Sam Neill, the celebrated New Zealand actor known for Sleeping Dogs, Jurassic Park, and Peaky Blinders, has sadly died on July 13, 2026, at age 78.
Neill died in Sydney, Australia, and no cause of death has been given at this time, though Neill had recently announced he was cancer-free following treatment for angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma.
According to the statement posted on Neill’s social media page, his death was “sudden and unexpected,” and he was “surrounded by family.” His family then went on to express their gratitude to St. Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.
Sam Neill’s impressive career spanned over five decades and 150 credits, cementing himself as one of Hollywood’s most recognizable presences. For many audiences, he will be remembered for his role as Dr. Alan Grant, the reluctant paleontologist in Steven Spielberg’s 1993 film Jurassic Park, later returning to the role in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic Park Dominion.
Born in 1947 and raised in New Zealand, Neill first gained international attention for his roles in Sleeping Dogs in 1977 and in the acclaimed Australian drama My Brilliant Career in 1979. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, he established himself as one of the most versatile leading men, appearing in films like Possession, Dead Calm, The Jungle Book, and The Piano.
Horror fans will also remember Neill for his roles in John Carpenter’s In the Mouth of Madness and Paul Anderson’s Event Horizon, while on TV, he portrayed the titular character in 1988’s Merlin, Thomas Wolsey in The Tudors, and Major Chester Campbell in Peaky Blinders. More recently, Neill appeared in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople, in the MCU’s Thor: Love and Thunder, and Netflix’s Untamed.
