Sam Neill's Cause of Death Clarified: Pneumonia After Beating Cancer

Actor Sam Neill died from pneumonia, his representative confirmed Thursday, clarifying earlier reports that inaccurately attributed his death to cancer. Neill, 78, had successfully battled lymphoma with CAR-T therapy and was cancer-free at the time of his passing.

Philip Grenz, Neill's agent, stated that the family requested the clarification due to the emergence of inaccurate accounts following the actor's death earlier in the week. Neill died at St. Vincent's Private Hospital in Sydney, Australia, surrounded by family, according to a statement released by his family on his Instagram account.

"Sam passed away from pneumonia," Grenz told Page Six. "Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy."

In 2023, Neill revealed his diagnosis with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. By April, he announced he had completed treatment and was in remission. "I've just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body. That's an extraordinary thing," Neill had said. "I'm very, very excited that this can happen."

Friends and co-stars remembered Neill for his grounded nature and wit. Rima Te Wiata, who acted with Neill in "Hunt for the Wilderpeople," described him as "a very steady, peaceful, grounded man."

Steven Spielberg, who directed Neill in the 1993 blockbuster "Jurassic Park," paid tribute to the actor, stating, "I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world."

Dern called Neill "my beloved lifetime friend," while Goldblum shared, "The next great adventure begins. Love, always and forever."

Born in Northern Ireland in 1947, Neill moved to New Zealand as a child and built a career spanning over five decades. He appeared in more than 150 film and television productions, including "The Hunt for Red October," "The Piano," "Event Horizon," "Peaky Blinders," and "Merlin." He reprised his role as Dr. Alan Grant in "Jurassic Park III" and reunited with Dern and Goldblum for "Jurassic World Dominion" in 2022.

Beyond his acting career, Neill was also a vintner, owning a boutique vineyard in New Zealand called Two Paddocks. He is survived by four children and eight grandchildren.