Sam Neill has died aged 78.

The New Zealander actor, who is best known for playing Dr. Alan Grant in the Jurassic Park franchise, passed away on Monday (13.07.26) "surrounded by family" in what his loved ones has described as a "sudden and unexpected death".

In a post on his social media account, Neill's family wrote: "It is with immense sadness that the whānau of Sam Neill share the news of his passing on Monday 13th July, in Sydney Australia.

"Sam was surrounded by family and passed with the dignity that has characterised his whole life.

"The loss was sudden and unexpected but blessed by the fact that Sam remained cancer free."

Neill's loved ones voiced their "deepest gratitude" to the medical staff who cared for him, and promised "more details will be shared" at a later date.

The post continued: "They would like to express their deepest gratitude to the staff at St Vincent's Private Hospital for their incredible care.

"More details will be shared later, but for now, on behalf of the family, we ask that you respect their privacy as they navigate this immeasurable loss."

No cause of death has been given, but his death comes after Neill revealed in April that he was cancer-free after being diagnosed with blood cancer in 2022.

He spoke on Australian broadcaster 7News advocating for a CAR T-cell therapy clinical trial which had focused on his type of lymphoma.

He told the network: "I've just had a scan just now and there is no cancer in my body, that's an extraordinary thing. I'm very, very excited that this can happen."

He quipped: "It's time I did another movie."

Neill first made waves in the film world with 1977's Sleeping Dogs, before landing roles in the likes of My Brilliant Career, Attack Force Z, Death in Brunswick and The Piano.

He became a household name after playing palaeontologist Grant in 1993's Jurassic Park alongside Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum.

He would reprise the role in Jurassic Park III in 2001, and again in Jurassic World Dominion just four years ago.

He has recently worked on Godzilla x Kong: Supernova and The Last Resort, both of which are now set to be released posthumously in 2027.

On the small screen, Neill appeared in episodes of The Simpsons, Peaky Blinders, The Tudors, The Twelve and more.