Sam Neill Offers Major Health Update After Blood Cancer Diagnosis
Sam Neill shared some more details about his blood cancer diagnosis after seeing the response to the excerpts from his memoir Did I Ever Tell You This?. The beloved New Zealand actor said his cancer is in remission and he feels "really good." He signed up to film Apples Never Fall, an upcoming miniseries with Annette Bening.
"Hi I'm Sam Neill, actor of sorts, vintner, and an author as it happens," Neill shared on Instagram Saturday. "And my news seems to be all over the news at the moment, and it's sort of 'Cancer! Cancer! Cancer!' Which is slightly tiresome because as you see, I am alive and well and I have been in remission for eight months, which feels really good." Neill is thankfully "alive and kicking and I'm going to work," he said, adding that production on Apples Never Fall begins next week.
Neill went on to say that he wished his cancer diagnosis didn't overwhelm the news that he wrote a book about his life. It's only one part of the book, which he subtitled "Movies, Life, Love, and Other Catastrophes." He wrote the book while he was being treated and could not film.
"The tone of the book is one of surprise," Neill continued. "I never thought that I would have a career as an actor, let alone an actor on screen. But that's kind of what happened and I am full of gratitude looking back on this life, and that's what the book is about. I hope you enjoy it. I enjoyed reading the audiobook the other day, I hadn't looked at the book for quite a while but I found it more entertaining than I expected. And I would look through the glass window at the audio engineer/producer and he seemed to be cracking up a lot so I take that as a good sign." In the end, Neill told his fans he hoped they enjoyed his book and would not worry "too much about 'all that' because I'm fine."
Neill, 75, confirmed he was diagnosed with stage three blood cancer in an interview with The Guardian about his new book, which will be released on Tuesday. The Jurassic Park star said the illness serves as a "spital thread" throughout his book. Neill began feeling swollen glands while doing publicity for Jurassic World Dominion in March 2021 and was diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma. After chemotherapy did not work, he agreed to use a new chemotherapy drug he will take monthly for the rest of his life.
"I can't pretend that the last year hasn't had its dark moments," Neill told The Guardian. "But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive."
Neill began his career in Australia and New Zealand during the late 1970s. Although he starred in several Hollywood movies during the 1980s, he became an international star as Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park. He played the part again in Jurassic Park III and Jurassic World: Dominion. He also named his farm animals after his famous co-stars.