Jurassic Park Star Says He's Now Cancer-Free

Sam Neill says his long fight with cancer has taken a decisive turn for the better. The 78-year-old Jurassic Park star tells Australia's 7News he is now cancer-free nearly five years after being diagnosed with a rare form of stage 3 blood cancer, angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. "I was on chemotherapy and the pretty miserable business but it was keeping me alive," Neill says. "Then the chemo stopped working. I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn't ideal obviously." Neill then underwent CAR T-cell therapy, an advanced treatment that re-engineers a patient's own immune cells.

A recent scan, he says, shows "no cancer in my body," a result he calls "extraordinary." "I'm very, very excited that this can happen," he says. Neill, who was born in Northern Ireland and grew up in New Zealand, is pushing for wider access to the therapy in Australia, where he has lived for decades. He's also eyeing a return to film: "It's time I did another movie," he tells 7News. Neill starred as Dr. Alan Grant in 1993's Jurassic Park and two of its sequels, including 2022's Jurassic World Dominion.

Neill went public with his diagnosis in 2023. He was diagnosed the previous year after experiencing swollen glands while doing publicity for Jurassic World Dominion, Variety reports. "I'm not afraid to die, but it would annoy me," he said at the time. "Because I'd really like another decade or two, you know?" He said he wanted to see his olive trees and cypresses mature. "And I've got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big. But as for the dying? I couldn't care less."