'Hero, legend, sweetheart': Tributes to Jurassic Park actor Sam Neill, who has died aged 78

Sam Neill, the New Zealand-born actor best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park, has died aged 78 in Sydney, Australia. His family announced the death as "sudden and unexpected" on Monday. Though Neill had been treated for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and underwent chemotherapy starting in 2023, he remained cancer-free at the time of his death, his family said.

Neill's career spanned over five decades, with roles in films including The Piano, The Hunt for Red October, Dead Calm and Event Horizon, as well as the BBC drama Peaky Blinders. Leaders and fellow actors paid tribute, with New Zealand Prime Minister Christopher Luxon calling him "one of the greats" and Laura Dern, his Jurassic Park co-star, describing him as "my beloved lifetime friend."