Director Jane Campion has opened up about the numerous times that she visited the belated Sam Neill in hospital. The Jurassic Park actor, 78, passed away on July 13 and has since been honored by many friends and co-stars.
Speaking about Sam, The Piano director Jane described him as ‘radiating peace’ and ‘beaming love’, even while bound to a hospital bed.
Jane shared with The Guardian: “In these last few months, each time I saw Sam, it was an intoxicating experience. He was radiating peace, beaming love. He didn’t seem to care about anything. He was just gently, gracefully there – but now he isn’t. Thank you for everything Sam. I miss you.”
Jane also noted how when she visited Sam, whether alone or with other friends of theirs, they never discussed the fact that he was unwell. She said that to do so would seem like “a waste of beautiful time”, and it was better to focus on cultivating a “sense of love in and around Sam” as much as possible.
Recalling the very last time she saw Sam, Jane said she brought over some paints for him and that she didn’t expect their goodbye that day to be the last goodbye they would ever share.
She noted: “On the last occasion I saw Sam he was still in hospital. I brought him a little watercolour set from the Macquarie art school shop because he said time was hard to fill … he was thrilled to crack out a few dreamy sketches.
“We talked about the incredible Split Enz reunion concert that I had seen and he had followed on audio from his bed. Our goodbye was a kiss, followed by him thanking me for coming by, for taking the trouble. Did we know it would be the last time? I didn’t think about it, I don’t think he did either.”
Sam Neill’s Cause of Death Details Emerge
GettyThough Sam’s official cause of death is yet to be confirmed, it has been revealed that in the final weeks of his life he was battling against pneumonia.
His ex girlfriend Laura Tingle also told ABC Radio Sydney that the actor had been “pretty sick” in the weeks before his passing, noting that his body had become exhausted from the fight as well as years of previous health struggles, including beating stage 3 angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma in 2022.
“His poor old body just sort of got a bit exhausted,” Tingle said. She added that “everybody who loved him has been willing him on from near and far,” but it was “just a bit too much to recover from one more time.”
Sam’s Jurassic Park Legacy
Sam starred as the character of Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park in 1993 – a role he reprised in both Jurassic Park 3 (2001) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022). He was a “dinosaur expert” at the park who helped viewers young and old to fall in love with dinosaurs.
Throughout his career Sam received many accolades and commendations, including the Silver Logie for Mist Popular Actor in 2023. He was also nominated for three Golden Globes and two Primetime Emmy Awards.
