Veteran actor Sam Neill passed away earlier this week at the age of 78 following a battle with cancer. While his family confirmed the New Zealand star was still cancer free when he died, they did not give an explanation about what had caused his sudden death.
Now, Neill’s long-time agent has shared more information about his passing, revealing that the “Jurassic Park” and “Peaky Blinders” actor died from pneumonia.
The clarification comes after several days of speculation, with his agent publicly releasing the information to set the record straight after what he described as “inaccurate and outright falsehoods” in the media.
Sam Neill Passed Away Following A Bout of Pneumonia
First reported by BBC News, Philip Grenz released a statement that provides more details about Neill’s death.
“As Sam Neill’s longtime rep, I spoke with his family and wish to clarify some details for his fans,” Grenz said. “Sam passed away from pneumonia. Prior to becoming sick, Sam had valiantly fought and beaten lymphoma through a new treatment called CAR-T therapy.”
Neill had previously been diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma several years ago but announced that he was in remission from the blood cancer in April of this year. When announcing his death, his family revealed that he “remained cancer free.”
Grenz went on to add that Neill had “filmed four projects back-to-back… all of which will be released within the coming months.”
Two of those projects are currently confirmed. They include the Daisy Ridley romantic comedy “The Last Resort” and the upcoming monster film “Godzilla x Kong: Supernova,” a sequel to the 2024 movie “Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire.”
Agent Reveals Details About Sam Neill’s Funeral
Grenz also gave more details about plans for Neill’s Funeral. Due to the actor’s private nature, his family had decided not to have a public memorial.
“As Sam was an intensely private man who loathed a fuss, his family will honor him with a private family memorial at his farm in New Zealand at a still-undetermined later date,” explained Grenz in the statement.
He continued, “I’d like to thank those who were truly close to Sam for considering his privacy with the respect he earned and his loved ones need and deserve during this immeasurably difficult time.”
“For those who wish to honor Sam’s memory, in lieu of flowers his whañau ask that donations be made to one of the causes he cared about most deeply.”
He suggested charities such as The Dunstan Hospital Foundation, The Snowdome Foundation, the NZ Nature Fund, and Sustainable Tarras.
News Confirms Earlier Reports About Neill’s Health
GettyEarlier this week, Neill’s former girlfriend Laura Tingle and “Hunt for the Wilderpeople” co-star Rima Te Wiata both suggested that he died from pneumonia.
The pair indicated that cancer treatment had left the actor with a compromised immune system and that his body was exhausted after his extensive health problems in recent years.
“He’d had a lot of chemo and a lot of immunotherapy,” Tingle said. “Thankfully, it finally cleared him of the blood cancer that he had,” she added. She went on to say Neill had been left “pretty compromised in terms of his immune system.”
