SYDNEY, Australia (AFP)—Jurassic Park star Sam Neill died in Australia on Monday aged 78, his family said in a statement that described the beloved actor’s death as “sudden and unexpected”.

The New Zealander had in recent years undergone treatment for lymphoma but declared this year that he was cancer free.

“It is with immense sadness that the whanau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13 July, in Sydney Australia,” the statement read, using the New Zealand Maori word for family.

“The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free.”

The statement did not elaborate on the cause of Neill’s death, but said he had been treated at St Vincent’s Private Hospital in Sydney.

“Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life,” the statement said.

New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon said Neill was “one of the greats”.

“For more than fifty 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,” Luxon said in a statement.

“His work will be watched and loved long after all of us.”

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said Neill held a “special place in Australian hearts”.

“Wry and dry, thoughtful and laconic, Sam fought illness with the same dignity, humour and conviction that gave strength to his every performance,” Albanese said.

“He will be much mourned and long remembered.”

Fellow Kiwi actor Karl Urban said “Sam was truly brilliant”, while Australian actor David Wenham said Neill was “the kindest, cheekiest, most generous and supportive friend going around”.

– ‘Great enthusiasm’ –

Neill was born in Northern Ireland in 1947 but moved to the rugged South Island of New Zealand as a child.

He was christened “Nigel John Dermot” but ditched the name in favour of “Sam” because he feared it was too “effete” for New Zealand.

“I encouraged the nickname because I thought I’d be slightly less likely to be victimised,” he told New Zealand’s Otago Daily Times.

“I clung on to ‘Sam’ with great enthusiasm.”

Neill started acting in New Zealand films in the early 1970s before moving into larger roles in Australia.

His breakthrough as a leading man came in 1993 when he played Dr Alan Grant in Steven Spielberg’s Hollywood blockbuster Jurassic Park.

At one point he was even touted as a replacement for Roger Moore in the iconic role of James Bond.

“I really did not want that part,” he said in 2023.

“My friend Pierce Brosnan wanted it so much. I was so relieved they offered it to someone else. They’re welcome to it.”

In a career spanning dozens of roles across TV and film, he also starred in Peaky Blinders, The Hunt for Red October and two more instalments of the Jurassic Park franchise.

Neill greatly endeared himself to New Zealanders by lending his star power to local productions as well.

His performance in Jane Campion’s The Piano drew wide acclaim, as did his role in Taika Waititi’s Hunt for the Wilderpeople.

Neill revealed in a 2023 memoir he was “possibly dying” with stage-three non-Hodgkin lymphoma.

In the opening chapter, written while undergoing chemotherapy, Neill said: “The thing is, I’m crook. Possibly dying. I may have to speed this up.”

But he revealed this year that he was cancer-free, thanks to a genetic therapy that modified his immune system.

“I was at a loss and it looked like I was on the way out, which wasn’t ideal, obviously,” he told Australia’s Channel Seven News.

“I’ve just had a scan just now, and there is no cancer in my body — that’s an extraordinary thing,” Neill said.

When he was not acting, Neill also ran vineyards in the picturesque Central Otago region of New Zealand’s South Island.

He named farm animals on the property after his co-stars, including a chicken named after Laura Dern and a cow named for Helena Bonham Carter.