'Jurassic World' Star Sam Neill Reveals Secret Battle With Stage 3 Blood Cancer
March 17 2023, Published 6:00 p.m. ET
Actor Sam Neill, known for starring in the hit movie franchise Jurassic Park, revealed he was diagnosed with stage 3 blood cancer following the premiere of Jurassic World. The actor is now in remission, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Neill, 75, made the shocking announcement in the first chapter of his new book, Did I Ever Tell You This.
Within the first few pages of his memoir, Neill penned a heartbreaking line and admitted that he's "possibly dying."
The New Zealand actor told BBC that he was diagnosed with "a ferocious type of aggressive" non-Hodgkins lymphoma after he completed filming for Jurassic World Dominion. While on a publicity tour for the film in 2022, the actor noticed a lump on his neck.
Upon seeking medical advice for the concerning mass, Neill was diagnosed with Angioimmunoblastic T-cell Lymphoma.
Faced with his own mortality, Neill explained he began his memoir to "give me a reason to get through the day."
"I may have to speed this up," Neill told The Guardian on life post-diagnosis. "I found myself with nothing to do."
Despite his health challenges, the actor was determined to stay busy, explaining he was "used to working."
"I love working. I love going to work," Neill confessed. "I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship and all these things."
"And suddenly I was deprived of that," he continued on his diagnosis inspiring his memoir. "And I thought, "What am I going to do?"
Never miss a story — sign up for the RadarOnline.com newsletter to get your daily dose of dope. Daily. Breaking. Celebrity news. All free.
Never Miss an
Daily updates from the heart of Hollywood, right to your inbox
By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you’re agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. You are also agreeing to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
The Piano star added that at first, he didn't think he had it in him to author a book, figuring he would just "write some stories" to distract his mind.
"But as I went on and kept writing, I realized it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live," Neill shared. "I would go to bed thinking, ‘I’ll write about that tomorrow… that will entertain me."
Neill added that writing his memoir saved his life "because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do."
The actor confirmed that he was in remission but will have to take chemotherapy medication for the rest of his life.
