‘Jurassic Park’ Star Sam Neill Treated for Stage-Three Blood Cancer: ‘I’m Not Afraid of Dying, but It Would Annoy Me’

Sam Neill revealed in an interview with The Guardian that he is being treated for stage-three blood cancer. Neill, best known for playing Alan Grant in the “Jurassic Park” franchise, first “experienced swollen glands during publicity for ‘Jurassic World Dominion’ in March last year and was soon diagnosed with angioimmunoblastic T-cell lymphoma,” the publication reports.

“I can’t pretend that the last year hasn’t had its dark moments,” Neill said in an interview touting his upcoming memoir, in which he writes frankly about his cancer diagnosis. “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.”

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Neill received chemotherapy, which originally failed. According to The Guardian: “He embarked on a new chemotherapy drug which he will continue to receive monthly for the rest of his life, although he is now cancer-free.”

“I’m not afraid to die, but it would annoy me,” Neill said in the interview. Because I’d really like another decade or two, you know? We’ve built all these lovely terraces, we’ve got these olive trees and cypresses, and I want to be around to see it all mature. And I’ve got my lovely little grandchildren. I want to see them get big. But as for the dying? I couldn’t care less.”

Neill reprised his role of Alan Grant in “Jurassic World Dominion,” which grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office last year. The actor was joined by original “Jurassic World” co-stars Laura Dern and Jeff Goldblum in the movie.

Variety reported last month that Neill was joining Annette Bening in “Apples Never Fall,” a new limited series at Peacock based on the book by “Big Little Lies” and “Nine Perfect Strangers” author Liane Moriarty. The two actors are starring as parents and former tennis coachers who sell their famed sports academy and prepare for retirement, only for Bening’s matriarch to disappear.

Neill’s previous television credits include shows like “The Twelve,” “Peaky Blinders,” “The Tudors” and “Reilly, Ace of Spies.” He has also starred in films like “Sleeping Dogs,” “Hunt for the Wilderpeople,” “Event Horizon,” “Sweet Country” and “The Hunt for Red October.”

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