Sam Neill, the New Zealand actor best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, died suddenly on July 13, 2026, at the age of 78 in Sydney, Australia [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10]. His death was confirmed by his long-time agent Philip Grenz, who stated Neill passed from pneumonia after previously beating lymphoma through CAR-T genetic therapy [2].

Neill was diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, in 2022 [1, 2, 5, 8, 9, 10]. In April 2026, he announced he was cancer-free following treatment including CAR-T therapy [1, 2, 5, 6, 9]. Despite his remission, family described his death as sudden and unexpected but "blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free" [1, 3, 11, 4, 7, 8, 9, 10].

Born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, in 1947, Neill moved to New Zealand in 1954 and grew up there [1, 12, 5, 7, 9, 10]. His acting career spanned over five decades with more than 150 screen credits [1, 12, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10]. He was widely recognized for Jurassic Park and its sequels, most recently reprising his role in Jurassic World Dominion (2022) [1, 12, 5, 6, 10]. His filmography also included The Piano, The Hunt for Red October, Dead Calm, Event Horizon, and the TV series Peaky Blinders [1, 12, 2, 5, 7, 9, 10].

Neill was known as a very private man who disliked fuss. His family plans to hold a private memorial at his New Zealand farm at a later date [2, 6]. He completed four film projects in the year before his death, which are scheduled for release posthumously in the coming months [2, 6].

Tributes have come from many quarters including New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon, who said, "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 – one of our greatest cultural exports" [1]. Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added, "Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts... He will be much mourned and long remembered" [7]. Co-star Laura Dern called him "a true and noble gentleman" [5].

Philip Grenz, Neill's agent, confirmed: "Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy" [2]. While some sources cited no specific cause for his death, his agent’s statement clarified pneumonia as the cause [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10].