\u201cMore 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.\u201d<\/p>\n
He is survived by his four children and eight grandchildren.<\/p>\n
In April, Neill announced he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with a rare form of stage-three blood cancer. He revealed his diagnosis in 2023.<\/p>\n
Neill said he underwent CAR T-cell therapy, a treatment that genetically modifies blood cells.<\/p>\n
The actor lived in Central Otago and owned the Two Paddocks vineyards.<\/p>\n
Neill was best known worldwide as the palaeontologist Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg\u2019s blockbuster Jurassic Park, which premiered in 1993. <\/p>\n
The same year he starred as Alisdair Stewart in the Academy Award-winning film The Piano.<\/p>\n
Neill began acting while studying at Canterbury University, where he gained a BA in English.<\/p>\n
Neill\u2019s breakthrough role came in the Kiwi classic Sleeping Dogs, a dramatic action-thriller that ultimately launched his cinematic career in 1977.<\/p>\n
He earned his first Golden Globe nomination for the hit British miniseries Reilly, Ace of Spies in 1983.<\/p>\n
In 1991 he was awarded an OBE for services to acting.<\/p>\n
Sam Neill, Ariana Richards and Joseph Mazzello in Jurassic Park (1993).<\/p>\n
Neill had told Australian outlet 7News earlier this year he was cancer-free after half a decade of unsuccessful treatment.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been living with a particular type of lymphoma for about five years and I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive,\u201d Neill said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThen the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn\u2019t ideal, obviously.\u201d<\/p>\n
Tributes quickly began to pour in for Neill from across the globe after news of his death.<\/p>\n
In a social media post, Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Neill was \u201cone of the greats\u201d. <\/p>\n
Luxon said Neill \u201cstarted out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today \u2013 one of our greatest cultural exports\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cHis work will be watched and loved long after all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
NZ First leader Winston Peters also shared a tribute online.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a Kiwi icon through his work in both local and Hollywood films that entertained people around the world over decades. Thoughts and prayers are with family and friends at this sad time.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sir Sam Neill, pictured not long before his knighthood was announced in 2022. He had turned it down in 2009.
\nPhoto \/ Getty Images<\/p>\n
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: \u201cSam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories, and he earned a special place in Australian hearts. <\/p>\n
\u201cWry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
Labour leader Chris Hipkins said he grew up watching Sam Neill, describing him as \u201ca giant of the screen who took our stories to the world and yet still felt like one of us\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam loved New Zealand and advocated for its people and places, well beyond his work on film. He had a strong sense of social justice and regularly advocated for the underdog.<\/p>\n
\u201cSam made us proud to be Kiwis and we couldn\u2019t have been prouder of him.<\/p>\n
Actor Frances Barber also posted on X: \u201cMy heart is sore, I loved Sam, one of the most beautiful men I ever knew\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sam Neill in Jane Campion’s Oscar-winning 1993 movie The Piano. <\/p>\n
Neill was also known and loved for his role as Uncle Hec in Taika Waititi\u2019s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, which premiered in 2016.<\/p>\n
In 2026, the year the film celebrated its 10-year anniversary, Neill told RNZ: \u201cYou had no idea what was going to happen there [at Sundance when the film first premiered], whether the American audience were going to respond to it at all, but they were amazing\u201d.<\/p>\n
In recent years, Neill starred in legal drama The Twelve, alongside Kiwi actor Danielle Cormack. Speaking to the Herald, Cormack said getting a chance to work with Neill was a key decider in taking the role.<\/p>\n
She called their on-screen and off-screen pairing \u201ca perfect fit\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was literally working alongside him, having to sit at a desk for days and days on end next to him \u2013 he brings such a great energy to the set.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cormack says she found joy in building a rapport with Neill, battling it out over crosswords, and developing a dynamic similar to their characters, Colby and Nicholls, who have a strong camaraderie, yet with a competitive edge.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat was sort of naturally taken on board by osmosis and our work relationship. And it was just marvellous to watch him work. He\u2019s incredibly generous.\u201d<\/p>\n
John Clarke and Sam Neill in the 1990 black comedy Death in Brunswick, which is set in Melbourne.<\/p>\n
This year Neill also won his third Logie, a television award in Australia, this time the Silver Logie for Best Lead Actor in a Drama for his performance as defence lawyer Brett Colby in The Twelve.<\/p>\n
Neill previously won Most Outstanding Actor (2005) and Most Popular Actor (2023) at the Australian television awards.<\/p>\n
He revealed in 2023 that his birth name was Nigel John Dermott Neill, and said changing his name early on after getting \u201cfed up with Nigel\u201d was the \u201cbest decision\u201d of his life.<\/p>\n
In his book Did I Ever Tell You This?, Neill wrote: \u201cThe one thing I resent about my parents, the only thing, is that they called me Nigel. Changing my name to Sam at the age of 11 was probably the best decision I made in my life\u201d.<\/p>\n
Sir Sam Neill was one of the greats.<\/p>\n
He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of. For more than fifty years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today \u2013 one of our greatest\u2026<\/p>\n