Hollywood has been rocked by the unexpected death of New Zealand actor Sam Neill, who has died aged 78.
The Northern Ireland-born star, who audiences loved for his portrayal of Dr Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, died in Sydney, Australia, on Monday.
© Borja B. HojasSam was a household name thanks to his prolific TV and film career. As well as Jurassic Park, the actor was recognised for his roles in Dead Calm (1989), The Piano (1990) and The Jungle Book (1994). As for the small screen, Sam appeared in the BBC historical series The Tudors, and the crime drama, Peaky Blinders.
Sam, who was also considered to play James Bond following the departure of Roger Moore in 1985, made his last TV appearance in the Netflix series Untamed (2025).
© Getty ImagesAs tributes pour in, find out all you need to know about Sam's life off-screen, including the family he leaves behind.
Sam Neill's love life
In 1980, Sam met New Zealand actress Lisa Harrow while filming the supernatural horror film, The Final Conflict. The pair welcomed a son together, Tim, who was born in 1983.
Years later, in 1989, Sam married Japanese make-up artist Noriko Watanabe. The couple had a daughter, Elena, in 1991, and Sam also adopted Noriko's daughter from a previous relationship, Maiko.
© Fairfax Media via Getty ImagesThey separated in 2017.
From 2018 to 2021, Sam was in a relationship with Australian political journalist Laura Tingle.
Sam Neill's children
Sam is survived by four children.
As well as Tim, Elena and Maiko, he also had a son named Andrew, who was born when the actor was in his 20s and was put up for adoption. The pair reunited in 1994.
© WireImageOpening up about his son, Sam told The Times in 2014: "I've got a slightly unusual family – it's more extended than most.
"My first son, Andrew, was given up for adoption when he was very small. I was quite small, too – in my early twenties.
"I didn't see him for 25 years and then we went looking for each other."
Sam's cancer diagnosis
In 2023, Sam revealed that he was being treated for stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, in his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?
© Universal PicturesIn April 2026, the actor announced that he was cancer-free after undergoing a new treatment when chemotherapy stopped working.
Sam underwent CAR T-cell therapy – a form of cancer immunotherapy – as part of a clinical trial. Advocating the new treatment during an appearance on Australian broadcaster 7News, he said: "I've just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that's an extraordinary thing."
