Actor Sam Neill has died at the age of 78, just three months after announcing he was cancer-free following treatment for stage three angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of blood cancer. Neill's representative, Philip Grenz, has revealed that the actor died from pneumonia, clarifying the circumstances of his death after a wave of media reports.
Neill had undergone treatment for his blood cancer using CAR-T therapy, a relatively new treatment that involves using a patient's own immune cells to fight cancer. The treatment had been successful in clearing Neill of the blood cancer, but it left him with a compromised immune system.
Before his death, Neill remained actively involved in his career and personal projects. He had filmed four projects back-to-back in the past year and was running his award-winning winery, Two Paddocks. Neill's family has asked people to donate to charities he cared about in lieu of sending flowers, including the Dunstan Hospital Foundation and the Snowdome Foundation, which campaigns for improved access to blood cancer treatments.
Neill's death has been met with tributes from the entertainment industry, including Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg and stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum. Neill's whānau, or Māori word for family, will hold a private memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a later date.