Legendary actor Sam Neill has died at the age of 78.
On Monday, a family representative announced via social media that the Jurassic Park star had passed away in Sydney, Australia.
"Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life," they wrote. "The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer-free."
In March 2023, Neill revealed he had been undergoing chemotherapy for the past year after being diagnosed with a type of blood cancer.
Last April, the actor shared that a recent scan had shown no cancer in his body after he took part in a type of CAR T-cell therapy as part of a clinical trial in Australia.
Elsewhere in the statement, Neill's loved ones expressed 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," the spokesperson added.
Neill was born in Omagh, Northern Ireland in 1947, but his family immigrated to Christchurch, New Zealand in 1954.
After participating in several plays and the 1971 TV film, The City of No, Neill landed his breakthrough role in 1977's Sleeping Dogs.
After appearing in major film productions, the star continued to act in New Zealand films, such as 1993's The Piano, 2003's Perfect Strangers, 2009's Under the Mountain, and 2016's Hunt for the Wilderpeople.
But he was perhaps best known for his performances as Dr. Alan Grant in 1993 blockbuster Jurassic Park, and its sequels, including 2022's Jurassic World Dominion.
He also portrayed Major Chester Campbell in the first two series of the popular TV series Peaky Blinders.
One of his last roles was in Godzilla x Kong: Supernova, which is set to be released next year.
Neill was married to make-up artist Noriko Watanabe from 1989 until 2017, with whom he shared a daughter and adopted Watanabe's daughter from a previous relationship.
The actor also had two children from prior relationships and had eight grandchildren.
Neill published his memoir, Did I Ever Tell You This?, in 2023.
Source: © Cover Media