were
too many Nigels in his class.
“Sam was exceptionally collaborative," said Steven Spielberg, who
helmed the first “Jurassic Park” movie, in which Neill played
paleontologist Alan Grant.
“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 one of a host of actors and directors who achieved
international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began
in the late 1970s. In New Zealand, he has been mourned as a
friendly, unassuming person who shunned celebrity and contributed to
causes and community projects near his home, according to local news
outlets.
Neill was also a vintner and under his Two Paddocks brand, he
produced pinot noir and riesling wines from his winery in the
Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.
He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.
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