Following news of actor Sam Neill’s passing at the age of 78, many of his co-stars and collaborators have shared touching tributes, reflecting on their time together with Neill. For many, Neill is best known for his role as Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, but he brilliantly embodied a wide range of characters across his decades-long career on both the big and small screens. In addition to Jurassic Park, he left his mark on everything from acclaimed TV crime dramas (Peaky Blinders) to indie darlings (Hunt for the Wilderpeople) and even brief cameos in Marvel movies (“Actor Odin” in Taika Waititi’s Thor films). His work touched a lot of people, so as you would expect, many paid their respects.
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“Sam was my beloved lifetime friend… He showed me the depths of loyalty, protectiveness and love always with the driest of wit. He was a true and noble gentleman, wrapped up in my dream leading man. I will love you forever, Dr. Alan Grant,” said Laura Dern in a statement to Variety.
“I owe a debt of gratitude to Roger Donaldson, Gillian Armstrong, Graham Baker and Phillip Noyce for casting Sam Neill in the roles in which he was so brilliant that brought him to my attention and led to his playing Dr. Alan Grant in Jurassic Park,” said Steven Spielberg. “Sam was exceptionally collaborative. It was a stretch for him to play a character who acted as though children were messy and smelly because this was the opposite of the loving father he was to his children. I adored making all the Jurassic movies with him. Along with Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum, we will always have our Jurassic family and Sam will never be forgotten by us or his many millions of fans around the world.”
On Instagram, Jeff Goldblum shared a photo of himself with Neill and Dern on the set of Jurassic Park:
Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy told Variety, “Like everyone who knew and worked with Sam, I admired him and adored him in equal measure. He was one of the kindest, funniest and gentlest people, and one of the finest actors…RIP.”
Colin Trevorrow, who directed Neill on Jurassic World Dominion said (via The Guardian), “I’ll remember him for his tranquility, his love of wine, and for the calm assuredness he brought to his characters.”
Sam Neill Will Be Remembered As One of His Generation’s Finest Actors
Starring in a record-breaking summer blockbuster directed by Steven Spielberg rose Neill’s profile considerably and introduced him to a whole new generation of viewers, but even before he stepped foot in Jurassic Park, Neill had already put together an impressive career and received numerous accolades, including two Golden Globe nominations in the Best Performance by an Actor in a Miniseries or Motion Picture Made for Television category. As Spielberg notes, it was Neill’s work in the ’70s and ’80s (films like Sleeping Dogs and My Brilliant Career) that put him on the radar for Jurassic Park in the first place. If not for those early displays of Neill’s talent, someone else might have portrayed Alan Grant.
In fact, Neill wasn’t Spielberg’s first choice for the role. During promotion for his latest film Disclosure Day, Spielberg recalled Harrison Ford turning down the part (via Happy Sad Confused), a development that “crushed” the director. Spielberg is obviously more than happy with the way that things turned out now, stating that the character of Alan Grant “belongs” to Neill. Even though Ford was one of the biggest stars in Hollywood when Jurassic Park was in development, it’s hard to see anyone other than Neill in that part. He did a fantastic job injecting a strong amount of heart and emotion into the big-budget spectacle, grounding the film in something the audience could relate to. Grant’s relationship with the kids helped elevate Jurassic Park, making it one of the best films of its kind more than three decades later.
Both of Neill’s Emmy nominations came for projects he made after Jurassic Park. He earned a nod for portraying Merlin in the miniseries Merlin and scored another nomination for Outstanding Narrator for New Zealand: Earth’s Mythical Islands. The latter probably meant a great deal to Neill on a personal level. He was born in Ireland but raised in New Zealand, so Earth’s Mythical Islands was an opportunity for him to highlight the beauty and wonder of his home country. Unsurprisingly, multiple New Zealand awards bodies recognized Neill over the course of his career, including a Screen Legend Award from the New Zealand Screen Awards. The country was very proud of what Neill accomplished over the years.
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