On Thursday, Philip Grenz, Neill’s agent for the past 19 years, sent a statement confirming the actor’s cause of death.
“As Sam Neill’s longtime rep, I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans,” the statement read.
“Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.
“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.
“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.”
Neill revealed he was undergoing treatment for a rare blood cancer, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, in his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?, published in early 2023. He urged people at the time to “please not worry”.
Earlier this year, he told 7News in Australia that he was cancer-free, five years after being diagnosed.
“I’ve just had a scan just now, and there is no cancer in my body. That’s an extraordinary thing,” he said at the time.
CAR-T therapy uses a disabled virus to genetically reprogramme human infection-fighting T-cells, enabling them to target specific cancers.
Neill is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.