NEWS'Insane' Alec Baldwin Slammed for Odd Sam Neill Tribute as He Rambles About Former Costars
Alec Baldwin faced online criticism after rambling about his former costars in a eulogy to Sam Neill.
July 15 2026, Published 7:53 a.m. ET
Alec Baldwin is facing criticism after sharing an “insane” video tribute following the death of his The Hunt for Red October costar Sam Neill.
Neill, who was widely known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, died in Australia on July 13 at the age of 78. Shortly after the news broke, Baldwin posted a video reflecting on their time working together.
Alec Baldwin shared a video tribute after the death of his 'The Hunt for Red October' costar Sam Neill, who died in Australia at age 78.
"I just wanted to come on here quickly and say, how stricken I was to learn of the death of Sam Neill,” Baldwin began in the clip.
Baldwin Reflected on His Early Hollywood Career
Much of Alec Baldwin's tribute focused on his memories of filming 'The Hunt for Red October' and the actors he worked with during the production.
As the tribute continued, Baldwin spent much of the video recalling his own experience making The Hunt for Red October and the people he met during production.
He then added, “When I did The Hunt for Red October, we shot in '89, it came out in 1990, a long time ago. And that was probably my first big movie in terms of having a, a decent-sized role, 'cause I'd done Working Girl and Beetlejuice and things like that, where I had a smaller role. And I do Hunt for Red October and, yes, John [McTiernan] is a great director and, um, one of the most exciting parts of it was, for me, was to meet Tom Clancy."
Baldwin went on to mention more than a dozen fellow cast members as he looked back on filming the movie, including Tim Curry, Courtney B. Vance, Stellan Skarsgård, Sean Connery and James Earl Jones.
"There's a lot of other people in there who I enjoyed working with, but my God, my God. What an experience that was. What an experience it was to do that movie with those people. I mean, every time you turned around to do a scene, you were with this great actor,'” he stated.
The actor also shared an unrelated story about Ron Grutman before returning to Neill at the end of the video.
He shared, "That is one of the few movies I have ever done where I remember the whole movie. That's what a fan I am of that work. Not me. I'm not a fan of my work but I am a fan of their work. Anyway, oh my God. My God. Sam Neill. My love to his family, My love to his family."
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Social Media Users Weigh In
The video drew criticism online, with some social media users saying Alec Baldwin spent too much time discussing himself instead of honoring Sam Neill.
The tribute quickly sparked debate online, with many viewers arguing that Baldwin focused more on himself than on honoring Neill.
“The narcissism is insane,” one ranted.
“This was a tribute to… Sam Neill?” a second penned their confusion.
“This is a man who is thinking about his own eventual death because of the death of a colleague, instead of eulogizing the colleague at all,” a user vented.
“This weird style of rambling and bragging reminds me of how Trump speaks. Very strange and off-putting,” another critic compared Baldwin to Donald Trump.
Sam Neill's Family Confirms His Death
Sam Neill's family confirmed that the actor died unexpectedly despite having announced in April that he was cancer-free.
As OK! previously reported, Neill's death came as a surprise to many after he revealed in April that he was cancer-free following a long battle with the disease.
Early on Monday, Neill's family confirmed the heartbreaking news in a statement shared with the media, according to the BBC.
"It is with immense sadness that the whānau [extended family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia," the statement read.
"Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life," Neill's family continued in the statement.
They also shared that his passing was unexpected.
"The loss was sudden and unexpected, but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free," they added.
