Sam Neill’s cause of death confirmed as pneumonia
Jurassic Park star Sam Neill’s cause of death was pneumonia, a spokesperson has confirmed.
On July 13th, 2026, Neill died aged 78 in Sydney, Australia, which was described by a representative as “sudden and unexpected”. They added that it was “blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free” at the time of his death.
Now, his representative, Philip Grenz, shared his caused of death publicly, citing “inaccuracies and outright falsehoods” as his reason for making the announcement.
In a statement, Grenz shared, “Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
Grenz continued, “In addition to running his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks, Sam had filmed four projects back-to-back during the past year, all of which will be released within the coming months.”
He also said his client was “an intensely private man who loathed a fuss” and they plan to “honour him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date”.
The representative added, “I’d like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for considering his privacy with the respect he earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this immeasurably difficult time.”
Following Neill’s death, his fellow New Zealander and co-star in the 2016 film Hunt for the Wilderpeople, Rima Te Wiata, told the New Zealand Herald that he caught pneumonia in the weeks before his death.
Additionally, his former partner, Australian journalist Laura Tingle, who was in a relationship with Neill from 2018 to 2021, has also opened up about his ill health in the weeks before his death, sharing, “He’s been pretty sick for the last couple of weeks and everybody who loved him has been willing him on, from near and far. But, I think it was just a bit too much to recover from one more time.”
Steven Spielberg, who directed Neill in Jurassic Park, led the tributes to the late actor following his passing, 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.”
Laura Dern, who starred alongside him in the aforementioned classic film, also said, “Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit. He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant.”
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