Australian PM honors 'Jurassic Park' star Sam Neill after his death: 'He will be long remembered'

SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA: Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has paid tribute to Sam Neill following the actor's death at the age of 78. He also hailed the late star for fighting cancer with “dignity, humour and conviction.”

Anthony Albanese says Sam Neill 'earned a special place in Australian hearts'

The ‘Jurassic Park’ star died on Monday, July 13, and his family announced the news in a statement shared on social media.

Now, the 63-year-old leader paid tribute to Neill on X, writing, “Sam Neill starred in so many beloved Australian stories and he earned a special place in Australian hearts. Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance.”

“He will be much mourned and long remembered. May he rest in peace,” Albanese added.

Sam Neill remained cancer free before death

Earlier in the day, Neill’s family revealed that he “was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life. The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”

The late actor’s family also thanked “the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care” before asking for privacy during this difficult time.

Sam Neill reflected on life with gratitude

The New Zealand actor, known for films including ‘Possession’, ‘Event Horizon’, ‘The Piano’, and ‘Dead Calm’, had opened up about his angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma diagnosis a few years ago.

“I’m not in any way frightened of dying. That doesn’t worry me. It’s never worried me from the beginning. But I would be annoyed, because there are things I still want to do,” Neill said in 2023.

At the time, he also expressed gratitude for his life before adding, “I’m in a very uncertain world at the moment.”

Sam Neill avoided celebrity status

The acclaimed actor also spoke about celebrity status in 2022, saying that being an actor and being a celebrity were two different things.

“I do hope I’m not a celebrity because … I think it’s two different jobs. You can be an actor –hopefully a very good actor – but it’s another job to be a celebrity, and that’s one you can sign up for or not. And I never signed up for that. I’ve avoided that like the plague,” Neill added.