Sam Neill’s cause of death was pneumonia, his longtime manager Philip Grenz revealed Thursday to the BBC. The actor died Monday at a Sydney, Australia hospital at the age of 78.
Grenz chose to report Neill’s true cause of death in order to correct “inaccurate and outright falsehoods” spreading in the media.
Neill had been battling a form of blood cancer since 2022, but revealed in April that he was cancer free. According to Grenz’s statement, Neill’s family said his death was “sudden and unexpected.”
“As Sam Neill’s longtime rep, I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans,” Grenz said. “Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
He 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.”
Grenz also noted that Neill had recently filmed “four projects back-to-back… all of which will be released within the coming months.”
Aside from an illustrious film career, Sam Neill held a major role on Peaky Blinders
Sam Neill was best known for playing the adventuring paleontologist Dr. Alan Grant in “Jurassic Park,” a role he reprised in several subsequent films in the franchise including 2022’s “Jurassic World Dominion,” which reunited him with his co-stars from the first movie, Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. His other, varied film work included roles in “The Piano,” “Event Horizon,” “Wimbledon,” “The Vow,” and “The Horse Whisperer.”
He also played Major Chester Campbell — one of the most sadistic villains in the BBC’s “Peaky Blinders.” Campbell is brought over from Northern Ireland to track down a missing shipment of weapons in Birmingham, which puts him at odds with Tommy Shelby (played by Cillian Murphy) and the rest of the titular gang. Neill brings a cold, calculating presence to the show rather than a physical threat, and his war with the Shelby clan dominates the first two seasons of the show.