Sam Neill, Star of 'Jurassic Park' and 'The Piano,' Dies at 78

The New Zealand-born actor's family announced his death in Sydney, three years after he disclosed a rare blood cancer diagnosis.

Sam Neill, the actor whose decades-long career spanned "Jurassic Park," "The Piano" and a wave of Australian films that brought him international fame, died Monday at age 78, according to a statement posted to his social media page and reported by NPR.

Neill died in Sydney, NPR reported. In 2023, he had disclosed a diagnosis of angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma, a rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Fox News reported that the actor's family said he died suddenly on Monday, surrounded by family, after having recovered from cancer.

Al Jazeera noted Neill was among a host of actors who achieved international stardom amid an explosion of Australian films in the 1970s, a movement that launched his decades-long career on stage and screen.

— Compiled from reporting by NPR, Al Jazeera and Fox News.