HEALTHSam Neill Made Eerie Comments About Dying 3 Years Before His Sudden Death
Actor Sam Neill said he wasn't afraid of dying
July 13 2026, Published 4:35 p.m. ET
Following his sudden and unexpected passing at age 78 on Monday, July 13, NBC News highlighted the poignant comments Jurassic Park star Sam Neill made about death during his battle with stage 3 blood cancer.
In a March 2023 interview with The Guardian — roughly three years before his passing — Neill stated, "I'm not afraid to die, but it would annoy me.”
He explained that he wanted another decade or two to watch his grandchildren grow up and enjoy his New Zealand farm.
In 2023, Sam Neill admitted he would be 'annoyed' if he died any time soon.
He repeated this exact sentiment in October 2023 on ABC's Australian Story, stating that death "never worried [him] from the beginning" and that he wasn't "in any way frightened of dying.”
When he was first diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, he opened his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, with the direct line: "The thing is, I'm crook. Possibly dying.”
His family confirmed on Instagram that he passed away peacefully in Sydney, Australia, surrounded by loved ones.
Sam Neill was cancer-free when he passed away on Monday, July 13.
“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterized his whole life,” his family wrote on Instagram.
Despite his earlier harrowing battle with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, his family emphasized that Neill remained completely cancer-free at the time of his death due to successful experimental CAR-T therapy.
“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free,” the statement continued.
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Sam Neill Was Honored by His Costars
Several of the actor's costars honored him via social media.
A massive wave of heartfelt tributes have poured in from his legendary Hollywood costars, who have uniformly remembered the Jurassic Park icon as an exceptionally kind, fiercely intelligent and brilliantly witty "gentleman.”
Nicole Kidman, who starred with Neill in the 1989 Australian psychological thriller Dead Calm, remembered her costar as a “friend for life,” while Toni Collette, who worked with him in the 2002 Australian crime-comedy Dirty Deeds and the 2014 British comedy-drama A Long Way Down, described the Peaky Blinders star as a “legend” and a “big-hearted king.”
Sam Neill was diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer.
Colin Trevorrow, director of Jurassic World, wrote on Instagram that “Sam Neill was a deeply soulful and beautiful man. He was a friend and collaborator at a challenging time, and his strength gave us all strength. I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters. It’s not every lifetime you get to befriend a legend. Forever grateful.”
Peaky Blinders posted on its official Instagram account that “Sam’s portrayal of Chester Campbell is one for the ages. Sam was one of the key forces that got Peaky Blinders off to a running start, for which we will be forever grateful. Our love and thoughts are with his family.”
