Actor Sam Neill, perhaps most known for his roles in the Jurassic Park movies, has revealed that he is currently being treated for stage 3 blood cancer.
Neill opened up about the diagnosis in an interview for his book Did I Ever Tell You This? which offers a look back at his lengthy career, his life in New Zealand, and his experience grappling with mortality.
Sam told The Guardian that the diagnosis is what spurred him to write the book. As he put it: "I found myself with with nothing to do. And I’m used to working. I love working. I love going to work. I love being with people every day and enjoying human company and friendship and all these things. And suddenly I was deprived of that. And I thought, ‘what am I going to do?'"
He continued, "I never had any intention to write a book. But as I went on and kept writing, I realised it was actually sort of giving me a reason to live and I would go to bed thinking, ‘I’ll write about that tomorrow … that will entertain me.’ And so it was a lifesaver really, because I couldn’t have gone through that with nothing to do, you know."
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Sam also shares that he first noticed swollen glands — a symptom of his cancer — while promoting the most recent Jurassic World movie in 2022. He adds, "I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments. But those dark moments throw the light into sharp relief, you know, and have made me grateful for every day and immensely grateful for all my friends. Just pleased to be alive."
