Jurassic Park and The Piano star Sam Neill died on July 13, 2026, at 78. His longtime representative, Philip Grenz, has now confirmed the beloved actor’s cause of death. Notably, after his passing, Neill’s family stated in a post on the actor’s social media page that his death was “sudden and unexpected.” The actor received a blood cancer diagnosis in 2022, but as the family states, he was “cancer free” when he died.
Sam Neill’s longtime representative confirms Jurassic Park star’s cause of death
Grenz confirmed in a statement that Neill died of pneumonia. According to The Guardian, he said that he was disclosing the actor’s cause of death after consulting with Neill’s family, citing the spread of “inaccuracies and outright falsehoods” in news coverage.
“Sam passed away from pneumonia,” the statement reads, “Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.” Grenz also revealed that besides running his winery Two Paddocks, Neill “had filmed four projects back-to-back during the past year, all of which will be released within the coming months.”
This comes after Neill’s ex, Australian journalist Laura Tingle, said in an interview that the actor had been “pretty sick” in the final weeks of his life. Meanwhile, Neill’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople co-star Rima Te Wiata said in a separate interview that the multi-Emmy nominee had fallen ill with pneumonia before his passing.
While describing Neill, Grenz noted that he was “an intensely private man who loathed a fuss.” Grenz added, “His family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date. I’d like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for considering his privacy with the respect he earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this immeasurably difficult time” (via Entertainment Weekly).
Sam Neil garnered widespread popularity for playing Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise. The New Zealand actor also portrayed various other memorable roles in My Brilliant Career, Event Horizon, Merlin, and Peaky Blinders.
In the statement, Grenz wrote that Neil’s family wants people to send donations to charities that the actor supported instead of flowers. Some of these charities are The Snowdome Foundation, The Dunstan Hospital Foundation, NZ Nature Fund, and Sustainable Tarras.