WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP) 鈥� New Zealand actor Sam Neill, known for 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� and 鈥淭he Piano,鈥� died Monday at 78, his family said.
His death in Sydney was 鈥渟udden and unexpected,鈥� according to a statement posted to the actor鈥檚 social media page.
In 2023, Neill disclosed he had been diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare type of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. His family鈥檚 statement said 鈥渞emained cancer free鈥� when he died and didn鈥檛 specify a cause of death.
Neill was a smoothly elegant and versatile actor whose career moved from art film to blockbuster as he dodged velociraptors in 鈥淛urassic Park鈥� to playing Holly Hunter鈥檚 husband in 鈥淭he Piano.鈥� He was one of a host of actors and directors who achieved international fame after an explosion of Australian films that began in the late 1970s, a list that includes Paul Hogan, Mel Gibson, Geoffrey Rush, Russell Crowe, Jane Campion, Peter Weir and Gillian Armstrong.
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