Laura Dern pays tribute to ‘dream leading man’ Sam Neill

By John Besley, Laura Harding, Pierra Willix and Lauren Del Fabbro, Press Association

Sam Neill’s Jurassic Park co-star Laura Dern has paid tribute to the actor after his death aged 78, calling him a “true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man”.

The Northern Ireland-born New Zealand actor, best known for playing Dr Alan Grant in the blockbuster franchise, died in Sydney, Australia, on Monday.

A flood of tributes have poured in for the actor, led by his Jurassic Park co-stars including Dern, who played paleobotanist, Ellie Sattler, and Jeff Goldblum.

In a post on Instagram late on Monday, Dern called Neill her “beloved lifetime friend”.

She said: “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.”

Goldblum posted a string of photographs from the hit 1993 film including shots of him, Neill and Dern.

He said: “The next great adventure begins. Love, always and forever.”

In a statement on his production company Amblin Entertainment’s Instagram page, Jurassic Park director Steven Spielberg said: “Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. 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.”

Neill’s Peaky Blinders co-star, Cillian Murphy, described him as “one of the finest actors”.

He said: “Like everyone who knew and worked with Sam, I admired him and adored him in equal measure. He was one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors…RIP.”

Neill played the sadistic, corrupt senior police officer Major Chester Campbell in the first two seasons of the show, opposite Murphy’s notorious gang leader Tommy Shelby.

The show’s official page posted a tribute on social media which said: “Sam was one of the key forces that got Peaky Blinders off to a running start, for which we will be forever grateful.”

Joe Cole, Neill’s co-star in Peaky Blinders, posted on Instagram: “Rest in peace big dog.”

Neill announced in April 2026 that he was cancer-free after treatment, three years after saying he had a “ferocious” and aggressive form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

A statement on Instagram announcing Neill’s death said: “Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.”

“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free. They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent’s Private Hospital for their incredible care.”

Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern wrote on Instagram: “We’ve lost another incredible Kiwi, and I feel profoundly sad. All my aroha to his whanau and friends. And to you, Sam, you have our gratitude and admiration. Rest easy. Moi mai ra.”

Richard E Grant, his Palm Beach co-star, wrote on Instagram that Neill was an “officer and a gentleman in the truest sense” who “helped me through a very difficult time in my life”.

Fellow New Zealand actor Karl Urban, best known for starring in The Boys, called Neill “an inspiration for many who followed in his trailblazing footsteps”.

Daisy Ridley, who stars with Neill in the as-yet-unreleased film The Last Resort, posted a photo of herself with Neill on Instagram with several broken heart emojis.

Rufus Sewell, who starred with Neill in the 1996 film Victory, posted a photo of them on set at the time and wrote: “Lucky to have known him. A great actor and a lovely man.”

Neill’s Event Horizon co-star Sean Pertwee said: “Devastated to learn my friend Sam Neill has passed away. A supreme talent, elegant, intelligent, hilarious, a truly splendid human. Also a major proponent why I married my wife for which I am eternally grateful. Love you Sam.”

Born in Omagh, Northern Ireland, to an English mother and New Zealand father, Neill first gained attention for his role in the 1977 thriller Sleeping Dogs.

His breakthrough came in Jurassic Park, a franchise he returned to in Jurassic Park III and 2022’s Jurassic World Dominion.

Neill was also widely acclaimed for his turn as New Zealand settler Alisdair Stewart in Jane Campion’s Oscar-winning film The Piano, as well as Sean Connery thriller The Hunt For Red October, and Taika Waititi’s breakout hit, Hunt For The Wilderpeople.

He also found success on television in The Tudors, The Simpsons and Alcatraz.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon led tributes to him, writing on X: “For more than 50 years he took New Zealand stories to the world and his talents helped make our film industry into what it is today – one of our greatest cultural exports. His work will be watched and loved long after all of us.”

Neill lived on a farm and winery called Two Paddocks in the Central Otago region of New Zealand.

He established the winery in 1993, next door to his friend, Roger Donaldson, the director of Sleeping Dogs.

Neill most recently starred in TV series The Twelve, Apples Never Fall and Untamed, and two films to be released next year, Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort.

He leaves four children and eight grandchildren.