Sam Neill death: Kylie Minogue and Richard E Grant lead tributes to Jurassic Park star who has died aged 78

Jurassic Park and Peaky Blinders actor Sam Neill has died aged 78, his family said in a statement.

The New Zealand actor died in Sydney on Monday.

The statement from Neill's family said: “It is with immense sadness that the whānau [extended family] of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney, Australia.

“Sam 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.

“They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.

“More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss.”

Neill was diagnosed with stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma in 2022, which caused him to take a short break from acting, and had announced he was cancer-free earlier this year.

Neill is perhaps best known for starring in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park, and has appeared in a host of other much-loved movies and TV series.

His other movie roles include in the Oscar-winning film The Piano, The Horse Whisperer, The Hunter, Wimbledon and Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

On TV, he starred alongside Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders and received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for the NBC miniseries Merlin.

Australian singer Kylie Minogue and British actor Richard E Grant were among the stars paying tribute to Neill.

Fellow actor Grant said in a post on Instagram: “Knew @samneilltheprop for three decades and finally worked with him on Palm Beach in 2018.

“An officer and a gentleman in the truest sense. Guided and helped me through a very difficult time in my life. Pictured beside producer @deb_bal & @ladyheathermitchell. Sail on, kind Sir.”

Singer Kylie Minogue paid tribute, posting “vale Sam” under the announcement of his death on Instagram, while Star Wars actress Daisy Ridley posted a heart emoji.

Born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, Neill moved with his family to New Zealand in 1954.

Neill was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British empire in 1991 for his services to acting and a Distinguished Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (DCNZM) in 2006.

After a change to New Zealand’s honours system allowed recipients to convert the DCNZM into a knighthood, Neill accepted the equivalent honour with a redesignation ceremony hosted by New Zealand governor-general, Dame Cindy Kiro, in October 2022.

He became a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon wrote on X: “Sir Sam Neill was one of the greats. He started out when there was barely a film industry in this country to speak of.

“For more than 50 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. His work will be watched and loved long after all of us.

“Our thoughts are with his family and friends tonight. Rest in Peace.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese added: “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.”

Neill lived on a farm and winery called Two Paddocks in the Central Otago region of New Zealand.

He established the winery in 1993, next door to his friend, Roger Donaldson, the director of Sleeping Dogs.

Writing on the winery’s website, he said: “I wanted to produce a good pinot noir that would, at the very least, be enjoyed by my family and friends.

“Frankly, my friends will pretty much drink anything, so this didn’t seem too hard. To our great surprise, our first vintage in 1997 was much better than we hoped, in spite of a difficult growing season.”

In 2023 he auctioned off items from his personal collection of movie memorabilia, including his famous hat, scarf, jacket and boots from Jurassic Park, to raise funds for Unicef UK.

He wrote his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This? while undergoing treatment for stage three blood cancer, saying it gave him “a reason to live”.